Sony Ericsson Equinox TM717 - carbon black (T-Mobile)
Manufacturer: Sony Ericsson Part number: equinox
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Sony Ericsson Equinox TM717 has potential, but its multimedia features are undermined by design missteps and a subpar speakerphone.
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CNET editors' review
Sony Ericsson Equinox TM717 - carbon black (T-Mobile) price range: $126.00
- Reviewed by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 11/03/2009
- Released on: 10/26/2009
The good: The Sony Ericsson Equinox TM717 has a bright display, multimedia features, and decent call quality.
The bad: The Sony Ericsson Equinox TM717's external display and controls aren't easy to use. We continue to push Sony Ericsson to abandon proprietary ports and memory cards. Speakerphone quality is average.
The bottom line: The Sony Ericsson Equinox TM717 has potential, but its multimedia features are undermined by design missteps and a subpar speakerphone.
The Sony Ericsson Equinox is the first phone from the manufacturer to land at T-Mobile since the TM506. In many ways the Equinox is a fitting successor; like the TM506 it has a thin flip phone design and it sports a similar feature set that includes support for T-Mobile's 3G network. Yet, it also suffers from Sony Ericsson's signature design missteps. The Equinox, aka the TM717, is $49 with an Even More plan and $149 with an Even More Plus plan.
Design
The Equinox's design has its good points, but ultimately we weren't that impressed. It's not unattractive, but a few elements like the external display and keyboard impact the phone's usability. What's more, it's high time that Sony Ericsson ditches its proprietary habits.
But before we start complaining, we'll tell you what we liked. At 3.7 inches by 2.0 inches by 0.6 inch, the Equinox is a sleek, compact phone with clean lines. The glossy black skin catches the light (and fingerprints), and there's a circle motif on the front face. The handset also has a sturdy hinge and a soft touch material on the back cover.
The 2.25-inch internal display is another high point. With support for 262,144 colors and a decent resolution (320x240 pixels), it's bright and vibrant with sharp hues and graphics. The menu interface is simple and intuitive and you can add the MyFaves display to the standby screen. Also, you can adjust the display brightness and the clock size, and you can activate a light on the front cover to glow when you receive a call.
On the downside, the external display is too small and dim to be really useful. It shows just the time, battery life, signal strength, and numeric caller ID. You won't see photo caller ID and the date, and it won't work as a viewfinder for the camera lens. The display is hidden when the backlighting is off, but you can't change the backlighting time.
The Equinox also encourages Sony Ericsson's worst habit, its poorly designed controls. Both the navigation array and backlit keypad buttons are flat and slippery. We made a few mistakes when dialing and texting. The experience isn't very comfortable and it's difficult to dial by feel. The array consists of a circular toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys Talk and End/power buttons, a clear control, and a camera shutter. You can designate four shortcuts for the toggle when the phone is in standby mode.
The remaining exterior control is the volume rocker on the left spine. It's slightly raised, but it's smaller than it should be. And that brings us to our biggest gripe of the Equinox's design. Though Sony Ericsson (and Sony) has long used its own memory cards and charger/headset connections, enough is enough. As the rest of the cell phone world--even Samsung--moves to the standard Micro-USB charger port, it's disappointing that Sony Ericsson still uses a single proprietary port for both the headset and the charger. Of course, not only does that restrict you to one peripheral at a time, but also you'll need an adapter for your own 3.5mm headset. We know that the company is capable of making its phones more user-friendly--the W995 had standard charger and headset jacks--so we see no reason why the company can't do the same for its entire product line.
But wait...there's more. The Equinox also has uses a Memory Stick Micro card instead of the microSD cards that every other manufacturer uses. That means that you run into a big roadblock if you want transfer files between the Equinox and a computer or another non-SE phone. Really, Sony Ericsson, this business has to stop. Do you customers a favor and make your devices easier to use. OK, our rant is over.
Features
The Equinox has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for seven phone numbers, an e-mail address, a company name, two street addresses, a URL, a birthday, and notes (the SIM card holds an additional 250 names). You can save callers to groups and you can pair them with either a video or a photo (remember that they won't appear on the external display), a light effect, and one of 23 MP4 ringtones. If you're not happy with the selection that came on the W995a, you can use your music tracks to identify callers.
Essential features include text and multimedia messaging, a speakerphone, a task list, a notepad, a stopwatch, a timer, a notepad, a calendar, a calculator, and an alarm clock. More advanced options include Wi-Fi, USB mass storage, PC syncing, a voice recorder, instant messaging, a file manager, and a code memo for storing sensitive information. With the gesture control you can silence alarms and incoming calls by waving your hand back and forth in front of the camera lens. In our tests, it takes a slow and deliberate motion to get it to work.
The Equinox's 3.2-megapixel camera shoots photos in four sizes and two quality settings. Editing options include three color effects, a night mode, white balance, brightness adjustments, 14 frames, a self-timer, panoramic and multishot modes, and four shutter sounds plus a silent option. There's also a 3.2x digital zoom, but it's usable at the lowest resolution only. Photo quality was decent, but we noticed some image noise and a pinkish tone to most of our shots. Colors were bright and images were sharp. Unfortunately, there's no camera flash.
Videos meant for multimedia messages are capped at 1 minute, 15 seconds. In normal mode, you're limited only by the available memory, which is a generous 100MB of internal shared space. The Equinox doesn't come with a memory card in the box, though the slot can accommodate cards up to 16GB. The camcorder offers a few editing applications.
You can manipulate your finished work with the integrated PhotoDJ and VideoDJ applications. After that, you can transfer the photos and clips off the Equinox in a number of ways. We used a USB cable and we're glad to see that our PC recognized the phone without any software.
For music fans, the Equinox offers a digital player that is similar to those on Walkman-branded phones. Features include playlists, shuffle and repeat modes, and an equalizer with Sony's Mega Bass. Transferring music to the phone is an easy process through a USB cable, Bluetooth, or a memory card. The player interface is simple and utilitarian, and it supports album art. You can activate an airline mode for listening to tunes while flying, and you can send the music player to the background while using other phone functions. The Equinox has an FM radio.
You also get a couple of GPS options with Google Maps and support for TeleNav. The latter offers turn-by-turn voice-assisted directions, local maps, traffic, and a search feature for locating nearby points-of-interest and business. You also can add geotagging information to photos that you take with the phone's camera. .
Rounding out the Equinox are apps for YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. A unique Comeks feature lets you create comic strips using photos from the phone's camera. Gamers can choose from two titles: Bubble Town and Real Football 2. Of course, you can always get more options from T-Mobile's t-zones service with the WAP browser. You can personalize the Equinox with a variety of wallpaper, display themes, screensavers, and alert tones.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Sony Ericsson Equinox TM717 in San Francisco using T-Mobile service. Call quality was generally acceptable. Voices sounded natural, the signal was clear, and we encountered no static or interference. The volume could be a bit louder, but it was sufficient in most situations. The only times we had real trouble was when we were in places with a lot of background noise. As mentioned, the Equinox also supports T-Mobile's 3G (AWS 1700/2100) network.
Callers reported a similar experience. They could tell we were using a cell phone, but they could hear us plainly most of the time. Like us, they only had trouble if we were in a noisy place; most of our friends said that the Equinox picks up a lot of background noise. It was the same story with automated calling systems; our voices registered if we were in a relatively quiet place. Speakerphone quality was average. The audio on our end was a bit distorted and the external speaker doesn't get very loud. Fortunately, Bluetooth headset calls were better, but your experience will depend on which headset you use.
The Equinox has a rated battery life of 10 hours of GSM talk time and 4 hours of 3G talk time. The promised standby time for both modes is 16 days. During our tests, it had a talk time of 4 hours and 15 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the Equinox has a digital SAR of 0.90 watt per kilogram.
User reviews
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Smarter flip phone, give it a break
by McBinky on November 26, 2009
Pros: Texting accomodations, camera options, slick design, front panel information
Cons: Proprietary connection jacks, low speakerphone and the weird media card it takes.
Summary: I'm not a phone nut and don't want the latest and greatest. Having said that, I think the reviews for phones are getting outrageous. Reviewers expect them to ...
Summary: I'm not a phone nut and don't want the latest and greatest. Having said that, I think the reviews for phones are getting outrageous. Reviewers expect them to do absolutely everything. I don't.
Just a correction -- I meant to write that the call volume on the ear piece is loud withOUT distortion.
I had an old flip phone. I went for the new Motorola Cliq smartphone and data plan. A great device, but it was too smart -- and too costly, spending most of the day connected to its data plan while not being touched. I had it for 2 days and sent it back, opting for the Equinox. It seemed like a nice compromise -- a smarter flip phone. I haven't regretted this switch at all.
The outside display has a circular white light that lights up for incoming calls. There is another little colored light that can be customized based on the caller. This is nice if you keep the phone on silent a lot. It also reads gestures. Wave your hand across the closed phone and it stops the ringing.
For someone who texts only a few times a day, a QWERTY keyboard is nice to have, not a need to have. This phone displays a helpful little mini menu as you use the keypad input making it easier and quicker to find your letters or symbols. It has an optional conversation view of text messages, so they display like a chat session. I don't find the keypad clumsy or too slick at all.
It has some light mobile-only apps if you have a data plan, like Google Maps. What I found better is the Telenav GPS app. For a small, separate, monthly fee, you get a turn by turn voice-guided GPS with traffic. Though it won't replace my Garmin, I was impressed with it. It made a few odd suggestions, but it got me to my destination. I plan on paying for this feature. I tested it out and it worked fine in the NYC area. I like it for the the traffic updates alone.
The speakerphone (and thus the GPS directions read aloud) is not very loud and could use some improvement. I synched a stereo Bluetooth headset with no problems. It also has options for using it as a Bluetooth presenter or multimedia controller.
The shots from the camera look better to me than they did on the higher megapixel Cliq. The phone has a couple of camera setup options like panorama, night, decorative frames, etc. If these options were ever on my other phones, I never saw them and they weren't as easily found as they are on this phone. It has menus all ready to connect your photos to social sites like MySpace and Facebook.
Lastly, the call quality has been fine. I'm told that my voice is clear, and the incoming calls are also equally clear. The volume on the internal ear piece can get pretty loud with distortion.
If you're looking for something to replace every other device you own, this probably isn't for you. If you're looking for a smarter flip phone, you've found it.
Updated on Nov 28, 200911 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Nice phone from t mobile
by lovetherazor on November 19, 2009
Pros: Sounds great while talking on both ends.
FM radio is great sounding
music player
Good camera
Nice feel to phone
Internet is good speed.
Good speakerphoneCons: Typical of Sony. No standard headset jack.
You can only use M2 memory card.
Wave sensor could of been better.
Still having trouble using it.
No flash with camera.Summary: So overall I think it's a good phone. I've owned an Ericsson phone a few years ago. I previously owned a T637 and loved it. Ericsson phones including ...
