My Orange Walkman Friend (Sony Ericsson W200i)

Member Name: cyberem78

Product:	Sony Ericsson W200i
Date:	13/12/08 (278 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sturdy handset. Lots of features. Easy to use.

Disadvantages: Need a PC for the music features.

I bought this phone during the summer as a replacement for a phone I'd had for a very long time. I have never been fond of cell phones so I was not really bothered with type of phone I purchased. I looked around my local mall and saw that there were several cheap models at around the £30 mark in high street phone shops like O2 and Phones 4U. I then called into Asda and saw this on sale for £29.99. I had seen the same model priced £10 higher in O2. Asda were also selling £5 mobiles at the time but I felt that this phone looked sturdy and simple to use.

The phone was contracted with Orange, so when I purchased the phone I bought a top up voucher for my Pay as you go account. What is included in your phone package are as follows:

Mobile phone hanset
Sim card
PC Suite CD
Terms and Conditions Booklet
Orange Quick Start leaflet
Quick Instructions leaflet
Pay As You Go Information Booklet (13 things you need to know)
Safety Leaflet
Top Up and Go Card
Headphones
Hands Free Plug In and Earpieces
Charger
PC Cord
Full Instruction Booklet

The handset feels strong and sturdy but is not particularly heavy. It measures 4 inches long by just over 1 1/2 inches so fits snugly in the palm of the hand. The design is attractive to me. It has a black front with white text buttons. The edge of the phone is metallic orange. The orange colour is highlighted around the central select button ( a joystick style button) too. The back is marked with the Sony Ericsson 'Walkman' logo - an orange squiggle. The screen face is 3 1/2 centimetres long by 3 centimetres wide so is nice and big.

The phone has an on switch at the top of the handset. Like most mobile phones the screen shows battery life, coverage information, the network name, time and date. The wallpaper and themes can be fully customised. When you select 'menu' you are taken to a screen of cartoon icons. You always begin on 'Messages'. Other icons are: Games, Orangeworld, Radio, Settings, Organiser, Call History,Profiles,Camera, Media Album, Orange Music and Address Book.

The phone has a lot of fun features like the camera and the ability to edit you pictures. The quality of the camera is okay but shots look a little grainy. The Orange Music feature allows you to listen to music stored in your phone. There is also a radio and two games stored on the phone.

The phone doubles as a music player - the 'Walkman' feature. You can actually press a button on the side of your phone and turn this purely into a music player. The player supports MP3, MP4, Midi, 3GP, AAC, AMR, MIDI, IMY and WAV files. You can transfer music from your computer using the USB cords and the CD software provided. You need to have Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional systems to enable this to work.

I find myself fiddling with my phone a lot more than I used to with my old-fashioned phone. It really is an entertaining model. I use it to send texts a lot. I find the text feature really easy and a pleasure to use - and that's coming from a real Luddite. I also enjoy calling people and sending photo messages. If you are bored you can compose your own ringtone or warp a friends face in the picture distorting program!

Even with lots of use I tend to get a weeks battery use before needing to charge and when chargin it takes between 1-2 hours.

Overall a great phone which I'm very glad to have chosen.

Summary: A great phone which I enjoy using.

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