phone 28 – sony ericsson satio

in 2020, i should have at most 27 phones corresponding to my age. right? that was my “personal deal”. right? but no. i overbought last year, 2020. i still got myself another phone. ye, right. why did i buy this phone? one reason is to help somebody. but, ye, i know that is an alibi.

this is the sony ericsson satio. it was released in 2009. after 11 years, 2020, i got it. this is not just a “used phone”. but, i believe it is a refurbished one. true enough, the previous owner told me, it was a refurbished item bought from mainland china. and i saw a lot of refurbished old phones that are sold online. so i was not expecting this phone to last even for a month. told myself to enjoy it anyway. this is my first sony ericsson phone. but it is quite similar to nokia n8 (a) [nokia n8 (b)] since they have the same platform.

right away. battery test! i was not able to test the battery last year, 2020, since i bought it almost at the end of the year. this 2021, it fully charged for 2 hours and 58 minutes. it managed to last for 23 hours and 56 minutes where the screen on time reads 4 hours and 56 minutes. and for a refurbished phone with such battery life is not expected. if the battery fails soon, though, it is easy to change the user replaceable battery.

battery score card

for music play, the loudspeaker is not up to the standards of 2021, of course. it is almost flat, but you can still hear different frequencies. same experience on the wireless audio, but when the wireless audio has its own extra bass, then the sound will come better. as most of the smartphones, wired audio is always better in my experience. however, this phone has no 3.5mm audio port. not even a usb type c port since this was released in 2009. instead, it has a proprietary connector which is also used for charging and any similar accessory made for it, like a speaker dock. fortunately, the previous owner of the phone included an audio adaptor so i can use any of my earphones and headsets.

web browsing on the phone is useless, though. i was still able to connect – through the carrier and wifi. i was also able to search via google. it can handle images too. however, all other websites i tried to open resulted to security warning and there is no way to continue browsing other pages. navigating within the google search results is also difficult. the touch response was too slow and tapping on links is not that easy. it takes some time to load pages too.

as for gaming, sudoku is the way to go. playing this game with your finger (or even on navigating the phone) is unpleasant. sometimes, a tap registers as double tap or hold. it is not precise too. the touchscreen is a resistive one, different from capacitive ones that smartphones today use. it needs pressure. using a stylus is advisable. or any stick. make sure it is not sharp enough to scratch the screen. a ballpen cap, pencil or anything would do. with its small screen and a need for precisely tapping on the screen, it is not as enjoyable as the smartphones in 2021. but, it can entertain enough. that is if sudoku is your kind of play.

using this phone for photo shoots and video recording is what i really liked. the camera interface looks similar to older digital still cameras of sony. you also get a “bestpic” mode, face detection and stabilization to name a few. and i do get sharp shots. add up the, now extinct, xenon flash. you will get a flash photography instead of night mode which smartphones decade ago is not capable of, more so a good quality night shot. but it does have a lowlight mode. similarly, video recording is easy to use. both photos and videos are decent. i am satisfied with how the camera performs, after being aware that this smartphone came a decade ago.

video playback is good enough. colors are good, audio is not quite. it is not just as immersive as smartphones in 2021. mostly, it is because of the small display. and despite the colors are good, the blacks are shallow and bringing it outdoors will make you rethink of watching videos.

sony ericsson satio still fits my requirement for a collectible. the novelty it has, like the xenon flash and the usability mostly on the camera system. i would gladly use it on a trip when i want to step out from the internet. usual sms and calls, check! decent camera, check! sound trip, check! simple games, check! just make sure to bring a pen, or just its cap to minimize annoyance with how the resistive screen works.