Summary: So overall I think it's a good phone. I've owned an Ericsson phone a few years ago. I previously owned a T637 and loved it. Ericsson phones including this one are very well made and have very fun features. I like that they have a feature where you can reject calls with out having to touch the phone or ignore the call. I yet have to try the music player because I still need to get a M2 memory card. That is something that may irk people is that this is typical of Sony to make their phones one of a kind in this area. Everyone else seems to design their phones where you can use a micro SD card. Sony has to be different. Also they don't use a standard headset jack. So you are either stuck with the headset you are provided with the phone which is usually crappy quality. I do like the FM radio. It sounds fantastic and it doesn't drain your battery that much like some people say. I used the radio for an hour straight and still had all my battery bars. I checked my battery status and it drained maybe 5% of my battery. Also I have used the speakerphone and my calls sound very loud and clear while I use it. The Web2go is very affordable and reliable. For 10 bucks a month you can have very good web service. I also like that they preloaded apps like facebook and youtube. Youtube videos stream very well. I was shocked to see how little they jump or skip. I've used youtube on blackberries and I can't believe how bad they stream on a blackberry compared to a basic phone and for web that costs 15 to 20 bucks less then a BB. You can also upload a video to youtube right from your phone. That's pretty awesome. I do miss the qwerty keypad on my former phone the BB curve 8900 but I found a new friend in my Sony Equinox. I still yet have to try all the functions but when I do I'll update my review.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Never had a bad cell phone until I purchased this one.
by aching45 on January 20, 2011
Pros: I can make and receive phone calls.
Cons: Received two defective phones in a row with different problems. Trying again with another return.
Summary: I just needed a basic phone and was talked in to getting this one by the salesperson at my local T-Mobile. She touted the battery life as one of its ...
Summary: I just needed a basic phone and was talked in to getting this one by the salesperson at my local T-Mobile. She touted the battery life as one of its strong points. Not true. The battery is good for maybe a day and a half, which isn't too bad. However I don't talk or text that much, so this is a day and a half mostly in standby mode. Terrible. The salesperson also told me it had a good camera. Its only good if you are steady as a tripod. The slightest movement will give you blurry pictures. I had issues not receiving calls, so I reset the phone by taking out the battery (Which happened frequently, I might add). When I turned the phone back on, it would literally take 5 minutes to boot up. The charging was also an issue. Since the battery would drain so quickly, I would just charge the phone up every night before I went to sleep. However, the phone would frequently have a charging error or just not charge at all. That was especially annoying when on the second day, the battery started to die out and give me the constant annoying beep because I failed to notice that it didn't charge. I ordered a replacement phone under warranty from T-Mobile and when I got it, the boot up issue and the charging issue went away. Great! However, now when I receive calls, the caller ID on the outside display is blank. No number, no contact name. Nothing. I called T-Mobile customer service to see if it was just a setting, but they couldn't fix it. I am now in the process of returning this one and getting another replacement. They won't let me get a different model of phone (for free in place of this one) since I'm only in month 7 of a 2 year contract extension. We'll see how it goes this next time, but after this contract extension is up, I am changing to any brand phone besides Sony. This is the worst phone I have ever had. Period.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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broke after only 1 year
by joanjps on October 12, 2011
Pros: Beautiful pictures and video capability. Call forwarding options excellent. Good looking, altho I would have preferred blue for the skin protector. Has international capability
Cons: Unreliable. Still have to pay another year for something in the trash
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May be I was lucky, but I think it's VERY good!
by blaxand on September 12, 2011
Pros: Decent camera, gps, well designed menu, common sense logic, necessary software already in, short response time for GPS, not shock resistant, but still very reliable. Looks elegant, but really very utilitarian.
Cons: Slippery body, easy to drop, difficult to open with one hand when it's new or without cover.
Much better with protective cover on. No wi-fi.Summary: Use this phone for two years. Before I had Nokia, LG, Moto Razr 3, that was classics, of course, but my next one will be Sony Ericsson. Recently somehow paint ...
Summary: Use this phone for two years. Before I had Nokia, LG, Moto Razr 3, that was classics, of course, but my next one will be Sony Ericsson. Recently somehow paint on the top chipped out after sitting a few hours under the sun, the phone itself works fine. When it was new it was kind of difficult to open it with one hand, it's too slim to push finger between, also my hands are not big.
Got much better after I bough a cover. I am always in the car, all the time put it to the pocket,
then pull it out, usually while driving, a few times drop it, a few times to the rain puddles.
