It may be the subject of Sony's (very capable) hype machine and there's no doubt the CMD-Z5 (or Z5 for short), packs a lot of powerful features into a tiny package... but for some feature freaks this toy-like mobile phone may be a disappointment. Diminutive or not, the Z5 has loads of Internet features such as a built-in WAP home page and email client, both provided by Microsoft. Both were reasonably easy to configure -- the exception being the necessity to enter raw IP addresses in order to connect to an ISP. Gripes include an email client that insists on displaying messages with the oldest on top, meaning you have to scroll through several pages to get to your new one: no joke when you're paying by the minute! There were also problems getting the phone to send outgoing email. Other than that, Sony's version of WAP is the most usable we've seen so far, with easy access to bookmarks and quick display of text and graphics. So that's good then... For those who couldn't care less about the mobile Internet, this phone will still make any gadget freak foam at the mouth. The Z5 has all the bells and whistles you need to look cutting edge: there's predictive text entry and automatically saved outgoing SMS messages as well as that indespensible option... customisable ring tones! But for all its WAP-savviness, there's one really irritating option missing: the Z5 doesn't include an infrared port, meaning you can't use it to connect your laptop or PDA to the Internet. This one deficiency could mean some users -- especially business types -- will give it a miss.

• Sony CMD Z5 mobile phone
• 85g
• 88x49x21.5mm
• Supports WAP and email
• Up to 150 hours stand-by, and 3.5 hours talktime
• Memory for 500 entries
• Jog wheel for text input
• 27 pre-set ringtones
• www.sony-europe.com

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