By Tan Mae Lynn

IF YOU click more than you talk, this mobile device may be perfect for you.

The Sony Ericsson Satio is likely to appeal to the younger set, or to those who simply love taking photos and videos with their handphones.

Picture quality is undoubtedly the best I've seen in any handphone yet. Better than some cameras even.

The 12.1-megapixel camera on the Satio has most of the nifty features you'll find in regular digital cameras such as several shooting modes and face detection.

Very often, with handphone cameras, you can't always get a clear focus on the object of your choice.

So, what I particularly liked was the touch focus feature of the Satio. You can touch the object on the screen and the camera will automatically focus on the object.

Photo quality is also far superior for a mobile phone device. Images are crisp and colours sharp. This was especially so in natural outdoor light.

In low light, photo quality may not be great, but it still fared decently. It was less likely to produce 'snowy' photos that commonly result when taking pictures in the dark with a handphone.

The Satio's superior image quality is also present in its video function. I can imagine that young parents will love this device.

The Sony Ericsson Satio is, to me, more a camera that happens to have handphone functions.

Bulky but light

It even looks like one, with its sliding lens cover at the back of the phone, giving the phone a somewhat bulky form. It measures 112mm by 55mm and is about 13mm thick.

Having said that, it looks heavier than it is. Considering its bulk, it weighs just 126g.

Its 3.5-inch touch screen is also good if you also tend to do the other kind of clicking - surfing the Internet.

But, while you can use a fingertip or a stylus to select the links, it works much better with a stylus. You'll have to carry the stylus separately as there is no slot on the phone for it.

Where the Satio out-performs most handphones on the market for image quality, it lags behind in working as a customisable personal phone.

It has the phone functions that most others on the market offer. What it lacks is advanced customisation ability to make the it a truly personal mobile device. Don't get me wrong, some customisation is allowed.

But in a crowded handphone market, one of the most desirable features in a mobile device for me is the ability to customise the screens any which way I like.

I found this somewhat lacking.

But a mobile device is rarely all things for all people.

The Sony Ericsson Satio is certainly one for the avid handphone photo buff.

It costs $1,098 without an operator plan.

This article was first published in The New Paper.