Sony Ericsson C702 rugged handset
More Ross Kemp than Andy McNab
Review The C702's moniker might give the impression that it's a stripped-down version of the 5mp camera-toting C902. But while it shares some features, the C702 is very much its own model.
For a start, it's pitched as a rugged, outdoorsy sort of handset, with protection against dust and moisture. While we wouldn't recommend dunking it in a highland tarn - we resisted the temptation to try it ourselves; Sony Ericsson knows where we live - there are a few elements that mark it out as tougher than most.
Sony Ericsson's C702: rugged but requires dainty digits to use
There's the metal and rubber, non-slip plastic casing for one thing, and the chunky metallic lens cover on the back for another. There's a sealed cover for the memory card too and the back's held on with a screw that you'll have to undo with a Swiss Army knife or something similar as it's too small for a coin.
In fact, you'll need to do a bit more than that. We tried two different models and on both occasions we had a high old time trying to prize the back off, eventually inserting a kitchen knife and, amid cries of "Heave!", wrenching it free. There was no damage to the cover on either occasion, but it's still a bit of a palaver to go through should you need to change your SIM.
Not to mention the risk of unintended pinky severance...
But despite all this liquid security there's no cover for the mains/headphones plug, which kind of defeats the purpose of all the effort that seems to have gone into the rest of it. Though there is a ruffty-tuffty looking lanyard attached to a faux mountaineering carabiner.
COMMENTS
Colour and GPS...
Mine is a nice black, so I hope to avoid being hit on by the wrong crowd.
(The right crowd never hits on me, either, but that's another matter)
The digital zoom is...
Not something that can be used if you take pictures at the highest resolution.
I'd like to have a shortcut for switching on the LED-light that was easier to access than the function hidden deep in the options menu in camera mode.
The GPS...
If you try to use it 'non-assisted' it'll take absolutely ages to lock on.
Also, I have yet to find a simple 'tracklog' function in the GPS-software included. Sure, you can use Google and Wayfinder to navigate the streets of a city, but I also go 'off the beaten path', and head into the mountains. Google doesn't have many mountain trails in their maps...
(There is a log, but it just logs the Co-ords every minute, and that's a 'little bit' too coarse. never mind that you can''t see it graphically.)
There IS a free download in SE's 'Fun and Downloads' section called GPS Navigation, but I have yet to be able to download it. I always get an 'Invalid Program' message.
I guess my old Magellan eXplorist 100 GPS will still be the preferred tool when hiking.
"It's not as rugged as it looks"
That's funny, because it *looks* about as rugged as a crystal vase full of pretty lilacs.
It's rugged credentials...
ain't the only thing that's a bit 'suspect', given, what could only kindly be called, that 'metro sexual' colour scheme. Bleuch!
More Andy Pandy than Andy McNab I say.
Very assisted GPS ?
Pretty amazing that you managed to get a good GPS signal with the C902 ... perhaps you should put the tinfoil hats back on.
