Sony Ericsson Z750a Cell Phone Review - Hardware

We were quite happy with how fast we were able to type out messages on the Sony-Ericsson Z750a's keypad. We wish the D-Pad and volume keys were a little better designed, however, and we also wish Sony-Ericsson would stop using proprietary ports.

Text Words Per Minute (8.91)
We were able to type at an impressive  44.55 words per minute (WPM). You can see below that this is faster than average and performed better than even some phones with a modified QWERTY keyboard like the T-Mobile Shadow. The Z750a's keypad is large and comfortable, with well differentiated keys that provide good tactile feedback when pressed.

The keypad is very comfortable to use.

We found that typing using predictive text was very accurate. We used predictive text and two hands for this test and we took advantage of the small popup that appears when more than one word is available, which is a more intuitive solution than other phones where you have to hit a key like to switch to alternative words. We were quite pleased with the Z750a's performance in this test, it will definitely please those who like to text a lot. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

T9 and Auto Complete (5.0)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a supports T9 predictive text entry, which makes typing much faster. It does not support word completion, where the phone tries to guess the word you're typing before you're done typing it.

One-Handed Typing (8.43)
For those who like to type one-handed we do our words per minute (WPM) test with only a single hand. We were able to manage 42.13 WPM on the Z750a, which you can see below is significantly better than average and only slightly slower than typing with two-hands. Once again this will be good news for those who like to send a lot of text messages. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Keypad Backlighting (4.0)
The symbols and numbers on the Sony-Ericsson Z750a's keypad are back lit in white light. Although the backlighting is plenty bright, we did notice a little bit of leakage around the keys. The backlight comes on for twenty seconds when you open the phone up or hit a key. Once it's off you'll have to hit a key to bring it back up. There's no light sensor to control the backlight automatically and there are also no controls that let you control how long the backlight stays on.

D-Pad/Joystick (4.0)
The D-Pad on the Sony-Ericsson Z750a is located in the center of the controls at the top of the lower part of the flip when the phone is open. The D-Pad is not very large, it is designed as an outer circle that is contiguous, so there are no breaks to distinguish between up/down/left/right, with a center select button. The small size and lack of differentiation between directions led to an occasional error. The center select button was more prone to errors as it sits flush with the outer ring, making it a little too easy to press a direction when you really want to select something. It's not as bad as the D-Pad's we've seen on devices like the Nokia N95, but it does not impress either.

Touch Screen (0.0)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a does not have a touch screen.

Jog Dial (0.0)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a lacks a jog dial.

Soft Buttons (5.0)
The Z750a's soft buttons flank the D-Pad at the top of the lower part of the flip, just where you would expect them to be. The buttons themselves are a little on the small side, but are very well differentiated from the surrounding buttons and easy to find by feel. When pressed there's not a lot of key travel, but tactile feedback is good with a solid click that you feel. We would have liked to see the buttons a bit larger, but otherwise they do a solid job.

Volume Control (1.0)
The volume control on the Sony-Ericsson Z750a sits on the left side of the phone on the lower part of the flip. The biggest problem with the button is that they are difficult to find by feel and press as they sit almost flush with the surrounding plastic. This also makes it difficult to figure out if you're pressing up or down. When you actually do figure out where and what you want to press the buttons feel very squishy, with almost no key travel and very little tactile feedback. We found ourselves pressing the buttons with a fingernail on occasion just to make sure that we were actually pressing the button. Sony-Ericsson could have done much better here, these are amongst the worst volume keys we've ever seen.

Power and Standby (3.0)
Unlike most flip phones that make the power key a secondary function of the end button the Sony-Ericsson Z750a actually has a whole separate button for this function found beneath the keypad. We found the location a little awkward, and occasionally we hit it accidentally when going for the # key, although it requires a long press to turn the phone off so no damage was done. The button itself is small, plasticky and feels a bit squishy. Frankly we wish that they had just done what everyone else does and used the end key to turn the phone on or off.

Other Buttons (4.0)
In addition to the buttons discussed above the Sony-Ericsson Z750a has several other useful buttons. Between the keypad and the main controls you'll find a line of three buttons for the camera, backspace and the task manager. On the left side of the device above the volume keys is a dedicated button for Play/Stop. We discussed our annoyance with this button in the multimedia section, basically when the phone is closed and you use it to stop music you have to open the phone back up to get it playing again. It would have been better if it was a play/pause button.

Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a's main display resolution is 320 x 240 pixels or QVGA. This is significantly better than the 176 x 220 resolution display you find in some lower end devices like the Samsung M520, but you'll also note from the table below that most of our comparison phones also sport QVGA displays. The resolution is high enough that viewing photos or videos looks good, without too much pixelation or blockiness.

Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (9.09)
Pixels per inch (PPI) is a measure of how densely pixels are packed into the display. Higher pixel density leads to richer colors and sharp images on screen. Lower pixel density can cause the display to look washed out and pixelated. The Sony-Ericsson Z750a's pixel density is 181.8 PPI, which is better than average and sufficient that you shouldn't notice any problems.

Screen Physical Size (5.5)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a's main display measures 2.2 inches diagonal, which is what we would expect from an entry level device. The screen is large enough that you don't have to squint too much. We would have liked a slightly larger display, but for $50 you can't ask for too much.

Screen Brightness (7.65)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a's measured 88 lux in our test of screen brightness. This is above average and amongst our comparison phones only the Razr2 V8 performed better. The Z750a does have a light sensor for the display that automatically adjusts the backlight depending on lighting conditions. There are also controls for how bright the display can get, with five options available. There are not timing controls, however.

Screen Bright Light Performance (2.0)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a did not perform particularly well in bright light situations. We found that we could barely make out anything on the screen, with a lot of glare coming off it. To do this test we shine 3000 lux of light on the display and then judge how legible it is. 3000 lux is the equivalent of a bright sunny day.

Color Depth (8.0)
The Z750a's screen is capable of displaying 262,144 colors, which is very good for an entry level handset. Often we'll see such phones only capable of displaying sixty-five thousand colors, like the Razr2 V8. The Sony-Ericsson Z750a's color depth is sufficient that you should get accurate color tones for almost everything you might want to view on the display.

Secondary Screen (5.62)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a's secondary display uses OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology, which is interesting but doesn't have a major impact on its functionality. The display is small, measuring 1.25 inches diagonal with a resolution of 36 x 128 pixels. The display is text only with a few icons thrown in for things like battery life and signal strength. Everything is displayed in a blue light.

The external display requires you to turn the phone on its side.

The display is a strip that is oriented so you have to hold the phone horizontally in order to read it, which might be annoying for some. Aside from basic information you don't get much out of the external display, it certainly doesn't compare to the large and impressive external display found on the Razr2 V8.

Power & Data Ports (2.0)
The Z750a uses Sony-Ericsson's proprietary port for both power and data. We're not fond of proprietary ports, we would have much preferred to see a Micro or Mini USB port as found on devices like the Razr2 V8 and T-Mobile Shadow.

Headphone Compatibility (4.0)
The same proprietary port used for power and data is also used for headphones. We don't award any points for proprietary headphone ports as this forces people to buy the manufacturer's headphones or an adapter. The Z750a does support wireless stereo Bluetooth headphones, however, for which we do award four points.

Internal Storage (1.0)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a has 32MB of built in memory, which should be sufficient for your calendar and messages, but will get filled up quickly by any multimedia like photos, videos or music. If you plan to use the Z750a's multimedia features you'll want to invest in a memory card.

Expansion Slot & Format (6.5)
The Sony-Ericsson Z750a users Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Micro cards, which are their equivalent of Micro SD and are available up to 8GB. The card slot on the Z750a is located on the right side and is protected by a tethered plastic cover. The slot is spring loaded, but we found that it was embedded just slightly too deep, so if you want to get the card out it gets a bit fiddly.

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