Sony Ericsson T290a User manual

1
Contents
Getting started 3
Make and receive the first call.
Getting to know your phone 6
Key functions, quick keys, entering letters and characters.
Personalizing your phone 16
Choose ringtone, theme and other settings.
Calling 23
Use the phonebook, call options.
Setting up Mobile Internet 39
Set up internet and email.
Messaging 44
Chat, email, text and pictures.
Using Mobile Internet 52
WAP browser, bookmarks.
More features 56
Calendar, synchronization, alarm clock, stopwatch,
timer, games.
Security 62
SIM card lock, phone lock.
Troubleshooting 64
Why doesn’t the phone work the way I want?
Additional information 66
Sony Ericsson Consumer web site, safe and efficient use,
warranty.
Icons 73
What do the icons mean?
Index 79

2
Sony Ericsson
This manual is published by Sony Ericsson Mobile
Communications AB, without any warranty.
Improvements and changes to this manual
necessitated by typographical errors, inaccuracies
of current information, or improvements to programs
and/or equipment, may be made by Sony Ericsson
Mobile Communications AB at any time and without
notice. Such changes will, however, be incorporated
into new editions of this manual.
© 2004 Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB
All rights reserved.
Publication number: AE/LZT 123 1772 R1A
Please note:
Some of the services in this manual are not
supported by all networks. This also applies to
the GSM International Emergency Number 112.
Please contact your network operator or service
provider if you are not sure whether you can use
a particular service or not.
Please read the Guidelines for safe and efficient
use and the Limited warranty chapters before you
use your mobile phone.
The marble logo is a trademark of Sony Ericsson
Mobile Communications AB. Sony is a trademark
of Sony Corporation and Ericsson is a trademark
of Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson.
T9™ Text Input is a trademark or a registered
trademark of Tegic Communications.
T9™ Text Input is licensed under one or more of the
following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,818,437, 5,953,541,
5,187,480, 5,945,928, and 6,011,554; Canadian
Pat. No. 1,331,057, United Kingdom Pat. No.
2238414B; Hong Kong Standard Pat. No. HK0940329;
Republic of Singapore Pat. No. 51383; Euro.Pat. No.
0 842 463(96927260.8) DE/DK, FI, FR, IT, NL, PT, ES,
SE, GB; and additional patents are pending worldwide.
Other product and company names may be the
trademarks of their respective owners. Any rights
not expressly granted herein are reserved.

Getting started 3
Getting started
About this user’s guide
For ease of reference, the “Getting to know your phone”
chapter gives a quick overview of the main functions of
the phone, shortcuts and general information.
More information and downloads are available at
www.SonyEricsson.com, www.SonyEricsson.com/fun
or wap.SonyEricsson.com.
Note: Throughout this manual, WAP and Web are
used interchangeably to refer to internet services.
Available services
Some services and functions described in this user’s
guide are network- or subscription-dependent. Because
of this, some menus may not be available in your phone.
This symbol indicates that a service or function
is network or subscription-dependent.
Please consult your network operator for
more information about your subscription.
The SIM card
When you register as a subscriber with a network
operator, you get a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module)
card. The SIM card contains a computer chip that keeps
track of your phone number, the services included in
your subscription, and your phonebook information.
Tip: Check if your information is saved to the SIM card
before you remove it from another phone. For example,
phonebook entries may be saved in the phone memory.
For instructions on copying your SIM card information to
your phone, see “Phonebook” on page 26.
Assembly
Before you can use your phone you need to:
• Insert the SIM card.
• Attach and charge the battery. See “SIM card and
battery information” on page 4.
Note: Always turn off the phone and detach the
charger before you insert or remove a SIM card.

4 Getting started
SIM card and battery information
It may take up to 30 minutes before an
icon appears when charging if the battery
is completely discharged.
1. Insert the SIM card. Make sure the SIM card is placed
under the metal clips.
2. Place the battery on the back of the phone with the
connectors facing each other (label side up).
3. Place the back cover into the bottom of the phone
and slide it up until it clicks into place.
4. Connect the charger to the phone at the lightning bolt
symbol. The lightning bolt symbol on the charger plug
must face upwards.
5. It may take up to 30 minutes before the battery charging
icon appears in the display. Wait approximately 4 hours
or until the icon indicates that the battery is fully charged.
If you do not see the battery icon after this time, press
any key or the center select key to activate the display.
The display will “sleep” during charging.
6. Remove the charger by tilting the plug upwards.
Note: You have to insert the SIM card and charge
the battery before you can use the phone.

