The C902 from Sony Ericsson is a concerted effort to wrestle the crown of sexiest camera phone from both the N95 and the pretenders from their own stable. After the short but glittering career of the K850i as Sony's sexiest camera phone, this new handset reshuffles their deck a little. The 5 megapixel C902 cements Cyber-shot phone as the flagship, leaving the Ks languishing mid-table like a depressed Tottenham.

Design wise, the candy bar C902 is simple yet gorgeous with a black finish, ridged edges and purple accenting all very reminiscent of the Playstation 2. Definitely a member of the Sony fraternity, it has a feeling of opulence and build quality that was curiously absent in previous models. It is impressively slender, and the classiest touch is the slide out lens from the top section of the phone. Revealing the lens from its hidden recess causes the front to spring into life, as touch sensitive buttons flanking the screen glow purple.

All these things that make the phone so pretty are reflected in it's price, this phone is certainly aiming for the fashion market a little more than the K850i was. In fact, the similarities between this phone and Samsung's U900 Soul are very apparent. The semi-touch functionality, the impressive camera quality, the target demographic, the marketing blitz Yet this phone is less of a departure from Sony's comfort zone as the Soul was for Samsung.

The traditional grid display is still present for menu access, but there are a few themes offering novel setups of a linear vertical list view and groups of rotating icons. All of the functionality will be very familiar to regular users, with the majority of options and multimedia settings almost identical to the three-year old K750i. Having said that, sticking to the old ways hasn't done Nokia any harm

The TFT display is crystal-clear if a little on the small side, with a 2 inch screen. It is feasible for most functions but makes framing for photos a tad difficult, even with the ease that the touch settings provide.  The feature set is rich, but largely as expected for a phone of this quality. HSDPA for 3G service and Bluetooth for wireless transfer or using headphones is nice, as is a second camera for video calls and support for the range of standard messaging methods. Memory is a lean 160MB, but is expandable with M2 memory cards. There is no headphone port, but there is an adaptor packed in to allow use. Unfortunately this wire's positioning means that the phone cannot be charged whilst headphones are in, a strange oversight.

Photo taking is this phone's forte, and yet the 5 megapixel camera still seems to lack some of the shutterbug spark that left so many K850 owners' cameras in the drawer. The images are clear and crisp, but seem oddly lacking in colour. The C902 is certainly wins 'best of breed' in the fashion phone sector, the speed of the software and the UI with the touch buttons is a dream to use. It just doesn't quite cut it against it's own predecessor. A slight disappointment.

Calls are fairly clear, but we did experience a strange echo on rare occasions, fuelling paranoid fantasies the FBI might be listening on the wire However, the inability to spot the fault on another C902 tested convinces us it was down to an iffy handset. Talktime is an impressive 9 hours, but taking photos can really eat into that quite heavily. All those pretty lights don't come for free

C902 is a truly talented all-rounder, and top of the 'camera first, phone second' heap. The sheer quality of the phone as a complete package, slender frame, good looks and camera integration sets the C902 apart from the pack. However there are two huge factors that prevent whole-hearted recommendation of this handset. The price is too steep for a device with this feature set, as lacking xenon flash and innovation in the user interface are real shortcomings, given the competition in the market today.

The second is the shadow of the C905 looming on the horizon. That's right, this excellent device is set to be surpassed by the 8-megapixel behemoth Sony has paraded for the past few months. So if photo snapping is the primary reason for getting a handset, holding out is definitely a wise option.

However, if you need to get your fashion phone fix now, it is difficult to find a better handset on the market today with the Holy Grail of brains and beauty.