Customer Reviews

Sony Ericsson C510a Cyber-Shot Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, GSM, Media Player, and Bluetooth--U.S. Version with Warranty (Black)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great low-cost Sony Ericsson phone. I've owned a lot of different phones in the past from the Samsung SGH-D900 (Black Carbon), Sony Ericsson W800i, Apple iPhone 2G, and Apple iPhone 3G. Compared to those phones, I would have to rate this phone just as good as those.

Physically the phone is built quite well. There is a slider which protects the camera lens and allows you to take photos when open. The phone has good reception (especially compared to my Samsung SGH-D900), the voices come through clear during phone calls, and the built in speaker has great sound (especially with MP3's and other music.

Also the built in web-browser does a great job but I really must recommend that you download Opera Mini. Pages load in around 2 seconds in 3G or HSDPA (in Denver) it seems as opposed to the Sony Browser which takes around 5 seconds +. What I also like is that the text messages can be displayed in a conversational text which looks like instant messaging. Those familiar with the iPhone texting will be right at home with this.

The only few negatives I could think of is that the camera is only 3.2 megapixel, there's no zoom on the camera unless you're in VGA mode, there's only an LED flash (no Xenon), and my IM (instant messaging) program was missing (I downloaded a new one).

Overall I'm going to have to rate this phone a 4 out of a 5. Mostly for it's features and it's price point.

My teenage son found this phone and had to have it. He read about it online and liked the reviews, especially about the 3.2 MP camera. The first model one he wanted was not the C510a but a different letter model of the same phone. I called AT&T and they said to look for one with all four of the bandwidths that this model has, so we found this one on Amazon, checked for the bandwidths and bought it. It took more than a week to arrive but it was a good purchase because my son enjoys it. No one else has this phone in his group of friends and it was easy to just swap sim cards from his Krazr and call AT&T to register it. Of course now he's on facebook with his phone and we had to add internet to our bill but he paid for the phone himself and he's happy with it and it's only an additional $10 a month for unlimited internet.

I've always loved Sony Ericsson phones. In addition to being just a little bit differnet, they sport a wonderfully intutive interface and intertesting desings. I've been using this phone for a couple of days and here are my thoughts so far:

Pros:
-Beautiful screen,
-Nicely weighted, feels solid
-Understated design, very attractive
-Keys are good for texting, maybe a little small for larger hands
-Interface is intuitive and snappy
-Phone has a decent set of features for the price
-Charges quickly
-Good battery life/talk time
-Decent reception
-Phone feels well built
-Unlocked version allows more customization such as shortcuts/custom tones
-Camera is decent and has lots of settings

Cons:
-No way to use the camera flash as a flash light (like on the old W810i)
-Call quality could be a little better but is by no means poor
-Volume rocker is small and hard to change while talking
-I wish Sony Ericsson would switch over to micro USB for charging
-No 3.5mm headphone jack

This is by far the best Sony Ericsson phone I've owned, or any phone for that matter. If you are looking for a loaded smartphone obviously look elsewhere, but this is a phone that does all the basics really well and sports a few nice features as well.

Let us hit the drawbacks first in case any of these are deal breakers...
* Perennial S/E complaints - non standard headphone setup and usage of M2 memory
* Keyboard a tad cramped
* Decent but not stellar RF performance
* No wifi
* No GPS
* Broken for Gmail java applet
* Battery life problematical if you push the phone

Once you get past these there are some outstanding points
* Supplied unlocked and unbranded
* Excellent display
* Excellent keyboard
* Excellent build quality
* Excellent camera cover
* Good enough camera resolution
* 3G bands compatible with AT&T

A number of features shared in common with other modern unbranded / debranded SE phones are
* Java capable of backgrounding several apps
* Ability to load and use a number of Java apps, like Opera Mini
* Ability to sync contacts and mail (for example with Gmail)
* Superb mail tool, usable with servers supporting POP3, IMAP, and IMAP idle
* Excellent music player

Of all the drawbacks, the most annoying one to me is the issue with Gmail applet. I have used a half dozen S/E models starting with W810i, and this is the first time I have seen the issue. Considering that all the other phones work well, I think this is an S/E issue. You can get gmail on the phone if you want but you cannot easily select an addressee. The stock mail client is arguably better than Gmail applet as it will use phone book contacts and is capable of handling attachments as well as receiving push mail. With this mail tool you can do all the "text" and MMS you want via email and using only a data plan for "dumb" phones.

Some practices that will sink your battery are watching youtubes and setting up push synchronization plus of course running a bunch of apps backgrounded. You can of course sync on demand or not at all. I would like to find and buy a dongle that supports charging plus usage of hands free head set at same time.

All in all, I would rate this phone 4 out of 5. At under $200, I am pleased, very pleased with it. I declare the C510a a worthy replacement for the renowned W810.

Great phone. Bought this phone for my sister and she loves it. Picture quality is great. I would recommend this phone to anyone.

This phone is really good if you like candy-bar phones and use you phone to mostly make voice calls. The voice quality is very good and the battery life is decent. The only problem I found is that the speaker is at the back of the phone on flat surface, the ring-tone can get very low on soft surfaces like sofa. The picture quality is moderate.

I am very happy with this purchase, this phone is nice and elegant, and the camera is very good. I recommended it.

So, you're looking into the C510a from Sony Ericsson? You are looking at a terrific phone! I absolutely love mine. It has such an outstanding music player, camera, video camera, and lots of non-phone stuff. I mean like things you don't have to have to text and call.
But, not all is good with this guy. The camera is not that great in low-light, and is often slow to shoot. Also, you can only zoom in VGA mode, which takes horrible pictures. At least it has a crop system! The keypad is very small, which gives us avid texters a tough go. However, I still manage to send thousands! LOL I've never used the browser, so can't help you there.
Make sure if you buy this phone, that you go to [...] to download your MMS capabilities. Also your internet and email. The phone doesn't come with them. Don't worry, it's free, and you just follow the on-screen directions, and they send them to your phone wirelessly. I also recomend visiting the sony website to view a detailed overview of this phone. They tell you way more than Amazon does.
I know this is not that informative, but I hope it helps you anyway. Don't get me wrong, you would like this phone too. The good far outways its weaknesses.

This is my first sony ericsson. Every works great except for the camera which isn`t that great in case you take a lot of pictures.It is a cyberShot camera but don`t expect great pictures. Works whith T-Mobile I was able to use my faves but i can`t see my faves icons.

Excellent cellular phone. Of versatile size, adapted to my needs. I cannot say nothing bad to near the phone. I recommend it widely.