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The T715 is a tidily constructed handset, with a refined design that's functional but quite pleasing on the eye as well as in the hand. It's available in either smart 'galaxy silver' or girly 'rouge pink' paintjobs, with the main bodywork around the screen, control panel and number pad in fashionable glossy black plastic.
Measuring 91.5(h) x 48(w) x 14.9(d) mm when closed and weighing a reasonable 96.5g, and with smoothly rounded edges, the T715 is a comfortable pocketful. It's well-balanced in-hand too with the slider open or closed.
The 2.2-inch QVGA (240x320 pixels) 16.7 million-colour TFT screen is bright and clear. While it's an average sized screen for Sony Ericsson's mid-range, those looking for more media centric devices may want something more substantial - though it's adequate and easily readable for a middle of the road device like this.
The control panel under the screen is sufficiently spacious. A large square navigation D-pad has slightly raised edges, making it finger-friendly and accurate to operate, while the Call and End buttons that are positioned on slim chrome keys either side have a subtle contour for easy finger selection.
A pair of rice grain thin softkeys are adequately spaced too, with Sony Ericsson's standard Activity Menu button – which pulls up a tabbed menu of useful shortcuts to features, status updates, browser options and so on – given plenty of room opposite the Clear key at the bottom of the control panel.
The large numbers on the slider keypad are raised and rounded with a matt texture that gives it a tactile and responsive feel when texting. It has a reassuringly springy action and a stable feel when using one-handed.
Buttons around the edge of the phone are sparse – there's a camera key and volume rocker – while a regular Sony Ericsson multi-connector socket typically located on the side takes care of earphones, charger and USB connections.
Like other recent Sony Ericssons (such as the Sony Ericsson Satio), MicroSD card memory card expansion is supported rather than Memory Stick Micro cards. The T715 can accommodate cards of up to 16GB in its slot under the back cover, boosting its 90MB of internal storage, although no card is supplied in the box.
