I was overly ecstatic to switch back to a Sony Ericsson phone - my last one was by my side for almost six years! Why so antiquely long, you ask? Well I just couldn't find the ideal smartphone to upgrade to, and let's admit: most other mobile phone brands took a dive in popularity when the Blackberrys and iPhones first started to strut their stuff.
Roll on end-2011, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro has been appointed as my temporary sidekick for a few weeks. As a mobile sidekick in these fast-paced times, where a phone needs to be everything from a calendar to an organizer to a socialising device, I will expect it to be readily available for the following tasks:
- A decent camera for mid-to-high quality photos – mainly for when you’re on the go and you don’t always have a camera with you, plus for sharing photos online
- Medium to large screen quality, at high resolution - for web browsing and videos
- Easy social media integration – mainly Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
- User-friendly keyboard – not only should typing be quick and easy, but the keyboard layout and size should allow you to efficiently find your way around, for faster and more accurate typing
- Calendar
- Tasks / Notes management
One of the first things that made me feeling hesitant about using this smartphone was the sliding keyboard. I generally prefer my phone to be a solid, lightweight chunk, with no sliding, flapping, folding or sticking-out bits. (Remember those archaic mobile phones where you had to pull out the aerial in order to answer the phone?! After a fair amount of ninja-style sword-fighting, the “family cellphone” was handed down to the youngest member of the family, and a replacement was quite necessary..)
The switch to Android will most likely be an interesting one too, and I am quite keen to explore the apps and options available.
Will the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro live up to the required sidekick expectations? And will the Sony keyboard convince me that a slide-phone is not just a pain in the gazoinks? Secretly, I'm deeply hoping so, as I would like to switch back to an arsenal of all-Sony gadgets.
