Compare Sony Ericsson Jalou Contract Mobile Phone Deals
A Slim, Slender Phone Crafted For Style
The Sony Ericsson Jalou is certainly a pretty device. Its unusual design will be perfect for the fashion enthusiast or diva in your life. However, is there more to this phone than just its pretty face?
Appearance:
When it comes to look, the Jalou certainly excels. Its unique jewel-shaped exterior is available in three standard colours of blue, black, and purple. If these hues aren’t your style, check out the special edition phones that come in rose pink and gold as well. At 84g, these lightweight little phones fit easily in the palm of your hand. They’re also small enough to tuck into a purse or a pocket as well. Some who are accustomed to more sophisticated, streamlined phones may find its odd shape and colour scheme a bit too much, however, more like a young girl’s toy than a fashionable phone.
What makes the Jalou phone so unique is that it actually has two screens. The 1.3 inch external screen displays the time and signal strength as well as how much battery life you have left. The two inch 262K TFT colour screen can also double as a mirror: turn off the backlight and you’re met with your own reflexion, leaving you free to check your makeup or hair. Unfortunately, its reflective qualities work a little too well—even with the backlight turned on, the interior screen is a bit too shiny and reflects the sun when used out of doors. However, while it may be irritating for some, it’s not so bad that the phone is unusable.
The user interface isn’t anything spectacular or shiny new, but it’s reliable enough and easy to figure out. Our only big complaint was the cutesy diamond shaped buttons on the keypad. We believe this takes the jewel theme a bit too far—and they’re small and awkward to use to boot.
Sound:
Unfortunately, the Jalou has no 3.5 mm headphone jack, which means you’re either stuck using the dim, tinny sounding headphones the phone comes with or using an adapter to plug in your favorite set. That aside, the sound quality is fairly adequate regarding phone calls and videos. You also get a music player, a Bluetooth Stereo A2DP, FM Radio RDS, TrackID, PlayNow, Megabass, and polyphonic and mp3 ringtones.
Camera:
The phone’s 3.2 megapixel camera possesses a few redeeming qualities, such as 3.2 digital zoom, photo editing software, geo tagging, picture blogging, and photo feeds. You can also record, stream, and even blog different videos as well. Its lack of a flash makes it difficult to use in gloomy spots, but all in all, it’s an adequate little camera that’s good for taking quick shots on the go.
Internet Connectivity:
The Jalou is fairly dedicated when it comes to keeping you connected—with quad band and HSPDA 2100 combined with 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth, USB, EDGE, and GPRS options is enough to allow you to enjoy the phone’s features and stay online almost anywhere. We would have liked to see Wi-Fi, however.
As for social networking, you get an email client with ActiveSync capabilties, instant messaging, SMS, MMS, and predictive text. The latter is especially useful, as you’re going to need all the help you can get with the phone’s tiny keypad buttons. In addition to this, the phone is also compatible with Access Netfront, Youtube, and various web feeds.
Memory and Talk Time:
When it comes to memory, you don’t get an awful lot, but 100 megabytes combined with the extra space in most microSD memory sticks should be enough to store what you need. With seven hours of GSM talk time and 350 hours of GSM standby, you shouldn’t have to charge often, especially if you don’t use it heavily.
Conclusion:
The Sony Ericsson Jalou’s interesting design and unique features may appeal to some, but its irritating inner screen, lack of a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and lack of Wi-Fi may be definite deal breakers for some. Some may also find its feature traits a bit too stereotypically girly to take it seriously. For a more sophisticated look, check out some of Sony Ericsson’s other models.
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