Sony Ericsson Z555 (Z555i / Z555a)

It may well be that Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, but are diamonds the next big thing in mobile phone design? First came the Nokia 7500 and Nokia 7900 Prism handsets, and now Sony Ericsson have followed suit with the Sony Ericsson Z555i clamshell phone (sold as the Z555a in the US).

The Sony Ericsson Z555i is a pure and simple fashion phone. Look behind the pretty exterior, and the Z555i is surprisingly basic. There's a 1.9" 176 x 220 pixel display, 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio, media player, stereo Bluetooth and expandable memory. It's not a bad specification, but it does position the Z555 in the lower end of the midrange market.

What it does have is an attractive semi-concealed external display, Sony Ericsson's "Gesture Control" than allows you to mute the phone or snooze an alarm simply by waving at the handset, and coordinated themes that match the Z555's design.

Surprisingly, Sony Ericsson haven't release any press pictures of the inside of the phone, but from what we have seen the Z555i's interior combines sensible design with a repeat of the diamond-themed exterior. In other words, the Z555i doesn't sacrifice usability for fashion.

Ultimately, if the Sony Ericsson Z555i appeals to you, then it's going to appeal to you because of the way it looks. So let's put it this way, the screen will be pretty reasonable, the pictures should be acceptable, it can play MP3s and it has an FM radio, you can use the web, read email and even check RSS feeds. The Z555i is a pretty average 95 grams in weight, comes with stereo Bluetooth and you can talk on it for up to 9 hours before the battery runs out of juice. All of these features make the Sony Ericsson Z555i a pretty practical phone.

Sony Ericsson say that the Z555i should be available in "Diamond Black" and "Dusted Rose" colour combinations from Q1 2008 onwards, but we have no details of pricing at present.