Sony Ericsson Yendo Preview

Introduction:

After we got a chance to play with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini and mini pro, we felt like this company is still capable of outputting some pretty decent phones to the market. That feeling grew stronger when we took our time with the Xperia X8 prototype, which was equally fun to use. Now, a very similar (and at the same time entirely different) product emerges on the horizon – the Sony Ericsson Yendo. The similarities come from the design and UI departments, where the Yendo clearly resonates with the above-mentioned devices. However, the main difference is the lack of a smartphone platform, or in this case – of Android. Instead, users will be treated to a proprietary Sony Ericsson platform, disguised with the same interface that is also employed with the X10 mini and X8. On top of that, the Yendo is branded with the Walkman logo, which comes to show that it targets a more media-centric audience.

Design:

The Sony Ericsson Yendo is a compact touchscreen handset. Made entirely of plastic, with a soft-touch matte coating on the back, the Yendo feels fine in the hand, thanks to its stable build quality. Of course, some metal elements would have made wonders for it, but it's not to say that it's unsatisfying.



You can compare the Sony Ericsson Yendo with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Interaction with the phone will be accomplished through the 2.6” capacitive TFT display that sits in the central front area. It's resolution is 240x320 pixels, while the colors are 262k. Image quality is good, but not great, due to the relatively low resolution, however we found the screen's viewing angles to be quite good.

Below the screen there's only a back key, while on the left side you'll find a microUSB port. On the upper right is the volume rocker, while on the top are the power/lock key and 3.5mm headset jack.





On the back side, there's a 2MP camera with no flash. Removing the back panel gives you access to the battery and microSD card slot. In order to reach the SIM slot, you need to remove the battery.



On the whole, we like the Yendo's look and feel. It's not remarkable, but good enough for an inexpensive feature phone. It's worth noting that we had the black version, which is naturally more boring than the colorful ones that will be available. Other color variants will include blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red and silver.