Death match: Samsung Tocco VS Sony Ericsson C902 review

Stylish slider or finger-friendly beaut? Both have 5MP cameras, which phone should you choose?

With superior lenses and 5MP sensors as standard, the humble phone is a seriously challenger to a basic digital camera. Recent designs have shed the bulk too, so you can have the killer combination of style, slimness and snapping. Get ready to say Roquefort...

Death match 1: Looks

The touchscreen on Samsung's Tocco isn't just there to tick the 'iPhone rival' box - although it does a pretty good job. Like the iPhone, you can customise the mobile desktop using widgets, including: date, time, radio and calendar, which you can drag around the screen to suit. Adjusting camera settings is quick too, although the menu isn't always intuitive, with camera features - like ISO - buried.

With smart silver stripes and a slim body, Sony Ericsson has finally produced a camera phone that looks gorgeous, and won't provoke 'is that a bulge' comments. Slide out the Cybershot lens to enter camera mode and reveal responsive blue touch keys, it's all very intuitive and puts features like focus and self timer a quick touch away.

Winner: Sony Ericsson C902

Death match 2: Features

Making digicams green with envy, the Tocco's generous 2.8-in screen should be fantastic for composing shots, but compared to the pin-sharp Sony Ericsson 2.2-incher, it's like watching the world through an episode of Knots Landing.

Far sharper with more accurate colours and fine detail, Sony Ericsson's got the edge with picture quality, the Tocco's are pretty good, but seem softer and slightly over exposed, while shutter lag means you'll have to grip the Tocco to avoid blurry shots, the stabiliser doesn't help much. We're not impressed by the flash on either phone; the compromise for slender build means there's no room for the superior Xenon flash, so you're stuck with a rather weak light, which struggles to illuminate large spaces. Both phones have a quick and accurate auto and face detection focus modes and the Samsung's tacked on Smile Shot for Glasto gurners.

Winner: Sony Ericsson C902

Rating

The Tocco is a terrific phone; faster HSDPA and the bigger screen ensure it's the better here for browsing, and there's a document reader, decent music player and FM radio. But for sheer photographic capability the C902 is far, far better, it's easier to use and takes better pictures, it's also better for music, with a full bassy sound, in contrast to the crisp, but rather tinny sound of the Tocco. If only there was room for a Xenon flash...

Posted by Rhiain Morgan on 2008-07-30

User Comments

By gmann

30|07|2008 20:13

I have the C902 & yes a great cam phone but please why the shiny gloss hard to push little buttons??? ;-( thought they might have learnt there lesson with the K850i's stupid key arrangement

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