It's still alive. I am not very cruel to it, but don't care too much. Speaker is loud enough to hear even with car windows opened, although I use bluetooth quite often. In my opinion build-in GPS is VERY fast. At least if to compare to my last Tomtom. The only think I didin't like, if you didn't start GPS, you might need to quit Google maps for to turn GPS on, as assisted GPS takes minute or two to find current position. Would be good to have wi-fi, as it makes no sense to use SIP settings for to save
air time by using air time! May be depend on options in your current plan.
No problem with java software or games. And I practically don't use authentic software,
just Windows Explorer. I like this phone. It looks kinda cool, but it's very utilitarian, don't let appearance to full you. It's work horse in silk dress:-)
Now I want better camera, this one just 3 (!) MP, and I want wi-fi. Other then that I would use this one for couple more years. -
Horrible phone!
by kaibito on June 3, 2011
Pros: None that I can think of.
Cons: I've had nothing but trouble with this phone.
Summary: There were times when I couldn't make or receive calls even when all bars were lit up. This problem would last for hours. I'd chat with t-mobile support ...
Summary: There were times when I couldn't make or receive calls even when all bars were lit up. This problem would last for hours. I'd chat with t-mobile support and they would 'switch towers'. That never worked. All they could do was log the issue. At this point I'm pretty sure the problem was the phone not the towers since there are three in my neighborhood. The battery would only stay charged for a day and half at most and I don't use the phone that much. The first battery failed within a month of it's arrival. T-mobile wanted to replace the phone with a refurb. Why would I pay for a refurb when I was supposed to get a new phone? So I got a new battery which has lasted a year but still has to be charged far to often. Then yesterday all the menus on my phone started to read "eeeeeeee" so I couldn't tell what anything was unless it had a picture. My old text msgs disappeared and I couldn't send write/send any new ones. Nothing has worked to get it back not even Master Reset which I was only able to find by accident since the whole menu read "eeeeeee". This is my only phone. T-mobile has no solutions for me. I am now incommunicado (via phone anyway!).
I see that other reviewers on this page have had the same problems. I believe this phone should have been recalled. I will absolutely never buy another Sony Ericsson product. -
If you are looking for a reliable phone, don't get this
by justgran4 on April 22, 2011
Pros: Cannot think of any right now.
Cons: I have had this phone for little over a year. It just turns off in mid conversation. It will ring but I am unable to pick up the call. The battery shows full but it turns itself off after I talk for a couple of minutes.
Summary: I tried to see if there were any updates for this phone to help with the issues I am having and, apparently, there is no support for this model.
Summary: I tried to see if there were any updates for this phone to help with the issues I am having and, apparently, there is no support for this model.
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2 replacements and still no better
by missjdh on February 13, 2011
Pros: Loud, easy to read.
Cons: Display takes over 1min to light up. Key back lighting fades in and out while texting. Memory card is expensive to buy and T-Mobile does not carry them
Summary: Phone is all and all JUNK. NO more sony's for this customer.
Summary: Phone is all and all JUNK. NO more sony's for this customer.
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GOOD FLIP PHONE..STILL GOING STRONG...
by shugga22ms on February 11, 2011
Pros: I LOVE FLIP PHONES ONLY AND THIS IS A KEEPER.CAMERA TAKES CLEAR PICS.VIDEO IS LONG ENOUGH.KEYBOARD IS EASY TO PRESS.SPEAKER TOOK OVER FOR SEVERAL MONTHS WHEN BLUE TOOTH WENT OUT.MENU IS EASY TO NAVIGATE.BATTERY LIFE IS WONDERFUL.COLOR IS LUCID BLUE!!
Cons: I WAS UPSET ABOUT THE MEMORY BUT I HAVE A CAMCORDER NOW.NEED A FLIP CASE JUST FOR EQUINOX..
Summary: I LOVE THIS PHONE..I HAVE OWNED SEVERAL CELL PHONES SINCE THE 80'S AND THIS ONE WORKS FOR ME.I HAVE HAD THE LUCID BLUE FOR A YEAR NOW ...
Summary: I LOVE THIS PHONE..I HAVE OWNED SEVERAL CELL PHONES SINCE THE 80'S AND THIS ONE WORKS FOR ME.I HAVE HAD THE LUCID BLUE FOR A YEAR NOW AND I AM JUST NOW GETTING A REPLACEMENT..ONLY BECAUSE THE CASE I GOT FROM T-MOBILE I HAVE TO TAKE IT OUT AND I ALMOST ALWAYS DROP IT AND IT IS SCRATCHED AND ONE OF THE HINGES IS LOOSE NOW..I HAVE SINCE LEARNED TO ORDER A SILICONE SKIN AND BUY A MORE EXPENSIVE BLUE TOOTH..IF YOU UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO AND PICTURES TO YOUR COMPUTER THEN YOU CAN ERASE AND MAKE MORE ROOM..JUST WISH THEY HAD A CUSTOM CASE TO FIT THAT DO NOT TEAR OR RIP WITHIN A FEW MONTHS.I WILL KEEP PAYING MY INSURANCE AND RECEIVING THIS PHONE AS LONG AS I HAVE A CELL..DO NOT NEED TO HAVE MY PHONE BE ANYTHING BUT A PHONE.
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Not worth it. Will never buy another Sony phone
by jDuliet79 on February 4, 2011
Pros: It has a radio.
Cons: It shuts off for no reason. Has poor battery life.
Summary: I have had this phone for 7 months. It constantly shuts off for no reason. I sent it back and got a replacement and it has begun to do the ...
Summary: I have had this phone for 7 months. It constantly shuts off for no reason. I sent it back and got a replacement and it has begun to do the same thing. I have only had the replacement for one month. Also, it is difficult to hear through the speaker. Please consider other options.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony Ericsson
- Part number: equinox
- Description: With the eye-catching light effects of the Equinox, you'll never miss a call - or be left in the dark. Give your best friends their own, unique pulsating light effects. When a call from one of them comes in, you'll know who it is in a flash. A stylish clam shell device with enhanced design elements and night effects that let you stand out from the crowd. Capture life as it happens around you with the 3.2-megapixel camera and an integrated YouTube application.
General
- Product Type Cellular phone
- Form Factor Folder (flip)
- Phone Design Flip
- Integrated Components Digital camera,
Digital player - Antenna Internal
- Width 2 in
- Depth 0.6 in
- Height 3.7 in
- Weight 3.4 oz
- Body Color Carbon black
Cellular
- Technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
- Band WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- Service Provider T-Mobile
- Software Platforms Supported Java,
Java MIDP 2.1,
CLDC 1.1 Messaging & Internet
- Cellular Messaging Services SMS,
MMS - WAP Protocol Supported WAP 2.0
- Messaging & Data Features XHTML Browser,
RSS feeds - Downloadable Content Screensavers,
Operator logos,
Audio files,
Themes,
Video files,
Wallpapers,
Ring tones,
Games - Mobile Services Video Call
Communications
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
- Bluetooth Profiles Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
Phone Features
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Additional Features Speakerphone,
USB,
Intelligent typing (T9),
GPRS support,
EDGE,
microSD card slot,
Gesture control Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3,
AAC Memory
- Supported Flash Memory Cards Memory Stick Micro M2
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 3.2 megapixels
- Digital Zoom 3.2
- Camera Light Source LED light
- Features Video recording
Display
- Type LCD display - Color
- Technology TFT
- Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels
- Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)
- Display Illumination Color White
- Multi-language Menu Yes
- Features Wallpaper,
Screensaver Display (2nd)
- Display Resolution 128 x 36 pixels
Connections
- Connector Type Data port - Fast Port
Battery
- Technology Lithium ion
- Run Time Details Talk - up to 600 min,
Standby - up to 400 hour(s) Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Power adapter
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony Ericsson products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Sony Ericsson
- Address:
7001 Development Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 - Phone: 1-866-766-9374
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