Getting started 5
Holding the Phone
Hold your mobile phone
as you would any other
telephone.
Internal Antenna
Your phone is equipped
with an internal antenna.
For best reception, try to hold your phone so your hand
does not cover the internal antenna.The antenna is located
on the back of the phone under the Sony Ericsson logo.
Turning On the Phone
Press and hold NO until you hear
a tone. Enter your Personal Identity
Number (PIN), if you have one for
your SIM card. Your PIN is provided
by your network operator.
If you make a mistake while entering
your PIN, delete the wrong number
by pressing .
If your PIN starts with the same
digits as an emergency number, for
example 911, the digits are not hidden with an * when
you enter them. This is so that you can see and call an
emergency number without entering a PIN. See
“Emergency calls” on page 24 for more information.
Note: If you enter the wrong PIN three times in a row,
the SIM card is blocked and the message PIN blocked
appears. To unblock it, you need to enter your PUK
(Personal Unblocking Key). Your PUK is provided by
your network operator.
Helpful Hints
When you power on your phone, you have
the option of viewing Helpful Hints. If you
select View Now, you will see a short demonstration of
how some of the keys work. You can choose to view
Helpful Hints later or you can select to not view them.
To select to not view them, scroll to NeverAskAgain
using your navigation key and press YES.
You can always access Helpful Hints by pressing
from the standby screen (as long as they have not been
deleted).
To make and receive calls
• Enter the area code and phone number, and press YES
to make the call.
• Press NO to end the call.
• When the phone rings, press YES to answer the call.
My Network
12:18
Welcome
PIN:

6 Getting to know your phone
Getting to know your phone
Key functions
Volume
key
Increase/decrease the earpiece
volume during a call. Scroll
through lists under menus.
Enter the Status menu in
standby. Press once to mute
the ringtone when receiving
a call. Press twice to reject
an incoming call.
Make and answer calls. Select
a menu, submenu or an option.
Press for options, help.
Press and hold for WAP
Homepage.
1–9, 0 Enter digits, 0–9, and letters.
Press and hold to enter
the international prefix +.
Move through menus using
shortcuts. Press and hold (2-9)
to find a contact beginning
with the first letter on that key.
Tilt the navigation key up,
down, left or right to move
through the menus, lists and
texts. Press the center select
key as an alternative to YES
to select an option.
Press and hold to turn the
phone on or off (in standby)
or to go back to standby mode
from menus. Press to end or
reject a call, go back one level
in the menus or leave an
option unchanged.
(clear)
Delete numbers, letters or an
item from a list. Press and hold
to mute the microphone (during
calls) or mute the phone or lock
the keypad (standby menu).
Enter # or a space.

Getting to know your phone 7
Quick keys
Useful key combinations are described below.
To... When in standby:
make an emergency call enter the emergency
number and press YES
enter and move through
the menus press or
enter Call Contact press or
enter Call List press YES
call your voicemail press and hold
enter the +sign press and hold
mute the ringtone when
receiving a call press , or press one of the side volume keys once
write a new text message Press and hold
toggle phone to silent or
toggle keylock
press and hold
reach a contact beginning
with a specific letter press and hold any of the keys -
reach a phone number at
a specific position on the
SIM card.
press the position number
and
speed dial press any of the number
keys - and YES
find a contact in the
Call Contact list press and hold
enter the Status menu to
see today’s date and the
model name of the phone
(may also indicate GPRS
availability)
press the volume key up
or down
reject a call quickly press the upper
or lower side volume key
twice when receiving a
call or press NO
silence call ringer quickly press the upper
or lower side volume key
once when receiving a call
To... When in standby:

8 Getting to know your phone
To... During a call:
put a call on hold press YES
retrieve the held call press YES again
mute the microphone press and hold
To... When in the menus:
move through menu lists use the navigation key or
press (and hold) the upper
or lower side volume key
enter a quick options menu
or help, if available.
press
delete an item press and hold when
in lists
go back to standby press and hold NO
To... When entering letters
using multitap text input:
reach the second letter
or character of a key
press and hold the upper
side volume key and press
any of the number keys
reach the third letter
or character of a key
press and hold the lower
side volume key and press
any of the number keys
shift between capital
and lowercase letters
press , then the letter
enter numbers press and hold any of the
number keys
enter a question mark press the upper side volume
key and press
enter the @sign Press and select Add
Symbol or press the lower
side volume key and press
enter a space press
delete letters and numbers press

Getting to know your phone 9
turn National Characters on press and scroll to
National Characters (not
supported in all languages)
shift between multitap or
T9 Text input methods
(assuming T9 Text input
is set to On)
press and hold
shift between input
languages and other
character or numeric
input methods
press and hold
To... When entering letters
using T9 Text Input:
view alternative words press or
accept a word and add
aspace
press
enter a period press
To... When entering letters
using multitap text input:
view alternative
punctuation marks
press , then or
repeatedly
shift between capital
and lowercase letters
press , then the letter
enter numbers press and hold any of the
number keys
delete letters and numbers press
shift between multitap or
T9 Text input methods
press and hold
shift between input
languages and other
character or numeric
input methods
press and hold
turn National Characters on press and scroll
to National characters (not
supported in all languages)
To... When entering letters
using T9 Text Input:

10 Getting to know your phone
Help texts/Icons
More information, explanations or tips about selected
menus or functions are available in your phone.
To get help
1. Scroll to the menu or function and press .
2. Select Help (if available), YES.
To access the Icon Glossary
1. Scroll to the menu or function and press .
2. Select Icon Glossary.
Delete, edit and rename
If you add items, for example, a contact, an event or
a web bookmark, it can be deleted, edited or renamed.
There are two ways to delete items:
• Select an item and press .
• Select an item, press , select Delete or Delete
all?.
There are two ways to edit items:
• Select an item, press , select Edit.
• Scroll to the item you want to edit and press YES
twice, select Edit.
Tip: You can rename an item in the same way.
To... When entering numbers:
enter a p(pause) press and hold when
entering numbers or saving
codes

Getting to know your phone 11
Menu overview
(1) Phonebook (2) Messages (3) Calls or Ongoing Call*
1 Call from SIM
2 Manage SIM
3 Call Contact
4 Manage Contact
5 Pictures
6 Personal Rings
7 VoiceCommands
8 Special Numbers
9 Advanced
0 Options
Find and Send*
1 Text
2 MMS***
3 Call Voicemail
4 Email
5 Chat
6 Push Inbox
7 Area Info. **
8 Options
1 Missed Calls
2 Call List
3 Manage Calls
4 Time & Cost
5 Next Call
6 Options
Calling Local**
Switch to Line 1**
Switch to Line 2**
1 TurnOnSpeaker
2 Turn Off Tones*
3 Hold Call*
4 Switch Calls*
5 Release Active*
6 Join Calls*
7 Transfer Call*
8 Release All*
Extract Part*
Release Party*
Parties in Conf.*
Calls*
(4)Pictures&Sounds (5) Settings (6) Web Services§(7) Organizer (8) Connect (9) Games**
1 My Pictures
2 More Pictures **
3 My Sounds
4 More Sounds **
5 Themes
6 More Themes **
7 Composer
8 Record Sound
9 CommuniCam
1 Sounds & Alerts
2 Display
3 Language
4 Time and Date
5 Voice Control
6 Locks
7 Handsfree
8 Master Reset
1 Sony Ericsson
2 Bookmarks
3 Push Inbox
4 Enter Address
5 Resume
6 Advanced
7 Options
§ May be customized
according to operator
1 Calendar
2 Notes
3 Alarms
4 Timer
5 Stopwatch
6 Calculator
1 GSM Networks
2 Data Comm.
3 Accessories
(if attached)
Note:
(1) Main menu numbering is not
displayed (menu numbering may
change with certain functions or
services).
*Only available during a call or
conference call.
**Network- and subscription-
dependent.
*** The terms MMS and picture
message are used interchangeably.

12 Getting to know your phone
Entering letters and characters
You can enter letters, for example, when you add names
to the phonebook, write text messages or enter web
addresses.
In addition to the way you normally enter letters in your
phone, using multitap text input, you can use T9™ Text
Input to enter text messages and email, for example,
if the input language you select supports this. T9 Text
Input is a predictive input method and is a quicker way
to write text.
Note: If you are trying to enter characters and cannot
find the one you are looking for, it may be part of the
National Characters set. To turn on National Characters,
press then scroll to National Characters.
Input languages
Before you start entering letters, you need to select the
input languages that you want to use when writing, if
other than the default, English.
To select input languages
1. Scroll to Settings, YES, Language, YES, Input, YES.
2. Scroll to the language or alphabet that you want to use
for entering letters and press for each language
you want.
3. Press YES to exit the menu.
When writing, you can switch to one of your selected
input languages by pressing and then selecting
Language. See “The list of options” on page 15.
Multitap text input
When saving names in the phonebook or when writing
web addresses, you enter letters using multitap text input.
You press each key as many times as needed to show the
letter you want. The following example shows how to
write a name in the Phonebook.
To enter letters using multitap text input
1. Scroll to Phonebook, YES, Manage Contact, YES,
Add Contact, YES, YES again.
2. Press the appropriate key, – , or ,
repeatedly until the character you want appears.
You can view the characters in the row that appears
briefly at the top of the display when you press a key.

Getting to know your phone 13
Note: Your selection of input languages and character
or numeric input methods determines what you can see
or enter.
See the Latin alphabet, abc, table below:
Example:
•Toenteran‘A’, press once.
•Toentera‘B’, quickly press twice.
• To shift between capital and lowercase letters,
press , then enter the letter.
Tip: You can also use the volume key as a shortcut
to certain letters:
To enter a ‘B’, press and hold the upper side volume
key and press .
To enter a ‘C’, press and hold the lower side volume
key and press .
Press… to see/enter…
- ? ! ‚ . : ; " ’ < = > ( ) _ 1
A B C Å Ä Æ à Ç 2 Γ
D E F è É 3 ∆ Φ
G H I ì 4
J K L 5 Λ
M N O Ñ Ö Ø ò 6
P Q R S ß 7 Π Σ
T U V Ü ù 8
W X Y Z 9
+ & @ / ¤ % $ € £ ¥ \ § ¿ ¡ 0 Θ Ξ Ψ Ω
Space # * ↵ ¶
to delete letters and numbers
to shift between capital and lowercase
letters
- press and hold to enter numbers
Press… to see/enter…

14 Getting to know your phone
T9™Text Input
You can use T9 Text Input when writing, for example,
text messages and email. The T9 Text Input method uses
a built-in dictionary to recognize the most commonly used
word for each sequence of key presses. This way, you
press each key only once, even if the letter you want is
not the first letter on the key.
Note: A language must be selected to be able to use the
T9 Text Input method.
To turn T9 Text Input on or off
Note: You can toggle T9 Text Input on/off by pressing
and holding .
The following example shows how to start writing
a text message:
To enter letters using T9 Text Input
1. Scroll to Messages, YES, Text, YES, Write New, YES.
2. For example, if you want to write “lane”, press ,
, , .
3. Press or repeatedly to view alternative words
(candidates).
4. If the word shown is the one you want:
• press to accept and add a space
• press or
YES to accept without a space.
If the candidates do not include a word you want,
you can add a new word to the list during selection.
Note: To enter a digit while typing text, press and
hold the digit key. For example, to enter a ‘5’, press
and hold .
To add a word to candidates
1. Scroll to a similar candidate to the word you want to add,
press , select Spell Word, YES.
2. Press repeatedly to delete one letter at a time.
Write the new word using multitap text input, YES.
The word is added to the dictionary. The next time you
enter the word you just added to the dictionary, it appears
as one of the alternative words.
3. Continue writing your message. See also “Sending text
messages” on page 45.

Getting to know your phone 15
Tip: Press to enter a period. To enter other
punctuation marks, press and then
or
repeatedly. Press to accept and add a space.
Press and hold to select an input method for
the text you are currently writing.
The list of options
Press when writing to enter a list of options:
•Add Symbol – Symbols and punctuation marks are
shown. Move between symbols with center select key.
•Insert Item – Add a picture, sound effect, melody or
animation to a message.
•Spell Word – For T9 Text Input only.
Edit the suggested word by using multitap text input.
•Text Format – Edit size, style, alignment or start a new
paragraph.
•Language – Show the input language selected earlier.
•Input Method – A list of input methods available for
the current input language is shown.
•Candidates – For T9 Text Input only.
A list of alternative words is shown.
•Help.

16 Personalizing your phone
Personalizing your phone
You can adjust the phone settings to suit your own
requirements.
Themes
You can change the appearance of the display, for example ,
the colors and background picture, by using themes.
Your phone comes with some pre-set themes. You cannot
delete these, but you can create new themes on the Sony
Ericsson Mobile Internet and download them to your
phone. For more information, visit
wap.SonyEricsson.com.
To select a theme
• Scroll to Pictures&Sounds, YES, Themes.
Note: If you need to adjust the display contrast,
scroll to Settings, YES, Display, YES, Contrast.
Exchanging themes
You can send and receive a theme via multimedia
messaging (MMS), also known as picture messaging,
email or download it via WAP. For more information on
sending themes in messages, see “Messaging” on page 44.
To send a theme
1. Scroll to Pictures&Sounds, YES, Themes.
2. Highlight a theme, press .
3. Select Send, YES.
4. Select a transfer method, YES.
Note: You are not allowed to exchange copyright-
protected material.
Pictures
Your phone comes with a number of pictures. You can:
• Set a picture as background when in standby mode.
• Assign a picture to a contact in the phonebook. When
that person calls, the picture appears in the display. See
“To add a picture to a phonebook contact” on page 27.
• Enclose a picture in a text message.
• Send a picture via picture messaging or email.
All pictures and are saved in Pictures&Sounds, YES,
My Pictures.
Handling pictures
You can also add, delete or rename pictures
in My Pictures. The number of pictures that
can be saved depends on the size of the
pictures. File types supported are GIF, JPEG and WBMP.

Personalizing your phone 17
To view your pictures
• Scroll to Pictures&Sounds, YES, My Pictures.
The pictures are shown in thumbnail view. To get a full
view, press YES.
Note: Animations for picture messages can be viewed
in My Pictures. Animations for text messages can only
be viewed when inserting an item in a text message.
See “To insert an item in a text message (EMS)” on
page 45.
To view your camera pictures (if connected)
• Scroll to Pictures&Sounds, YES, CommuniCam or
• Scroll to Connect, YES, Accessories.
To select a picture as background
1. Scroll to Settings, YES, Display, YES, Wallpaper.
2. Select Select Picture, YES.
3. Select a picture, YES.
Tip: When viewing your pictures, you can set
a background by pressing .
To turn the background picture On or Off
• Scroll to Settings, YES, Display, YES, Wallpaper, YES,
Activate.
Exchanging pictures
You can send pictures via picture messaging or email
and receive via picture messaging. For more information
on sending pictures in messages, see “Messaging” on
page 44.
Note: You are not allowed to exchange copyright-
protected material.
To send a picture
1. Scroll to Pictures&Sounds, YES, My Pictures or
CommuniCam™.
2. Highlight a picture, YES. Press .
3. Select Send, YES.
4. Select a transfer method.
• When you receive a picture via a text message or a picture
message, a new message appears in your Inbox. Highlight
the picture in the message, press and select Save
to save in My Pictures.
Ringtones and melodies
Your phone comes with a number of standard and
polyphonic melodies that can be used as ringtones.
You can create and edit standard melodies, and send

18 Personalizing your phone
them to a friend in a text or picture message. You can also
download standard and polyphonic melodies via WAP.
Note: You are not allowed to exchange copyright-
protected material.
To select a ringtone
• Scroll to Settings, YES, Sounds & Alerts, YES,
Ringtones.
To set the ringtone volume
1. Scroll to Settings, YES, Sounds & Alerts, YES,
Ring Volume, YES.
2. Press or to increase or decrease the volume.
3. Press YES to save the setting.
Note: If you set the Ring Volume to 1/6, you will hear
a double-beep when receiving a call, regardless of the
ringtone chosen.
Warning! Exposure to excessive ring volume may
damage hearing. Answer the call or lower the volume
before placing the phone at your ear.
To turn the ringtone on or off
• Press and hold from standby and select
Turn On Silent or Turn Off Silent.
All signals except the alarm and timer signals are
turned off.
To compose a ringtone or melody
1. Scroll to Pictures&Sounds, YES, Composer, YES.
• Press - to enter a note.
• Press or to make the note shorter
or longer. There are six different lengths of notes.
• Press to change octave.
• Press once to raise the note one semitone.
• Press twice to lower the note one semitone.
• Press to add a melody effect, and to set the
tempo, volume, style and duration.
• Press to enter a pause (rest).
• Press to remove notes.
2. To listen to your melody, press YES.
3. Press YES again to save and name it, or press NO to
continue composing.
Note: To edit a melody, scroll to Pictures&Sounds,
YES, My Sounds, select the melody and press .