P9UA: SonyE P990 Users Anonymous

We may need a P990 users association very soon. Here's what I found of this phone in the past month I've been using it:

• battery life is a mess when you turn all the features on (Wifi, camera, radio/mp3, screen light), so I end up turning everything off until I need it. Otherwise one phone-call will drain the P990. Luckily the phone can be powered up with the usb-cable, which I always carry around with my laptop, in a 15 kg laptop bag...
  
• turning the phone on takes longer than switching on my computer, which is damn long; luckily I don't need to turn off the phone that often...
• the battery cover is stuck to the phone with nails and staplers and superglue, and you have to call the green berets just to remove it. Pretty strange, since the cover itself is a flimsy sheet of plastic. Luckily the cover doesn't need to come off a lot. Unluckily upgrading the phone's firmware REQUIRES you to take your sim-card out, which REQUIRES you to remove the cover...
• the camera still is not too good in the dark, despite the flash light; also it locks up if it is too dark and you need to make adjustments. And if the phone locks up, you need to remove the cover...
• all the features you would ever need (RDS radio, business card reader, organizer, birthday calendar etc.) are in the P990, but to find them, you need a flashlight, climbing tools, a sherpa, a signed warrant, ropes and a GPS tracking system...
• the phone is highly intelligent: so much so, it knows when it is tired and turns itself off...

I've gotta hand it to SonyEricsson: the phone is quite good in what it does and offers. It also has some handy features (the slide lock for example is a brilliant idea), and some of the criticisms were unfounded (the reduced screen height isn't detrimental to the usability, and the keyboard is even quite good for my fingers). It is still however not as good-looking as the P900 (without keypad), and it is definitely not as user-friendly as a Nokia.