Since the incident with Speed Services, my I-Mate SP3i decided to give up on me again. I was able to get my hands on a new Sony Ericsson P990i which I received on Friday. Having had a P910i before I knew what to expect, but was wary of having to move away from Windows Mobile. However I was pleasantly surprised with what this phone is capable off. I have to admit I have been a Sony Ericsson fan since I received a T610i a few years ago. I have since had a K700i, P910i and more recently the W850i.

When I initially switched on the P990i I was disappointed at the time it took to start-up, along with the fact that the phone will only work with a SIM card. It is a slightly big phone, however the screen is crisp and clear,  synonymous with SE phones. The touch screen is easy to work with and the dual keypads easy to reach with your thumbs. There is a total of 4 ways to navigate the phone. First off there is the keypad. In flip closed mode the touch screen is disabled, and the keypad works as expected for a phone. Open the flip and it reveals a full QWERTY keyboard, and although the buttons are small, easy to use with 2 thumbs. I have been able to complete lengthy emails successfully with it with minor spelling errors and I am looking for a based blogging client at the moment to give the keyboard a good test. Thirdly there is the jog dial, a sliding button on the side of the phone that allows for easy navigation of menus and lists, with a hand back button directly below it, allowing for phone navigation using one hand and a thumb. Lastly there is the touch screen, also supporting hand writing recognition and a virtual keyboard should the fixed keyboard prove to tricky.

I am thoroughly impressed with the docking station that is provided with the phone. It allows for the USB connector and charger to be plugged in, and also the headphones, allowing the phone to be used as a hands free when docked, as well as being charged. I upgraded to the latest firmware, and the initial start-up times immediately showed improvement, along with a decent loading screen to indicate progress for start-up. The 2MP camera also takes fairly good quality photos. Video calls are clear and the speakerphone descent quality. Overall the phone meets specifications set out for it and there is various reviews that covers this in detail.

The features of the phone that impressed me greatly however was is related to it's business functionality. The Wireless Networking is easy to setup and the ability to prioritize connectively between wireless and 3G/GPRS is a nice touch. While at home it uses my local wireless to connect to the Internet. When no wireless is available it automatically switches to 3G, and then back to Wireless once it is available again. I also download the Exchange ActiveSync package for Symbian, and was amazed at how quickly I was able to configure the phone to sync to Exchange 2003. Within minutes I had my contact and calendar synced, and also had push email configured. This ability is what makes the P990i a winner for me, being able to receive my email like SMS, without any hassles with configuration. The only negative I have is that there is currently no Symbian office application that can read files from Office 2007, however some searching on Google revealed this functionality will be available shortly.

I am extremely happy with this new acquisition. Having been wary due to the feature rich HTC, the P990i has proven to provide all the features I would have required from the HTC. I will however still recommend a HTC to anyone, but will not overlook the P990i for the features it does offer. The 3 days I have been working with it so far, has spoiled me already. With the vast array of Smartphone on the market, the SE P990i has become one I highly recommend to anyone. It has recently been replaced with the P1i, however anyone looking for an affordable Smartphone that can match the HTC or I-Mate with features will be pleasantly surprised.