For those of you who can't help grabbing at shiny things, this device may be hard to resist. The Sony Ericsson P800 is a smartphone that neither looks like a PDA nor a phone. It's a relatively slim rectangle, with a 2.5 by 1.75 inches (208x320 pixel) screen.
As a hybrid device, the phone is excellent. It cradles well, and naturally sits where you can hear and speak into it. It has a fold-out keypad; however, the numbers are small and hard to dial. The phone can also be used without the keypad, using the touch screen.
Navigating through applications is a pleasure. Using a small wheel on the top of the device, users can navigate with one hand or by using a stylus (Sony Ericsson provides extras). The screen is extremely responsive. The embedded Jot handwriting recognition software is easy to use.
The device has some of the drawbacks you might expect from a phone maker stepping into the world of data. JavaScript errors prevented me from accessing any of my Web mail accounts. Instead, I had to use AT&T Wireless' mMode e-mail service. With mMode, users can access many popular e-mail services -- though certainly not all of them -- without the tedious setup. Through this service, e-mail is simple and easy to navigate, thanks to device-specific reformatting. Sony Ericsson says that users can view attachments, but I was unable to download or view any attachments in my e-mail account.
Web sites are not optimized for the P800, so scrolling through them makes you feel like Lewis and Clark crossing the continent for the first time: You have no idea what you may scroll over next, and there is plenty of backtracking to find what you're looking for. For better or worse, clicking on a link starts a stopwatch, letting you see exactly how long it takes to download Web pages over the GPRS network. Sometimes it's better not to know that you just spent 45 seconds trying to link to a simple news story.
A few non-business features round out the device. It supports multimedia messaging and offers surprisingly high quality polyphonic sound. The camera embedded in the back takes unimpressive, low-resolution images.
The P800 comes with a 16 MB memory stick, IR and Bluetooth. It can play MP3 files and MPEG4 video, and comes with a docking station.
