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Sony Ericsson Elm

Buy this phone and save the planet – maybe

There is an immediate and very annoying flaw with the Elm’s design. The headset jack is not 3.5mm but Sony Ericsson’s horrid old proprietary type, which shares the main power connector. The provided headset is one piece, and the slot is on the left side of the casing where it protrudes horribly when the handset is in a pocket. One might argue this is another example of recycling, as those proprietary connector headsets are well overdue for the scrapheap.

Sony Ericsson Elm

Designed with green fingers in mind

I found the rubbery numberpad comfortable to use, and the large navpad is very responsive. The back of the Elm is slightly curved, which makes the phone look a little different from the norm and causes it to rock a little when on the desk. There is 256MB of free memory in the handset, with a microSD card slot under the back panel for additional storage. Call quality was fine, and it should be possible to get a couple of days from a single battery charge as long as you don’t use the GPS or Wi-Fi too heavily or really thrash the music player.

Verdict

You’d never know the Elm was an eco friendly handset unless somebody told you, which is precisely how it should be. There are plenty of features too – more than you might anticipate from a first glance at the fairly bog standard candybar design. The camera performs well and Sony Ericsson’s usual generous provision of applications means there is plenty to do with this phone straight out of the box. You can even write your shopping list then walk to the shops counting up the CO2 you are saving by not driving. ®

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Sony Ericsson Elm

Sony Ericsson Elm

A candybar handset with solid eco credentials and a useful range of apps.
Price: £200 RRP

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