Sony Ericsson Yari review

There's even a torch app that shines the LED photo light like a beacon, with a setting to send out an SOS in Morse code. Morse code on a phone is unquestionably awesome, especially if you hang out on fishing boats or around telegraph operators. But the problem is finding these options among the YouTube apps and music-quiz games that fill every nook and cranny of the Yari's user interface.

If you don't mind spending plenty of time looking around the phone, or reading the manual, you might love the tombola of features, but we think you're more likely to either be overwhelmed by them or just consider them annoying clutter.

Never cry Yari
In our tests, the Yari's call quality was very poor. Even with the volume turned up to full, we struggled to hear calls. It was so bad that we're tempted to blame our specific test handset, rather than all Yaris.

We also found the flat keyboard slightly uncomfortable to use because of the lack of raised buttons. There's some feedback, so you know when you've pressed the keys, but we found their soft travel unsatisfying.

Conclusion
Sony Ericsson brags about the Yari's mobile-gaming chops, but its small screen and limited power mean it's not that impressive. Also, unless you want to get arrested for accidentally belting the person sitting next to you on the bus, we advise staying away from the gesture-controlled games when out and about. Even without the cheesy games, though, the Yari packs a plethora of low-end features into a generic-looking phone that won't break the bank.

If you're after a Sony Ericsson slider, the vastly superior W995 Walkman has a better camera and music player, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and most of the same features. Since it's a few months old, it's also available for £20 per month.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet