Light of weight and heavy on looks, easy on the wallet and keen on getting things done, Sony Ericsson T700 is playing for keeps in the midrange. Stylish exterior, high-speed data, snappy interface and decent media squeeze a mighty punch out of this featherweight. The T700 might as well be in for an exciting Christmas. The kind of features people shop for, a hard-to-say-no price tag and styling that works for gals and lads alike do belong high on many wish lists. But what's the rush. Window-shopping, anyone?

Sony Ericsson T700 official photos

Key features

• Extra slim and solid, amazingly lightweight
• Soft and responsive controls
• Great aluminum finish
• Quad-band GSM and EDGE, HSDPA, Bluetooth (with A2DP)
• Media center
• Access NetFront 3.4 with mouse pointer and in-page search
• 3.2 megapixel camera, photo LED, geotagging (via cell triangulation)
• Fast photo browser
• FM radio with RDS
• Ships with a 512MB M2 card
• Location services, Smart dialing, Manage messages
• Reliable battery cover release mechanism
• Finger print resistant covers

Main disadvantages

• Only 25 MB of inbuilt memory
• No autofocus
• Tin-can sound from the feeble and hollow loudspeaker
• No office document viewer

We guess there are still people out there who swear by the T610 and T630, and know deep inside the T-series all but made the company name, before those Cyber-shots and Walkmans came rushing in to steal the show.

It took Sony Ericsson T650 so much time to come along it almost felt like paying tribute - not reviving - a lineup that did so much for the brand. Now we know rekindling the T-series was not a one-off project.

Sony Ericsson T700 is here to give the first neo-T-series member a few nice kicks right where it matters most. The T700 keeps the solid metal looks and tops the T650 in terms of screen estate, user interface, network support (now quad-band), 3G speeds and EDGE.

Sony Ericsson T700 ready to roll

The neat T700 bar is the extra sweet 10 mm thick, which sends the T650 in the showers. Now, other than the unmistakably similar finish, the T650 and T700 have another point in common - a clone for each amidst the Walkman ranks.

You can't help the thought that Sony Ericsson simply crossed the T on W890. It's the same platform - from the navigation layout to the peculiar battery cover locks. Sony Ericsson T700 is offered in three color combos: Black on Silver, Black on Red and Shining Silver.

The T700 will be getting dagger looks from Samsung U800 Soul b and the ageing Nokia 6500 classic. All three handsets are equally solid on the must-have features and finished in true style. The impressive seamless thin bodies will be the major point of competition, while all the rest - from price tag to specs - is on almost equal footing.

Screen estate is consistent across the sample; the Nokia handset loses on megapixel count and lacks HSDPA speeds but is the thinnest of the bunch. The Soul bar is the only phone to lack quad-band GSM support.