Sony Ericsson Z610 / Z610i

Available Q3 2006
22nd August 2006

The Sony Ericsson Z610 is a 3G clamshell phone with a 2 megapixel camera, but perhaps its most striking feature is how shiny it is.

We've seen this sort of shiny/glossy phone before, starting with the LG Chocolate, then the Samsung E900, but the Z610 is a little more like the Motorola KRZR K1. The highly polished exterior of the Z610 is complemented by a very discrete external OLED display that is effectively hidden from view when not in use.

It looks gorgeous - but in reality, the Sony Ericsson Z610 is a reasonably  standard phone underneath. There's a 176x220 pixel display in 262,000 colours, Bluetooth, Memory Stick Micro Support, video calling, a web browser and email client plus everything else you'd expect to find.

At 110 grams in weight and 95x49x20mm in size, the Sony Ericsson Z610 is pretty much average for its class. It's a decent midrange 3G phone, and really the only thing wrong with it is that is that the screen resolution could be better.

Perhaps we sound a bit dismissive, but really the Z610 is pretty standard Sony Ericsson fare wrapped up in a pretty exterior. That doesn't mean that it's a bad phone.. far from it, there's a good MP3 player, and RSS news reader, 3D games and a whole host of other stuff in the Sony Ericsson Z610.. it's just that we've seen it all before.

The name is a little confusing.. the Sony Ericsson Z610 and Sony Ericsson Z610i are one and the same thing. Unlike some other Sony Ericsson phones, the Z610/Z610i is available only in the non-US-not-China Z610i version.

Perhaps the Sony Ericsson Z610i demonstrates just how customers tend to choose their own features, rather than what they're offered by manufacturers. While the people who make phones seem to be happy to offer video calling, VOIP and other goodies, customers seem to be interested in.. things that are shiny.

Sony Ericsson say the the Z610i / Z610 should be available in Q3 2006, in Lustre Black, Airy Blue and Rose Pink colour combinations.

 Subscribe to our newsletter for more news on upcoming releases