Sony Ericsson C510 fits the bill

MANILA, Philippines - I bought the Sony Ericsson C510 recently as a replacement for my Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone, which was beginning to show its age. It was money well spent.

Here’s what I was looking for and why the C510 fits the bill.

First, I needed a sturdy, compact phone with a generous screen and large type. The C510, with its brilliant 2.2-inch, 240 x 320 pixel display, uses a finely formed font that is large enough so that I don’t need to squint when reading text messages.

Yet the candy bar phone itself is compact, measuring just 107 x 47 x 12.5 mm. Weighing 92 grams, the C510 has just enough heft to make it feel like a solid piece of equipment in your hand, not a plastic toy like many phones are today.

Second, I wanted a good-looking phone that didn’t compromise functionality. The C510 looks like a sleeker, slimmer version of the old K800i, with trim around the edges to give it a splash of color.

I chose the model with a distinctive white face and red trim around it, though men may prefer the more staid black (with blue trim) and silver (with dark gray stripes) ones. Whichever color you choose, you’ll be getting a phone that looks much more expensive than it really is.

The navigation pad just under the screen is an improvement over earlier Sony Ericsson phones that used the toggle as a joystick. Now the middle button (a bright red dot on my phone) functions purely as a select key, which makes a lot of sense. The contoured keys are easy to press, making texting on this phone a relatively painless affair.

Third, I wanted a decent camera. I didn’t need a fancy five-megapixel camera on my phone, just a decent one to snap photos on the fly. The C510, the least expensive in Sony Ericsson’s Cyber-shot line, does very nicely with a 3.2-megapixel camera. A sliding panel hides and protects the camera lens when it’s not in use. I also enjoy the way this mobile phone runs a slideshow of the photos with nostalgia, harmony, joy, relaxation and energy as themes.

Fourth, I wanted to be able to browse the Web on occasion.

Although I didn’t need a smartphone, I wanted one that was capable of using the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) networks from Smart and Globe. The C510, a tri-band GSM phone, also supports UMTS/HSPA 2100 networks. As a bonus, it has an accelerometer that automatically switches a webpage to landscape mode when you turn the phone on its side.

Fifth, I didn’t want to pay too much for the phone. I found the C510 for under P10,000 at a Sony Ericsson dealer, a very reasonable price for what looks and feels like a high-end phone.

There are other things to like about the C510.

One cool feature lets you view a string of text messages to and from your contacts as conversations. In threaded SMS mode, the phone displays messages as if you were in an IM chat, which can come in handy when you have several SMS exchanges going on at the same time.

The C510 isn’t perfect, of course.

Built-in Wi-Fi would be great, but it’s simply not there. The internal memory of 100MB is fine for storing contacts and messages, but will feel crowded once you start filling up the phone with photos and music. You can add external memory using a Memory Stick Micro, though.

Another shortcoming is the lack of a standard 3.5-mm earphone socket. You can use the earphones that come with the phone, but the lack of a standard jack means you can’t use your favorite earphones or headphones with the C510.

Finally, the C510 comes with some cool games like a version of Sudoku that lets you create and deck out an avatar by solving more puzzles. I know, that sounds like a plus rather than a shortcoming, but trust me — the games can be highly addictive and can quickly chew up your time and the phone’s battery if you’re not careful.