T250i

Simple, well-designed and stylish candy bar

Good Gear Guide

  • Review
  • Specs
  • Images
  • User Reviews
  • Buy Online

A stylish handset despite its positioning at the bottom-end of the market, Sony Ericsson's T250i is designed to do the basics and do them well. Reasonably efficient controls and a well-built frame make this a worthy handset for first-time users or consumers looking for a second mobile phone.

Pros

  • Stylish design, build quality, intuitive interface

Cons

  • Minor key spacing issues, sluggish interface

Bottom Line

The T250i is a simple handset with a decent design that should serve most users well.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 299.00 (AUD)

In terms of design, the T250i falls in line with many other Sony Ericsson handsets. The fairly straightforward but stylish candy bar features a brushed silver finish (it's also available in black) on the front and rear, with chrome edging and navigational controls a nice touch. Despite the T250i's lightweight frame it surprisingly feels solid and capable of taking a few knocks.

The keypad and controls are laid out and spaced well. All buttons are easy to press and produce reasonably tactile feedback, so avid SMS users shouldn't have too many issues. Our only real complaint lies with spacing — the keys within each column could have been farther apart for a more comfortable user experience, although there is a good amount of space between each column. It's a minor complaint though, and the main controls, consisting of a four-way navigational pad with shortcuts and two selection buttons, are well implemented.

The T250i's user interface is a version of the one used on most Sony Ericsson handsets. It retains the simple 3x3 grid layout and a simple list format for all submenus. Its speed could best be described as sluggish. The shortcut keys on the navigational pad are a nice touch — simply press the directional pad up, down, left or right to access the camera, phonebook, messaging or the FM radio respectively.

Despite being one of Sony Ericsson's cheapest models, the T250i still manages to include an FM radio, a VGA camera and a WAP browser. Although many users will find the last two additions barely usable, the browser is convenient for accessing Virgin Mobile's Vibe Service, which allows you to download games, ring tones, themes and pictures for the handset.

The T250i has basic SMS and MMS messaging with T9 predictive text input, as well as a handy list of PIM features such as a calendar, timer, stopwatch, calculator and alarms. Users can also change wallpapers and themes. Infrared connectivity is included, despite being almost useless these days.

Virgin Mobile offers the T250i for $79 on a pre-paid plan or $0 on a Free to V 20 cap, which includes $50 of credit per month and free calls and messages to Virgin Mobile numbers.

Keep up with the latest tech news, reviews and previews by subscribing to the PC World newsletter.

Be the first to comment.

Post new comment

Users posting comments agree to the Good Gear Guide comments policy.

Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.

Most Popular

Tethering tutorial: How to use your iPhone as a modem
Capacitive vs resistive touchscreens
How to pick the right size TV for your living room
LCD vs plasma vs LED TVs buying guide
Samsung's rugged Galaxy S4 Active is coming to Australia

Best Deals on PCWorld

Mobile PhonesView all »
TabletsView all »
Broadband View all »
Powered by
HeadphonesView all »
GamesView all »

Compare & Save

« 1 of 14 »
Deals powered by WhistleOut
Use WhistleOut's technology to compare:
Mobile phone plans & deals
Mobile phone models
Mobile phone carriers
Broadband plans & deals
Broadband providers
Deals powered by WhistleOut
Guides and Articles
National Broadband Network NBN 100Mbps Plans
Visualising Mobile Phone Plans
SIM Only Mobile Phone Plans
National Broadband Network NBN 25Mbps Plans
iPhone 5, 4S & iPhone 4 Plans - Compare Deals &...
Deals powered by WhistleOut
WhistleOut

Resources

Mobile Phones Product Finder
Find the product you're looking for with our Mobile Phones search tool.

Latest User Reviews