Customer Reviews

Sony Ericsson Z750a Phone, Gray (AT&T)

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

 

 

Unless you live in a city that has a flawless 3G data network set up by ATT (like San Francisco) you are going to get 2 days of standby, not 16 and maybe 2 hours of talk time, not 9 as is claimed by Sony and confirmed on other internet review sites. Most of these internet tech site review guys live on the West Coast, where ATT has modernized their cell data network, so their numbers and yours may not correspond.

I live in Manhattan and even here ATT's 3G network has crappy coverage, meaning the 750 burns up a lot of power trying to reach the 3G network, which is what cuts the battery life down. If you could disable the 3G network search and stick to the ATT Edge network, you could probably triple the battery life as the Edge network uses less power and is also stronger in more ATT coverage areas. Sony has network tuning available on unbranded 750s, but the powers at ATT have disabled this feature, so you are stuck with perpetual energy expenditure used to search for the elusive 3G network. If I even used the internet much, this might be more acceptable, but I use maybe 5 minutes of internet each week and in exchange I get an 80% battery life hit.

The phone is not bad in other ways, having a pretty large screen, many excellent features, and a decent interface. However, you can't use the digital zoom on either 1 or 2 MP settings, only on VGA mode, so if you want good quality pics, you lose zoom ability, a step backwards from other recent Sony phones. The plastic case also feels flimsy, and the hinge flexes a lot when you open and close the shell, suggesting a potentially short lifespan and limited durability. Ultimately though, having to recharge every 48 hours is too much to ask of a user, and the phone's battery also dies unexpectedly and non-geometrically (i.e. start the day at 35%, lose all power three hours later without making any calls.)

Thanks ATT, for disabling the ability to turn off 3G and also for maintaining such a crappy 3G network strength even in one of America's biggest cities! Upshot: if you are an ATT user, only buy this phone if you live in San Francisco, unless recharging your phone every other day strikes you as convenient.

I opted for this phone in the hopes that it would get even better battery life than my older sony-ericsson phone, which crapped out after 2 years of charging once a week or so. I have a phone mostly for the opportunity, not to saturate my life, so standby time is key.

I came here to complain about the bait and switch, and of course found the explanation for the z750's abominable battery life: 3G. If you haven't been paying attention for the past 5 years, 3G is the advanced data network that cellphone companies have been trying to push as the new wave, to supply you with streaming video etc to your phone. Just another premium feature some other dude should be paying for. And just to push it that much more, it seems like they've disabled the regular network access [see above].

So, this is a bad phone [at the least, on the east coast]. But another crucial feature is poorly designed: the clock/LCD on the outside. It's beneath a partially reflective film, so that it's inset, which makes it nearly impossible to read even when it's dark out.

Here's the lesson [as you'll see, you've already won half the battle]: when you need a new phone, sure, go to the store and pick out which you want. But under no circumstances should you buy it immediately. Exercise a tiny bit of post-picking effort and look at reviews AFTER choosing [instead of before, when the sheer number can swamp you, as it did me. My first choice wasn't available in store].

I got this phone about two months ago and in my area (3G, Bucks County, PA) the battery lasts for about four days and four nights with light usage. Not sure what I do differently, maybe there are some specific settings which limit battery life which I don't use? Again, I'm on 3G network 95% of the time, I attribute other 5% to dead spots where phone switches back to GSM/EDGE.

This is my review which was on a different color version of this phone. Update: I picked up a 8G card for this, works fine in both branded and de-branded versions of the phone. Also, there are 900mAmp and 950mAmp versions of the battery, I have the 950.

I picked up this phone (2 actually) for $50 each after rebates. Call quality if excellent. Has Walkman-like media player for music and video and podcasts, audio books. Megabass for headsets, but no stereo speakers on unit (there are lots of external speakers available though). When on 3G you can surf and talk at the same time.

First, make sure you get a unlimited data plan. There is one for $15/mo. (at this time) since ATT doesn't consider this a smart phone. You can tether with this phone on that plan. Download the PC software from SE's website to sync the phone to your Outlook or other contact list. Can sync with bluetooth or data usb cable (proprietary but only about $5 at many websites).

Then decide if you really want TV or XM radio on the phone. The TV is clips few of which are updated daily unless you subscribe, a few music videos etc. XM is a $9.95 subscription. MLB Game Day is also an subscription. If you don't want these things (and will never buy anything from the ATT Media Mall), then spend $16 or so, and debrand the phone and uncover a gem.

