Eco Friendly Features

The Sony Ericsson Cedar is one of several mobile phones in the Greenheart line, intended to promote eco-friendly designs.

In their very nature, mobile phones have a long way to go before they can truly be called green – but there are certainly steps that can be taken in that direction.

What We Like

The Cedar minimises packaging to reduce waste at the start, and the phone itself is made from recycled materials. Some other phones have implemented solar panels for battery charging, but Sony has determined that, until solar technology improves, they will devote their greening resources in other areas.

The alphanumeric keypad of this candy-bar style phone has buttons designed to be highly tactile, being raised at the bottom and rubberised for better grip. Navigation is simple and intuitive with straightforward menus. Widgets, including social media shortlinks, can be added and managed easily. The dedicated email client can be set to notify the user when a new mail comes in. Bluetooth, USB, and 3G connectivity are all supported. There is no built-in WiFi.

Music files in MP3, AAC, and WAV format can all be uploaded for playback on the Cedar. Video playback is supported, up to the resolution of the screen (240 x 320). A stereo FM radio expands the listening opportunities. The 2 megapixel camera records images at 1600 x 1200 pixels and has geo-tagging support. Video can be recorded as well. The camera can also be used for video calling.

The Cedar is a quad-band phone which works just about anywhere in the world. It measures 111 x 49 x 15.5 mm and it weighs 84 g. The 56 mm display has a resolution of 240 x 320. Internal memory is 280 MB, and a microSD slot allows for expansion by up to 16 GB. It is available in black/silver and black/red.

What We Don't Like

Those who have used the Cedar noted both pros and cons. Most were highly pleased with the battery life, with 3 to 5 days between charges being common. Some said that they switched off the WiFi and 3G when not in use to conserve the battery.

The quality of the audio for listening to music was described by some as tinny, while others noted that this could be fixed by engaging the mega-bass equaliser, at which point the sound was quite robust. For calls in noisy conditions, some users felt that the maximum volume wasn’t loud enough. The quality of recorded video was described as poor by quite a few users.

Conclusion

Overall, the Sony Ericsson Cedar makes a good basic phone which incorporates the most necessary of current features, such as internet access and camera. It is useful as a back-up phone for travel or whenever a mobile will be exposed to conditions which would be too rough on a more delicate, more expensive model. At less than 100 GBP, it is a good choice for young people or anyone on a budget who needs a more fully featured phone. Sony’s dedication to eco-friendly manufacturing, in the Greenheart line, is just one more reason to like the Cedar.