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Meet The Sony Ericsson C702 – My Nemesis For Today

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4:34PM June 30, 2008 | Nick Broughall

C702.JPG

Last week I had a catchup with the guys from Sony Ericsson to see where they were at. They spoke a bit about their upcoming handsets, trends in the marketplace, opinions on the iPhone (they think its good for the market in general), and then gave me a C702 and a C902 to take home and play with.

The C902 is fantastic, although it doesn’t sync with my iMac. The C702, on the other hand, is proving to be the Joker to my Batman; the EU to my Microsoft; the Creative Zen to my iPod… that’s right – it has become my nemesis.

It’s not that it’s a bad phone. In fact, I’m 100 percent positive that it’s a very good phone. But I can’t test it to find out. You see, the C702 is designed for rugged use, being both splash and dust resistant. You can see that from the moment you look at the phone. The back casing has a little lock that you need to turn in order to open it up.

The problem is, that even with that lock turned into the open position, I can’t get the case off. I’ve pushed. I’ve pulled. I’ve strained and I’ve twisted. I’ve contorted my face with the kind of effort that you generally only get from a bad case of constipation. And even now, the thing won’t budge.

I even did something I hardly ever do – I resorted to the manual. Nothing. I pulled out the M2 card slot cover in the hopes that would make it easier. Nothing.

And so now I sit here, muscles full of lactic acid, fingers cramped into awkward positions, sweat dripping from my brow as I face my nemesis. I am considering drastic measures. Is a claw hammer too far? Or do I restrict my efforts to a butter knife?

At least now I know how they stop the dust and water from getting in. It’s by keeping everything out. Including my SIM card.

(NB – if anybody has any tips for opening the back of this frickin’ phone, I’m all ears)

Comments

  • Aaron

    June 30, 2008 at 4:58 PM

    I say keep turning the lock a bit further until it is 90 degrees from the locked position… Just a guess though

  • Alex

    June 30, 2008 at 5:01 PM

    Haaaaha!
    Maybe the butter knife is your best bet. Or a screwdriver. That’s one of the only things that gets the battery cover off the handheld scanners at work.
    What does the manual say? I recon just keep applying tremendous amounts of force in the direction the manual suggests.

    Other wise get a girl to try it. Some of them have a knack for fiddly things that drives me insane!!!

  • Nick

    June 30, 2008 at 5:34 PM

    what Aaron said…

  • aniki_xiao

    June 30, 2008 at 6:43 PM

    Maybe it is like a screw, if all else failed, call the SE reps…

  • Felicity

    June 30, 2008 at 10:46 PM

    Sounds like a faulty phone (or a faulty design) to me :)

  • Mr. Crash

    July 1, 2008 at 12:13 AM

    I say claw hammer.
    I also say post hammer carnage pics plz.

    They did say it’s for rugged use.

  • SuPz

    July 1, 2008 at 1:32 AM

    I have the Sony Ericsson S500i and that was also a pain to take off the cover, it being a slider phone (near impossible when the phone keeps sliding up).

    From the looks of the C702, try digging your fingernails (or flat head screwdriver) in between the the top of the cover and the phone. And then push down. (repeat this and hopefully the cover will start to loosen up).

    Have Fun.

  • jb

    July 1, 2008 at 12:36 PM

    Have you seen smashmyPS3…….!!

  • f. chong rutherford

    July 4, 2008 at 1:31 PM

    The toughest phone I ever owned was a Motorola i55sr, nicknamed ‘manphone’. ‘Manphone’ was dropped off of 3 buildings, at heights ranging from 3 stories to 6 stories, and also survived a plunge into a pitcher of beer for 15 minutes. The only reason I got rid of it was to get a phone with a camera (and also to get away from Nextel service!). It took a while to get used to how … gentle … you had to be with other phones.

    I specifically bought the c702 because it is a tough waterproof phone. And while I wouldn’t drop it on concrete, off of buildings or into beer, it certainly is sturdy. Including the battery case!

    After spending 15 minutes trying to gingerly take off the battery case, I finally put my fingers firmly under the groove just under the M2 slot on one side and the camera snap button on the other and pulled … and NOTHING!

    Then I slipped my fingers near the cable connector and yanked up. One little pop later and the back was off. It’s actually quite sturdy. I think my problem was ‘tenderness’. I’m used to these devices being quite delicate.

    So, the problem is, you have to BE tough with it. Give it a good yank and it’ll come off.

  • willem de geyndt

    July 4, 2008 at 11:39 PM

    Hi,
    I ‘m experiencing the same problem. There’s no way I can open it.
    Anybody has been succesfull in that area already I wonder?
    wllm

  • willem de geyndt

    July 4, 2008 at 11:40 PM

    Any progress in opening your C702 because mine isn’t opening either. I’ll try a chainsaw soon.

  • alex

    July 22, 2008 at 8:21 PM

    same happend here

  • Rhian Ellis

    July 30, 2008 at 4:07 AM

    This site shows you how to open it:
    http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/support/phones/detailed/howtoopenc702batterycover/c702?cc=bd&lc=en

  • Matt

    August 4, 2008 at 5:08 AM

    Thanks Rhian,

    The link was very useful. My experience was the same as Nick’s and the extra knack has prevented me from committing acts of gross violence against Sony designers. Too bad they didn’t see fit to put the tip in the instruction manual,

    MC

  • Morgan

    August 5, 2008 at 5:59 PM

    Will the C702 isync with a Mac.

  • jhpf

    August 7, 2008 at 12:34 AM

    isync: http://www.feisar.com/plugins.php

  • Håkon

    August 9, 2008 at 3:47 AM

    haha, i struggled for some minutes too. if you inspect the problem at hand, it is not that difficult, use your brain and don’t rely on experience alone. lolol ;D

  • keith

    August 14, 2008 at 11:58 PM

    i had the issue i was pulling the little metal strap holder. It is part of the phone not the cover, make sure the lock is all the way to the unlocked position and then lever underneath the strap holder side of the cover.

  • trish

    October 2, 2008 at 9:00 AM

    dude, all you need to do is stick your fingernails under the case at the bottom end near the little lock and pull it off – no sliding at all. just pull gently and it’ll come straight off.

  • eilly

    April 25, 2009 at 7:27 PM

    trish is absolutely right about sliding your finger in on the side, the case pops off directly, doesn’t slide.
    it’s all right here:
    http://boboy.net/2009/01/how-to-remove-sony-ericsson-c702-battery-cover-off/
    unfortunately i’d already scratched up my phone butter-knifing it before i came across this ;)

  • Henry

    July 3, 2009 at 12:32 PM

    For iSync, you can get it free, no need to pay, for Sony Ericsson and Nokia.
    it’s show here:
    http://boboy.net/2009/02/free-sony-ericsson-isync-plugins-for-mac/

  • nametheuser

    August 16, 2009 at 5:20 PM

    slide a credit card around and it comes off easy

  • jm

    October 13, 2009 at 3:39 AM

    my friends just use her nails to open it… wat u do is unlock it first then open the lower portion ( near the lock ) as if you were opening cola in can. wen it pops .. thats it.. it does not require sliding.. any sliding.. my hand is killing me too because of the slides i applied to the cover…

    Hope this helps

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