Sony Ericsson T303 review

Sony Ericsson has had a tough year but its saving grace might come in the form of a little slider phone called the T303. We took this cute little handset out on the town to see if good things really do come in small packages.

The Sony Ericsson T303 is currently available SIM-free for around £90 and is free on a monthly contract with certain networks.

Strengths
After playing around with the relatively large iPhone 3G and T-Mobile G1 it's great to see a small phone that fits easily into a pocket. Coming in at around the same size as a toy car, the T303 is just what the doctor ordered if you lack space in your handbag or you wear skinny jeans.

The T303 is a sturdy phone that feels like it could endure some knocking around

The T303 is an attractive phone that sports a reflective screen, which is useful if you want to use it as a mirror. It feels solid, too -- as if it could take a few falls without breaking and would last quite a few years of use.

Unlike many small phones, the T303 comes with an FM radio, a definite plus for a phone with so few features. In addition to listening to your favourite shows, you can also listen to MP3s and set them as ringtones. Unfortunately because of the limited amount of memory, however, you won't be able to store many tracks.

Weaknesses
While we like how small the T303 is we're not as overjoyed about its features. There's Bluetooth and a 1.3-megapixel camera but that's about it. There's no 3G or Wi-Fi and no expandable memory, so don't expect to store much data, such as text messages.

Composing text messages is disappointing because of the T303's small keypad, which doesn't leave you much room for manoeuvring. We also found the cancel key and shortcut key, located above the keypad, annoying to use as they require a lot of pressure to press properly.

The keypad is difficult to use as the keys are flush with the body of the phone

The screen is large enough to view text messages on comfortably but it doesn't do pictures any justice. As for the 1.3-meagpixel camera, don't expect great things, especially in low light as there's no flash.

Conclusion
As you can see the Sony Ericsson T303 is a very basic phone so we wouldn't recommend it as an iPhone replacement, but if you're looking for something small then it might be the phone for you.

The build quality is high and with a few more features and a slightly better keypad this could have achieved a much higher mark. Still, we're disappointed with the lack of features and the small screen and keypad, both of which could have been made a little larger.

Edited by Marian Smith