MANILA, Philippines — It was one of a series of unfortunate events that happened during the usual wet month of December, my iPhone got wet. It was ironic that it was not rain, but rather my own clumsiness of letting it fall into a pool of water (not the toilet BTW).

A blogger friend of mine, Abe, once shared how traumatic it was for him to lose his iPhone, and I can somewhat relate to the experience.  I have never been this attached to a mobile device since my Palm Pilot, which then featured the first PDA and phone in one.   Such a nifty device and worked well for me.

Now my iPhone is undergoing a recovery of sorts, spending time in a Ziploc with uncooked rice, which according to the web is one of the best way to get the moisture out and save your wet iPhone.

I am keeping my fingers crossed, that it will eventually dry up and function as normally as before.  But the prospects of owning an iPhone 4S seem as hopeful.

Personal Trials. So while I am iPhoneless, I went around during the Christmas break looking for something I can use.  After sorting through the choices and considering a less expensive option, I ended up getting a Sony Ericsson WT19i Walkman Phone.

A strong affinity to the original Walkman (the portable audio cassette player) made it a simpler choice.  Also, I am still under the belief that my iPhone will still come alive, and investing in a more robust and expensive phone is not a smart idea.

Like going through a new toy, I started going through Sony Ericsson’s WT19i and quite naturally I tried the Walkman feature.  It did not disappoint, but I found it a bit strange that the speakers are located at the back of the phone.  The sound quality though is pretty impressive and it does become better with the use of the earphones,which I guess is how it is suppose to be used.

Scrolling through the UI is amusing; you can go through different apps and phone functionalities with ease.  Texting using the QWERTY keypad can be rather difficult, and it is a good thing that it provides predictive text.  Still watch out and proof read your messages, you might end up sending ‘aroused’ when you meant ‘around’ – as in see you around and not see you aroused, which can be embarrassing.

I tried other functionalities, but allow me to focus in on what I usually use with the iPhone only to have a better comparison.

Web browsing seems seamless and with the Google search/address bar right in the middle of the user interface, makes it easy to navigate.  The speed of the browser however, is not as impressive, but it still gets the work done.  The display does have the usual bells and whistles, like pitching or double tap to zoom in and out but the display screen size can be rather challenging.

Setting up the email facility is simple enough even if you are using your own domain and hosting facilities,and not the free services like Gmail and Yahoo.  But like the experience browsing, the speed is an issue.

I also tried the Maps app on the phone, and this one I feel is superior to any of the other map apps I tried.  Looking for places, like restaurants, bars and even bank ATM locations, which are near you is indeed an impressive experience.

Overall, for its affordable price, Sony Ericsson WT19i will not disappoint the music lover and is a decent phone to have.  It can also have a FM tuner that completes its music delivery capability.

But if you are considering for a more robust web browsing and email experience, this phone may be off key. So what I learned before the year ended, clumsiness can carry a hefty price!

For your comments and opinions, you can reach me at jpv.groovetech@gmail.com.