Sony Ericsson was among the first manufacturers to try and take advantage of the gaming potential in cellphones.  Unfortunately for them, the iPhone ended up being the platform that showed everyone how to do it right.  The Sony Ericsson Yari is the company's latest gaming-centric handset, integrating features such as gesture controls and other innovative ideas.   Of course, novel implementations never guarantee a good game.  So how does it fare?

Physically, it looks like a standard candybar slider.  Look closer, though, and you'll find two odd buttons on top, which are supposed to serve as extra controls that you can use when playing games. Overall build seems solid, the sliding mechanism feels sturdy and it's got relatively sexy looks too.

For a gaming phone, the Yari's screen is considerably small at only 2.4. inches.  While resolution is good (320 x 240) and colors are bright, the size seriously limits you enjoyment of even the most basic games.  Both the navigation buttons and keypad are flat, but they are responsive.

As a phone, it manages below-average calls.  Main culprit is a serious lack of volume, even at the highest loudness settings, although signal reception also wasn't the best.  Speakerphone was much better with plenty of loudness, but it suffers from the same reception problems.  Expect to charge the battery every night, as you should clean it out in a day and a half at most.

The Yari's biggest selling point are the gesture-based games, which uses the second camera to approximate the user's body in relation to the phone.   You'll have to prop it up in the included stand and perform motions ala Microsoft's Project Natal.  Unfortunately, the two titles pre-installed with support for the feature (Tennis and Fitness) are just downright plain.  There's iPhone-style motion gaming here too (Bowling and LocoRoco), which proved much more entertaining.  A few other more conventional games are on board, although we do wonder why none of them use the two "gaming" buttons that Sony added on the front panel.  Overall, the games are decent but nowhere near the experience you can get from an iPhone (especially considering that this phone isn't running a very fast processor) - a serious blow to the Yari's potential for success.

Despite the obvious lack of an actual shot at dominating the mobile gaming landscape, it does come with a smattering of good features: there's aGPS, a veritable kitchen sink of preloaded apps (from Facebook to Flickr to a pedometer to a torch app with SOS capabilities to a whole lot more), an FM tuner and 3G support (no Wi-Fi, though).   Surfing the web, however, isn't the best with the small screen and a sub-par browser on board.  Most pages loaded accurately, though.

It comes with a 5.0 megapixel camera module that offers an overwhelming amount of editing options (which is a good thing).  Unfortunately, no amount of tinkering can help with the fact that it only manages average-looking stills (and I'm being generous here).  Audio quality, on the other hand, is top notch, making this a great substitute for an actual Walkman phone.  The stereo speakers sound great.

Overall, the Sony Ericsson Yari is packed to the brim with features.  Unfortunately, throwing in the kitchen sink doesn't necessarily make a great phone.  If the feature set is a good match for what you're looking for, you may like it, though.

Marketed as a gaming handset, and rightly so, the Sony Ericsson F305 is one of the more interesting phones in the market today.  Much has been made of its gaming prowess but how well does it fare as an overall device?

The attractively-styled F305 sports a sprightly, youthful design, which is a great fit for the younger audience it's targeting.  For a gaming handset, the screen is a bit disappointing at only two inches.   It does deliver decent image quality, though, to make up for the lack in size.

It comes with 11 pre-loaded games, along with another 50 titles on the accompanying M2 card.  Of the 61 games, a number are available for playing in horizontal mode, which allows gamers to use the directional pad, along with PSP-style O and X buttons above the screen (when in vertical orientation).  It comes with a built-in accelerometer, which gets used in 3 or 4 of the bundled titles, allowing for some iPhone-like motion games that are quite entertaining.

Gaming buttons, along with all the controls, are prominently placed (you'll probably recognize them without looking), with great feedback.  Keypad is a standard comfy T9 that slides out from the bottom.  As an extra treat, the F305's faceplate can be easily replaced with substitute panels available from Sony Ericsson's website.

The phone comes with stereo loudspeakers situated in the back that are surprisingly competent.  Not only do they add to the gaming experience, they sound better than the loudspeakers on many music-centric phones we've seen.  Coupled with a really savvy built-in media player, the F305 is a complete music handset, even without the Walkman branding.

Calls are a little less to our liking on Sony Ericsson's gaming number.  While our voice came through loud and clear to the other line, our own reception came with some occasional crackling noises.  It could just be the particular unit we had, though, so make sure to check how voice calls sound to you in case you're planning to get this device.   Battery is good for 8 hours of talk time, though I'm not certain about the gaming time (I played it for 3 hours straight and it still didn't drain).   It comes with a 2.0 megapixel camera that, unfortunately, isn't much to write home about.

While relatively average as a phone, the gaming and music talents of the Sony Ericsson F305 make it a compelling choice for those looking for an entertainment handset.   Add in a compact form with customizable faceplates and it's a phone no teen can complain about (unless they text message like crazy, that is, at which point they'll probably want a messaging phone).

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China-made phones and gadgets aren't really known for their stunning originality but the SoloMobi Cool8800 really brings something new to the table.  Instead of rolling out the latest clone of recently-introduced handsets, SoloMobi seems to have put some thought process on this one,  cranking out a really interesting form factor.

In its natural shape, the Cool8800 is a standard candy bar phone, fitting a numeric keypad and a small colored screen in a design similar to older Sony Ericsson phones from 4 to 5 years ago.  Flip the screen and the keypad, though, and you get a widescreen LCD with a 16:9 aspect ratio.  Even better, you get access to dedicated gaming controls that include at least 12 buttons and what looks to be a directional wheel of sorts.  Hopefully, those flaps pack sturdier hinges than they look on the picture - do seem awkward.

While I doubt this thing packs serious processing power, it does fit a ROM emulator inside and comes pre-loaded with three classic NES games.  You can also add more via SD cards, if you're into those classic titles.  The TFT display is actually pretty good, measuring 2.4 inches with a WQVGA resolution.  Of course, the phone comes with typical China specs: standard multimedia support, FM radio, analog TV tuner, 0.3 megapixel camera and dual SIM card bays.

The SoloMobi Cool8800 only works on  dual-band GSM 900/1800 frequencies but it looks sleek enough to warrant a pass.  I can't shake the feeling, though, that we'll see a similar offering from a bigger manufacturer sometime in the future, with the pretty clever flip design.  At $140, this looks like a decent novelty handset I wouldn't mind owning.

Photo Credit: Techfresh