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Clamshells handsets don't always capture my attention as much as other formats can, and I am not the biggest fan of this design. The lower section is slightly taller than the upper one, and the hinge is not quite at its upper end. The result is that about a centimetre of this phone's height looks like unnecessary design frippery. I am sure technology is crammed in, but visually it doesn't work well.

A key advantage of a flip phone, though, is that they can have a small footprint and yet have room for a large screen and keyboard. So, let's test that.

Closed the Z750i measures 97mm tall, 49mm wide and 20mm thick. Opened, it grows to a shade under 170mm. It weighs 110g and overall the dimensions are fine.

Inside the clam the main screen is a wonderful thing. It measures 2.2 inches across diagonal corners. It delivers 240 x 320 pixels and 262 thousand colours, and is of the usual high standard I've come to expect from Sony Ericsson. No complaints there.

The keyboard area can be a place Sony Ericsson lets itself down. Small and oddly shaped keys might look nice but they can be pesky to use. So it is a relief to see that here the emphasis is on a great number pad and well spaced - and well shaped - ancillary keys. The number pad keys are large and raised from their surroundings. If you are a high speed texter and want a number pad that won't hamper you, this could be ideal.

The navigation button is, like all the buttons apart from the number pad, shiny sliver. It has a shortcut to multimedia content on the up press, one to messaging on the left press, profiles on the right press and contacts on the down press. The central select button takes you from the home screen to the phone's main menu.

Meanwhile there is a separate button for Sony Ericsson's My Shortcuts area which I like so much. Its tabbed sections give you access to alerts, running applications, a set of shortcuts to apps and Web shortcuts.

Add in a pair of softmenu buttons and Call and End buttons and this is a handset whose main keyboard is nicely appointed.

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