Is it a bird? is it a radio? is it an Ipo..... NO! its a mobile phone! (Sony Ericsson W580i)

Member Name: izzoh

Product:	Sony Ericsson W580i
Date:	05/10/08 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Trendy colours . . . great music features.

Disadvantages: you have to pay for games, stiff buttons and slide

My mum (bless her) has once again decided to get another mobile phone. Why? I have not a single clue. But at least it gives me something to review! So here goes... my review (and my mothers opinion) on the Sony Ericsson W850i (Pink).
Firstly, the W580i is a very attractive looking mobile phone. Something you would be proud to own. At 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches it is a relatively large phone compared to many on the market these days but still not too much of a handful. Keep in mind it is also a slide style phone so the size does takes that into consideration. It feels very light to hold and weighs 94.0 gr. So yes, very light and very slim. Considering all it has inside!!!!

The phone itself is from the Walkman® player range at Sony Ericsson, basically this means that it's easy to manage the music in your phone. One click starts the Walkman® music player. You can play, rewind, fast forward, equalize, shuffle tracks and create playlists - just like in any other digital music player. Walkman® player supports several file formats including MP3 and AAC. So great if you're a music person. The music element is what makes this phone different from others on the market; these are the main music features:
* Name that tune
When you hear a song you like but you don't know what it's called, ask TrackIDTM. Record a few seconds of the song and use TrackIDTM to send the music for recognition. In seconds, you'll have the name and artist of the phone. Don't ask me how but incredible! My mum is one of those people who hears a song and says to the nearest person... 'oh... who is that' so once i get her trained up on how to use it, no doubt it will give her hours of fun!!

* Flight mode
In Flight mode the radio function is turned off so that it does not disturb sensitive equipment, for instance in an airplane or in a hospital. You cannot make or take calls, but you can still use some of the functions in your phone. Many phones have these now but I do think it is a great benefit if you travel often.

* FM radio
Just plug in your headphones that you get in the box and activate the built-in FM radio. With RDS, you see which station you're tuned into, and sometimes, what song is playing. Ideal for when you are travelling or out and about by yourself, although with the amount of memory you can use your own music on here so you may not find much need to use the radio.

* MegaBass
When bass frequencies are enhanced, you get a better overall music experience. Play your favourite tracks loud and clear through high quality headphones or external speakers. Mega Bass adds depth for a bigger sound... just please do not play in on a packed bus during rush hour, which the teenagers do where I live!

AND MY FAVOURITE FEATURE

* Shake control
The easy way to change your tune: just shake your phone. With Shake control activated, press and hold the Walkman key and flick your wrist. A vibration lets you know that the track has been changed - a new song from your current playlist is randomly selected and automatically played. Just fantastic how the technology can work that out.... (although you might want to switch this feature on if your jogging or on a trampoline!!)
So that is why the mobile is famous. Not bad really!!

Other then this the phone does have some other great features.... The integrated camera and video recorder which is a brilliant quality, pre-installed games.... Which are bejewelled, lumines blocks, Sims 2, Tetris and the Sims bowling. HOWEVER....these are classed as demos and you can only play for a minute or two before you are asked to buy the game or quit. Which comes as quite a shock when you first have a go! so I think that is a bit cheeky! Also for the bloggers out there you can take pictures and post straight to your blog. Plus the usual text messaging, calendar, alarm etc. The talk time states 9 hours but i would say its a couple of hours less then this but obviously that depends on how much you talk!
The model my mum has is the light baby pink version which as you can imagine is quite feminine, and very shiny! Very pretty! This phone comes in a range of colours.
Boulevard Black
Urban Grey
Metro Pink
Jungle Green
Velvet Red and
Style white........ so many that I have never known a mobile to have so many colours, so if you have the money you can buy one to match every outfit!!

My mum bought this from a catalogue as it's easier for her to pay off and she bought it on the 02 pay as you go network for £79.00 which I think is a pretty good price for everything you get. But prices vary a great deal depending on where you buy it from.
All in all it is a very trendy phone and one that should last a while, the only thing so far that has been a bit of a negative is that the buttons and the 'slide' mechanism on the phone is VERY stiff. This may be beacuse the phone is till fairly new, but based on previous experience it can sometimes take two hands o actually open the phone!

so all in all... It's perfect for the people who carry a pocket load of gadgets around. This can be your mobile phone, camera, radio and music player in one!

(Also published on Ciao under myself izzoh)

Summary: Trendy phone for the gadget people out there.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Sound quality:
Variety of features: