Sony Ericsson T250i

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.

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.