You can't sum this phone up in a few words (Sony Ericsson W890i)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	Sony Ericsson W890i
Date:	30/07/09 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to use

Disadvantages: software known for freezing

Yesterday saw me changing my phone contract. This has made me look at my old phone fondly wondering if my new shiny phone will be as trusted as my old friend has been.

Rewind twelve months. This saw me on the phone to my current provider O2 upgrading my contract to a new phone. I was one of the lucky ones a year ago to secure a 12 month contract. These are like gold dust now and O2 don't offer this service anymore, being one of the last to actually do so.
When it comes to upgrade time, I never quite know what I want to my Sony arrived to me as part of a surprise. I had decided I could take the gamble being only a 12 month contract as it would go a lot quicker than 18 or 24 months if I didn't like it.
The advisor obviously recommended the phone to me as they would but it seemed to fit my basic requirements. I don't use my phone a massive amount so I don't really need a huge amount of great specification from a phone as I knew I wouldn't get the most from it.

The Sony Ericsson W890i comes in Mocha brown or silver. I'm not a fan of silver phones and was offered the mocha brown which straight away seemed different.
The basic spec of the phone is as follows
- 3.2m camera
- 2gb music player
- FM radio
- 3g video calling
- Bluetooth and USB
- HSDPA for fast downloads
- 10mm thick
- Weight - 78g
- Video camera
- Mp3 ringtones
- SMS, MMS, email
- Quad band plus 3G
- Size - 104 x 47 x 10mm

As you can see the spec is what you would expect on a phone today. This model was released in spring 2008 but still a year on its standing its own against the non touch screen models.

When I first set my eyes on the phone I saw how stylish it looked. The mocha colour made it stand out against any other phones that support the shiny bright colours, purely for the fact that it didn't need a bright colour to be attractive.
I'm not a fan of small keys on phones and was relieved to see that whilst the keys were on the smaller side, they were whole keys in their own right, and not just small half buttons that some Sony Ericson models sport, especially on the walkman phones.
Whilst it looks like a basic phone, once you delve into the menu, you can see the depth of all the applications available to you.

Sony Ericsson for me has a great layout to their menu base. I love the way you can click through from one area and be able to scroll across the screen into sections rather than having to scroll down a large list just to find what you're looking for.
The W890i has what on first glance is a small menu area, covering the basic screen only, but as I mentioned it gets deeper the further you go into it. All laid out clearly through for the novice user, this is definitely a good phone for someone who doesn't want to get bogged down by many different functions like me.

Obviously like any phone you can send SMS, MMS and if you choose to set the function up, email is available from this phone. As every phone covers this function I won't cover anything special about it, because it is what it is.

** Entertainment **

The phone has a couple of games that may keep you entertained for a few minutes, but the great thing about this phone is that you have a cute little picture, video and music editor that will actually keep you entertained for longer if you need the distraction.
All your photos are available to doctor slightly by changing the colour, adding clipart etc and text. Music is available to create by adding melodies from different instruments.
This feature is quirky and useful for when you want to amuse yourself or the children.

** Media **

Here is where all your photos, videos etc are stored. All in nice folders making it easy to look through, your photos for example are automatically stored into folders containing the month in which you took them. I find this great for looking back at how old the kids were when I was taking photos and forgetting to give them names.
You can also section them off yourself into separate folders. This is great if you use your phone as your main camera. All pictures can be stored to the memory card and then transferred to your PC etc at a later date.

** Camera **

The camera is easily accessed via the main menu or a button on the side of the phone. Being a 3.2meg the camera is fairly basic compared to brand new phones but does stand up against many recent phones on the market.
You have various settings to change the resolution, sepia, portrait or landscape etc before you take the photos. I find the delay on the camera slightly too long for any decent action shots, but it's better than a lot I have used. Taking photos of my children running around I find that half of them comes out blurred, and the delay between taking one photo and being able to view the camera again ready to take another is slightly too long for me to catch any decent shots.
That's not to say the camera doesn't stand up against other phones as it does do well for its age, and I have managed to get some nice shots from the camera when I have forgotten to take my own camera.

** Radio **

Sporting an FM radio is great for when you need something to listen to and you're sick of your playlists. To access this function you have to insert the correct usb lead which is included in the box so remember to keep it at hand if the radio is a function you want to use.

** Walkman **

The walkman function of the phone is the place where you really want to access for your music. All tracks can be placed into playlists, and set into folders containing the albums of the artists etc. This is the same as accessing the music feature through the media function so I'm not sure why Sony decided to add an extra menu button to be honest.
The function itself is well worth having on the phone and will be well used by most users. The sound quality is good and the use ability is fairly easy for a novice user to understand.

** Settings **

You can change any of your ring tones, vibration mode, text alerts etc through the settings menu. This function is laid out well and contains a lot that other phones don't in a way that is easy to understand by a new user.

** Organiser **

Every phone these days has an alarm clock, diary, calendar etc and the W890i is no different. I found it is hidden away slightly and to gain proper use from it I would suggest placing the button as a shortcut from the keypad to get the most from it.

You also have call history to keep track of missed calls etc, and also a section to list your contacts. The phone holds plenty of spaces for contacts and no-one will ever use them all unless you are super sociable. Both of these areas are standard to any phone and don't need extra information.

** Overall **

My experiences of the W890i have been nothing but good. Twelve months later and there are only a few minor scratches on the phone despite being dropped a few times by both me and a toddler.
The software on Sony's are known for freezing, which this model has experienced trouble from a couple of times but not enough to have to send the handset back to Sony which is good compared to some others I have seen over the last year from friends etc.
After wanting a basic phone, but with nice features, I believe this is what I got in the W890i. It doesn't bombard me with too many applications that are difficult to understand, but at the same time it gives me what I want from a phone which at the same time looks good and can keep up with the competition.
Despite its age, I believe anyone getting this phone now will still get some good use from it for the next year or so.

Summary: a fantastic phone

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