The first HSDPA handset to hit T-Mobile’s store shelves, the Sony Ericsson TM506 offers a clean and quick interface and good Web surfing speeds that users will love. And its $79.99 (with two-year contract, $30 instant rebate, and $50 mail-in rebate) price makes it a very attractive option for budget-conscious buyers. However, call quality wasn’t great, and T-Mobile doesn’t yet offer over-the-air music or video services to take advantage of those 3G speeds.
Design
We’re pleased with the build quality of the TM506, which is available in two color schemes: chrome with amber, and chrome with emerald. The 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.7-inch handset has a solid hinge and a beautiful glossy black cover with a small 128 x 36-pixel resolution grayscale LCD display that shows the time, caller, and notifies you of new messages. While the outer monochrome display felt like something out of the early 1990s, we loved the crisp, extra-bright internal 320 x 240-pixel screen.
The TM506 has volume controls on the left-hand side, and a slot for Sony’s Memory Stick Micro cards on the right. Inside the clamshell is a 5-way directional pad, two soft buttons, Send/End buttons, and an application quick-launch button. The keyboard has a brushed aluminum feel and is comfortable to use despite being flat.
User Interface
One of our biggest pet peeves with most handsets is a sluggish interface; the TM506 didn’t exhibit a hint of delay, except when its music player was running in the background. Every action was fluid, and menus flowed beautifully. Our only complaint is the jagged edges of T-Mobile’s myFaves icons.
The main home screen is refreshingly uncluttered. Three main menu layouts are available, but our favorite was the single icon theme; it lines up options on the right-hand side of the display, letting us toggle through them quickly.
Multimedia
The Media menu on the TM506 has the same elegant format and look as on previous Sony Ericsson handsets, as well as on the PS3 and PSP; it’s a right-scrolling tree menu, with a black background and white text. Here you can view your photos, listen to music, watch videos, play games, and read RSS feeds.
Unfortunately the menu can’t cover up the fact that this phone is not ideal for multimedia use. The TM506 doesn’t come with a memory card, so you’ll have to purchase your own card and sideload music onto it separately; nor is a USB cable included (it’s a $19.99 option). Finally, the TM506 lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack; it comes with an uncomfortable, cheap, single-earbud headset, for voice calls, that plugs into a proprietary port. You can, however, pair a stereo Bluetooth headset with the phone.
When playing “Minimum Wage” by The Expendables, the phone’s speakers were sufficiently loud but tinny overall.