Here's a partial list of what you can gain:


1. GPS - I get accuracy to 10 meters, works best in car with charger attached, can drain battery in 2 hours or less. Must use 2007 NavTec Google Map app in firmware, newer Google won't work as well. Locator Services can be left active and minimized so that Google will immediately know where you are. But do it connected to a charger! Also AmAze navigator (the version for the C702, I think) will work on the phone giving you turn by turn navigation for free. (don't look at the phone while driving it's too small)

2. TrackId is now free rather than a subscription. I don't know why anyone would actually pay for this monthly. While I am sometimes curious as to what I'm hearing, I'm not paying $5/mo to find out one or two songs. TrackId works fine on music from classical to country to rap/hiphop, the most abstract techno/disco strangeness you can come up with, and on generic firmware it's free.

3. Blogging from camera as a 'send to blog' (Blogspot.com) uses email account and data plan.

4. RSS Desktop - has as many features as an iPhone's. Auto scroll, configurable updates. easy to add RSS, when browsing the RSS symbol will pop up and using the left soft key, you can add it to the listing. Updates anywhere from every hour to once a week.

5. Podcasts (video and audio) I believe that it may be configurable by the rss feeds rather than the PC Suite sync method, at least my phone seems to update them. PC Suite method will load podcasts daily, and sync with your phone. Media Suite needs data cable (about $6 from other Amazon sellers).

6. Exchange ActiveSync without any shortcomings (as have been reported elsewhere), specific Exchange sync.

7. SyncML for everything else. There are reports of it working with MyLife/iLife.

8. Email push client - works with ANY pop or imap server, and can filter out unwanted domains, etc from the 'push'-- you can select domains to accept from. No applications to view attachments, but you could bluetooth or use cable to transfer to a PC/laptop.

9. Network Sharing function, phone can be part of office network via USB or Bluetooth

10. Choice between 'GSM & 3G' vs 'GSM' only is now unblocked, fixing the battery life issues. Even in combined mode, if the phone isn't updating it will drop down to GSM/Edge when not actually using the web. You can also search networks and simply not chose the 3G ATT network too. You'll need SE's webite and tools to reconfigure internet, picture and SMS services if you debrand. Recent updates may not show the z750a, use the z750i. You can also configure ANY ISP's email from their site (including Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, any so called 'residential' carrier like Comcast or Cablevision, etc (but not MSN/Hotmail), and multiple ones on the phone.

11. You won't accidentally open a Internet browser when pressing the central button, it's a Message Center button now. Other buttons and shortcuts are also rearranged in a more logical fashion, camera button changes to MediaNet browser and all the softkeys are configurable including the ring around the central button.

There's OperaMini for this phone, Yahoo Go!, AmAze, etc.

FM radio needs antennae phone jack to work, but if you want to use your standard stereo headsets you'll need it too, to connect with since ATT didn't include the part. FWIW, ALL SE phones use the came cables and chargers, so if you have a prior SE phone that came with cables use those. The are a ton of profiles built into the phone including the latest Stereo Bluetooth profiles, Bluetooth remote controls, etc. I bought a HBH-DS980 the Bluetooth Stereo wireless to use with this phone. You can't use it with FM radio, however.

Voice command controls only for/with handsfree units, allows multiple commands per contact, multiple phone numbers per contacts, multiple addresses per contact. Just like Outlook or any other full blown contact manager. Contacts can have own ringtone and photo. Naturally if you are using your SIM card to store you can only have ONE phone number per contact. Download SE's software to get the sync software to put all your Outlook contacts into the phone.

I don't like that it's hard to find appointments and you have to view each day to see a list, rather than a consolidated list of the appointments in order. Tasks as nice, multiple alarm timers.

Generally its a very nice phone, battery issues aside. Better, IMHO, unbranded. (Oh, and it's SE Java8 platform, so no MS Mobile here.)

I live in LA and we got this phone after reading reviews on other websites. They all mentioned the long battery life that the phone is supposed to have, it doesn't. I only use the phone a few minutes a day and I have to charge every other day. My wife uses it about 30 minutes a day and has to charge every night. We are planning on returning the phones.

Other than the battery life, it's not a bad phone. The only other problem is the outside display can only display like 5 characters. Any longer name it scrolls it across the front so that you can't read who is actually calling.

I had the same problem until I turned off the G network on the phone itself. I called ATT and they told me: "There's no way to disable the G network" then I called Sony and they told me that the phone was built like that per ATT's request. Since it was using ATT software on the phone's operating system it was not able to disable the G network.
In summary this is the fix and i have tested on several phones and it worked:
Step 1: Replace your ATT Sim card with a different provider's SIM card. This SIM card doesn't even need to be activated. I used T-Mobile's SIM.
Step 2: Once you use a differen SIM card your phone's programming options will change. You will have a new option that will let you disable your G network as default. You can even turn it off. That's what I have. Your phone will last at least 4 days or more.
Step 3: Reinsert your ATT SIM card and enjoy life. You won't see the "G" on your screen anymore. You don't need it.

Like others who have critiqued this phone, I am extremely disapointed in the battery life of this phone. On standby you get 3 days at most with absolutely no use at all, quite a bit different from the "up to" 16.6 days standby that was advertised. In fact this was the main reason I opted for the phone. It appears it may be ATT's fault fron the response I have received from Sony/Ericsson, They state that with some networks you cannot turn off the HSDPA function for which it is always searching for. This is the H you will see in the display. I returned the phone during the 30 day warranty period thinking it was defective and got the same results with the replacement. In retrospect I would not have purchased a phone in which I do not need all the bells and whistles this offers, but wears itself out trying to get to. I can't imagine how long the battery life is with heavy use. The phone otherwise works well.

The Sony Ericsson has all the bells and whistles that a super cell phone user may have but it may not be the most convenient for them. I for one don't use internet hardly ever. I know it has it but too be honest I would just get frustrated being on it. It's the normal flip phone and if you basically just text and use it as a phone then it's probably the perfect one for you. I do like the fm radio feature but its required you get their earphones (sold separately) to use it and its not so convenient to carry them around also.

The one complaint everyone has is the battery life. Don't believe the description it gives. The main thing about battery life is the capacity measured in mAh. The more of those = the more battery life. I think it has 950 mAh so it's basically the same as any other phone. I usually charge it every night. I usually can go 2 nights without a charge but if you use the phone a lot you'd probably only get 1.5 days of life. Other than that its a decent mid-range phone. No problems and no big complaints.

We purchased from Amazon.com one Motorola RAZR2 V9 Phone and two Sony Ericsson Z750 Phones along with a mandatory 2-year contract AT&T FamilyTalk Nation 550 Rollover Minutes.
Pros: $0.03 for all three phones, Rollover minutes.

Cons: just to mention few...
- The worst talk and standby time on all three phones particularly the Sony Ericsson, despite the fact all three of us use our cell phones only for very necessary or in emergency situations.
- More dropped calls than the competition.
- The quality of voice (connection) is a lot to be desired.
- You cannot program the phone on speaker ahead of time. You can activate it only after dialing or receiving a call - A SAFETY ISSUE while driving.
- The buttons on all three phones are arranged in such a way so that one can easily get connected to internet inadvertently. Despite disconnecting it immediately, you get charged by AT&T. The AT&T advice was to either purchase a new plan (for additional high monthly fee) or have the option of internet connection totally disconnected (without reduction in monthly charge despite reduced service). We end up to having to choose the latter.
- The ring tone of RAZR2 V9 when on speaker phone is laryngitic.
- The choices for the ring tones are severely anemic, unless you purchase more tones from AT&T.
- The voice command, as I understand it, can be activated only with additional monthly fee. The competition gave that for free on the less equipped phones.

WHY DID WE NOT CANCEL THE AT&T PLAN during the first ONE month of grace period?

This one goes to Amazon.com and its new stifling way of business: If you cancel or reduce the plan within the first SIX months, you have to pay $250 for each phone!!!
Perhaps I was too generous to include "$0.03 for all three phones" as a Pro for this, seemingly, deal; or more seemingly, ordeal.

Overall, I really don't like this phone much. Besides the short battery life mentioned in the other reviews, I have other problems with the phone. Flipping the phone is very stiff and I find myself sometimes sending calls to voice mail because I pushed one of the buttons on the side of the phone trying to get it open. The cursor control in the center of the phone is very inaccurate. I find myself constantly pushing the wrong part of the cursor control and misfiring, for example creating voice messages when I'm trying to create text messages. Also, the text messaging is not easy. There's no easy way to type the same letter twice without waiting the second or two until the key resets. Other phones use the single space to trigger the end of the wait without a space but this phone doesn't. The display on the outside of the phone is cute but mostly it's a gimmick to make the advertising pictures look nicer. When the phone is sitting on my desk, nothing is displayed and it's easier to look at my watch then it is to find the tiny button on the side of the phone to make the time display. (Yes, the tiny button that I seem to always press when I'm trying to open the phone to answer a call.) It's true that the display shows the incoming call but usually by the time I look at it, the scrolling is only showing the end of the number so I miss who is calling anyway. It would be better if the phone let you put in a short version for your contacts (like "Jack" or "Mom") and only displayed that.

The camera does take decent pictures and the voice quality is good but if I could get a new phone it wouldn't be this one.