Sony Ericsson S302 Review

Introduction and Design:

When talking about stylish, dainty cell phones it´s typically their design we often have in mind. Come to cheaper devices though, we frequently find out price is low at the expense of diminished functionality. This fully applies to the Sony Ericsson S302. It comes in compact size with its 11 mm thickness and weight of just 2.79 oz (79 gr). We´ve found out its shiny overall look is, sadly, the only weapon it employs. What is in the box?

• Sony Ericsson S302
• Charger
• Stereo headset
• User guide

As you can see in the pics, our particular unit comes in deep blue, but a more buttoned-down grey colored make is also available. To exalt the impression, keypad buttons have also been equipped with jazzy looking blue backlighting, so if anything, you will definitely get noticed in the dark. Speaking of the buttons, we didn´t encounter any issues with those on its front side, including the navigational ones. They are discernible enough to touch and easy to press, so even people with thicker fingers won´t have any troubles. On either side are the really uncomfortable volume rocker that is unbelievably hard to press, the button that turns the music player or the FM radio on/off and the camera shutter. What is on its back? A 2-megapixel camera with LED flash, loudspeaker and M2 expansion card slot, hidden under the cover. Similarly to the Sony Ericsson T707, the back cover is rugged that makes the phone less prone to sliding out of your hand, but looks totally out of place alongside of the glossy, upbeat front side.





You can compare the Sony Ericsson S302 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The phone sports a 2-inch 176x220 pixel resolution display that is fairly standard on budget phones. It delivers 262k colors and things are easy to read even in direct sunlight, but colors are not saturated enough and images look rather worn out, even in artificial light.

Interface and Features:

As we mentioned at the beginning of the review, everythingabout the Sony Ericsson S302 is design squared and functionality hastaken a severe blow. Interface of the phone is pretty much the samelike what most new, lower end phones of the manufacturer (Sony Ericsson W302, W395and F305) come with, but in this particular case it´s a far cry fromgoing with the overall look and appeal of the phone. Still, it is easyand pleasing to use.

Things seem much better in terms of camera interfaceand we do like the option to share all your snapshots and videos(maximum resolution of 176x144 at 15 frames per second) with yourBlogger buddies. Not that it would have been bad if Flickr, Facebook orMySpace blogging was possible. Unfortunately, snapshot quality is asfar from impressive as it gets and all told, pretty mediocre. To saypictures lack enough details would be a major understatement, objectsare all blurry and the only acceptable thing here is colors. So, arepictures any good for blogging then? Well, this totally depends on yourown taste, but we believe the only thing this camera is any good for is“old-time spy photos”.




Music player and FM radioboth fail to impress in terms of overall look and design, but at leastwork exactly the way they are supposed to. The button on the side ofthe phone that turns audio playback on/off makes your life a biteasier, since you don´t need to rummage among the menus. The boxedearphones perform below par, while the built-in speaker is appalling.It produces lots of crackling sounds, audio is muffled and weak. In-call quality,way too important for any cell phone, is pretty good though. Voices areaudible and clear on both ends, even if somewhat monotonous. Battery lasts quite long indeed - provides about 7 hours of continuous talk time and over 300 hours in standby mode.



Conclusion:

Theoverall performance of the Sony Ericsson S302, paired with its shinyfront side, compact size and simplified interface makes the phonesuitable to people who need a head-turning, appealing phone that will,above all, be used for calls. There is a variety of other devicesavailable that you can get for about the same money. Even if a bitolder, most are better performing, such as the Nokia 7310 Supernova, the slider Samsung U600, the Samsung Soulb U800, Motorola U9 and a bunch of other phones.

Sony Ericsson S302 Video Review: