Lurking in the middle of the battery cover, the camera shoots video at 720p with motion that remains smooth and clear (videos at this resolution are often distinctly jerky) and there are two dedicated buttons – one for stills, the other for videos, which makes operation a breeze. The still shots are crisp and detailed, although they’re just a little muted in the colour department. You’ll probably be aware that HD footage guzzles a lot of storage space, but the Sony Ericsson Vivaz comes with a capacious 8 GB micro-SD card as standard. There’s an irritating design glitch here, though: to get at the card, you have to remove the battery. Hurrumph to that.

At 3.2 inches, the display is generous without being massive (the Sony Ericsson X10’s screen is a stunning 4 inches). For the size of screen, the 640×320 pixel resolution is more than adequate, making browsing the web a delight – videos, graphics and even text look fabulous.

The main downsides lie in the use of the cumbersome and sluggish Symbian S60 OS and the choice of a resistive rather than a capacitative touch screen. But there are plenty of preloaded apps (including a YouTube player), the GPS is excellent, and the phone’s HSDPA and Wi-Fi will permit fast data downloads wherever you are. And you’ll get at least 2 days out of a single charge of the battery. If you like contract mobile phones, you can pick this one up for a not too unreasonable £25-a-month over two years. SIM-free, it’ll set you back about £350.

Pros

Much like the Wii gaming system, the Yari features gesture-controlled gaming.  This is a unique innovation uncommon to most new mobile phones.  Some games require the user to move the entire handset, while others let users prop the phone and use their hands to move the characters.  The gesture controls are not always practical – try using this mode in a crowded pub while waiting for a friend, for instance – but they’re definitely good fun.

There’s a built-in GPS, a 5 megapixel camera with good picture quality, simple photo sharing capabilities, and a chic, stylish outer casing.

Cons

The Yari has a lot of buttons.  It’s very easy to fumble with the keys or accidentally press the wrong button.  There is a learning curve, as with most new mobile phones, but initially it feels very user unfriendly.

Music playback is underwhelming, though the music player itself is quick and easy to launch.  As with many Sony Ericsson mobile phones, there isn’t a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Intensive apps like games load painfully slowly, and customisation is limited.  Web navigation is badly pixellated, making pages appear outdated despite the Yari’s 3G speed.  There is no Wi-Fi connectivity – a glaring omission.

Conclusion

The Yari is a pleasant mobile phone with great gaming capabilities.  The overly complex button layout and proprietary headphone jack do little to stand in the way of basic phone and messaging functions.

Because of this, the Jalou flip phone is tiny – no larger than a lip stick mirror and displaying its information on just a 2-inch screen. Still, in this small chassis are all of the functions that you would come to expect from the latest mobile phones; email, instant messaging, threaded text messages, a built in Facebook application, camera, a music player and games. All in all, the Jalou provides its users with everything needed in a straight forward way while still being just bulky enough to survive a night on the town.

Where the phone falls down, though, is in its size and basic functionality. Displaying the internet, Facebook and photos on the tiny 2-inch screen is often pointless as details are far too small to be seen. Confusing hexagonal buttons and a strangely shaped D pad also make the phone difficult to use at times, while the email settings are complicated enough to set up to confuse some users.

One key application missing from the Jalou is a GPS or map service, which for a phone that is supposed to be put into a handbag and taken out and about is disappointing. Still, despite these flaws, it is one of the better cheap mobile phones available today.

This eco-friendly theme is carried over to the functionality of the Elm, as messages remind you to switch off the main power after charging and that turning up the screen brightness uses more battery power. The Sony Ericsson Elm also has a fun feature that lets you know how much CO2 you’ve saved by walking rather than driving, which works by judging when the phone is moving too fast to be transported on foot.

Along with these eco-friendly options, the Sony Ericsson Elm also boasts traditional phone functions such as a 5-megapixel camera, LED photo light and music player.

However, despite its green credentials, the Elm suffers from the same pitfalls as many other Sony Ericsson mobile phones.

The biggest issue with the Elm is its insistence on using Sony Ericsson’s Fast Port technology for charging and headphones rather than the industry standard USB and 3.5 mm jack combo. This means that you have no option but to use the headphones provided to use the music player.

The eco-friendly aim of the Elm can impede the functionality of the phone at times as well, as when you turn the volume up while watching a video it obscures the screen while a pop up informs you that you are using more battery power.

Pros

The chic matte finish is understated, while the generous 3-inch screen is vivid and colourful.  Media shortcuts include photo display, music, video playback, camera, or FM radio; all work admirably.  The speakers perform well and the charging dock is conveniently angled to make viewing videos a pleasure.  The Aino is one of Sony Ericsson’s latest mobile phones that come pre-loaded with the BBC iPlayer app so users can watch a selection of television shows instantly with just an internet connection.  The camera features an LED flash and its 8.1 megapixel resolution is much more powerful than most of the latest mobile phones.

Cons

Like many other Sony Ericsson mobile phones, the Aino does not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which limits sound quality and audio playback.  The touch-screen turns off as soon as the phone slide is opened; this creates some problems with internet navigation and ease of use.

Conclusion

The Aino is sleek and fits comfortably in the hand.  The camera is excellent, video playback is impressive, the touch-screen functions fantastically, and the extras measure up nicely against the competition.  Despite these benefits, though, there are certain aspects of the Aino that don’t seem to make much sense:  an underused touch-screen, a rather boring interface, and a noticeably imbalanced feel when opened.  Overall, the Sony Ericsson Aino can best be described as underwhelming.

For example, O2 are currently offering a free Sony Ericsson W995 handset through Dial a Phone for £20.00 per month on an 18 month contract. Included is 100 minutes of free voice calls and unlimited text messages but as a special offer you can have 14 months half price line rental taking the monthly charge to just £10.00 for the duration of the offer period.

If you need a little more free talk time then Vodafone is offering the same Sony Ericsson W995 handset free of charge for £35.00 a month through ‘phones 4 u’. Included in this plan are 300 free minutes of voice calls and 3000 free text messages. It is a12 month contract, but as part of a special offer you can get eight months half price line rental taking the monthly charge to £17.50 for the duration of the offer period.

If you are a light user then you may be more interested in the offer from 3. The W995 is again available as a free handset but for £15.00 per month on an 18 month contract you get 75 free minutes of voice calls and unlimited text messages.

Knowing your average or expected usage is key to deciding which deal will be better for you, but shopping around and comparing mobile phone deals shows there is something available to suit everyone’s needs.

The phone has a three inch touch screen which is easy to use and the interface offers easy access to a number of applications, although some users may find it is not as responsive as they would like.  A stylus is provided but these can prove to be awkward to use.  The keyboard is not easy to use and may not be the best option for those who send a large number of emails each day. 

The music player supports music files in several formats and files can be easily downloaded to the handset and there is also a video function. 

Some users, particularly those who are using the handset for business, may find that the battery life is not long enough.  The phone has a built in 3.2-megapixel camera which takes good quality photographs and has a flash for taking pictures in poor light and an automatic focus.  The internal memory is 400mb and this can be boosted by the use of memory cards. 

The phone also features mobile versions of Microsoft Office applications such as Word and Excel, adding to its value as a business phone as well as Microsoft Outlook for email applications.

A gaming mobile phone is a good idea but it is not the sort of thing that you could do at work or while out with friends, however there are some more traditional games which do not involve swinging the phone or your arms around.  The handset also has a number of games pre-loaded. 

The screen is 2.4 inches and has a sharp picture and automatically turns when you rotate the handset.  The phone also features a number of applications to make life easy such as GPS and NearMe which can help you to find local businesses quickly and easily. 

The phone features a 5-megapixel camera which takes good photographs and a flash which may be too strong on occasion.  Uploading photographs to email or internet is very straightforward. 

The phone does feature a music player but there is no headphone jack, so it may not be suitable for those who like to use their phone as an MP3 player.  Using the internet is also not straightforward as it can be slow if 3G reception is not good and the web page images are not as clear as they could be.

The Sony Ericsson Yari is ideal for gaming enthusiasts or those who are looking for a mobile phone with basic internet access. 

Sony has typically only provided you with the headphones that are made to go with their phone. You can buy an adapter to turn it into a 3.5mm standard jack but this is a pain to carry around and is easy to lose.  It is therefore far simpler just to use the cheap and second-rate Sony headphones that come with it. On cheaper phones you wouldn’t mind so much, but this is supposed to be a serious MP3 player phone and therefore it does irritate somewhat.  Another gripe is that whilst they do offer a memory card slot, it has to be a Sony memory card that also isn’t compatible with anything else.  These cost a fortune compared to others on the market, leaving users feeling a bit hard done by.

Reasonable, perhaps, but expectations are shattered by the handset itself. The overall design is good, and it could hardly be lighter, while the Walkman key offers instant access to the music a user has on board.

The phone comes with a 1GB memory card that’s available on all mobile phone deals, and useful, although greater storage would have been a lot better; still, it’s an improvement over what the company has offered in the past.

They keypad could certainly have endured another design makeover, since it’s not too easy to use, and makes texting a chore rather than a pleasure.

However, the Walkman series is really all about the music; that’s its big selling point. How does the Sony Ericsson W395 fare on that front? The answer, sadly, is not so well. The much-hyped stereo speakers don’t offer a lot in the way of bass, or even mid-range, and for headphones, users are reliant on Sony Ericsson, since there’s only room for the company’s own jack (no 3.5mm), which doesn’t include an adapter. The only good thing is the memory card.

So it’s far from perfect, and honestly unlikely to convince, or even tempt, those who are serious about having music on their phone and a good listening experience.