Another surprise (Sony Ericsson W980)

Member Name: LIZS383

Product:	Sony Ericsson W980
Date:	11/06/09 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Music, Multimedia

Disadvantages: Slow load, low camera mp

The Sony W890 is nowhere near the highest spec phone on the market. But is terms of what I need and what I use fits the bill perfectly.

Size and Weight
It is rather large for a flip phone (difficult to fit in a clutch bag) although this is negated by the low depth.
It is surprisingly light. Its quite box shaped and the hinge seems reassuringly sturdy! The only colour option I had was black when I purchased this. I don't know if there are other colours.

Outside
The outside is clearly designed for the Walkman function the Sony Ericsson phones excel at. The buttons are grouped together but a decent size. I like having the screen on the front which is movement sensitive. It lights up showing any events or the walkman function as soon as the phone is touched - all the icons are pretty standard and easy to interpret. As usual when the phone was first set up all the Sony Ericsson logos automatically appear on the screen, but this is easy to change.

However the glossy front is extremely easy to scratch. Despite having a cover on the phone since it was bought mine has still got several scratches on it.

The 3.2 mega pixel camera is located on the back of the closed phone. Its relatively out of the way, the only thing is it sometimes makes angling the shots slightly difficult. There is no camera on the inside that you can switch to. I wish they had put a higher resolution camera in, but the phone is more concentrated on the walkman and the camera is sufficient for shots that can be printed at a standard size.

Flipped Open
The buttons are huge!!!! Really easy to type on without making mistakes. Because they are round, and totally separated they are really easy to type on, although it does make the phone look slightly toy like! The number/alphabet buttons are laid out in a pretty standard fashion. Above them there is a wheel style menu selector, the phone images to call and hang up and a power button to the right. The main unusual addition to this is the walkman button, which takes you direct to the music screen without going through the menu,, this combined with the walkman controls on the front may be considered overkill but does make getting to the music on the phone very simple and efficient - not much effort or attention goes in to doing so.
The use of the size is more evident as the screen is really big and very, very clear.

Using the phone
When the phone is switched on I find it a little strange. It vibrates and some orage LED's flash on and off, then it takes a long time before the Sony Ericsson screen flashes up or the phone is ready for use. I don't often turn off the phone, so it's not too problematic for me, but may get a bit annoying for someone that tends to switch the phone off frequently and just turn it on to check.

The screen can be customised however you want and you can move or remove feature such as the clock. Icons showing what is switched on, or any alerts are along the top of the screen. There is also a link bottom left direct to the media on the phone.

The menu is pretty standard for a Sony Ericsson phone, navigated up, down and side to side by using the relevant edge of the click wheel.

Play now and internet - pretty standard. Impressed with the internet connection - compared to my last phone it is strong and quick.

Entertainment - lots of fun Sony Ericsson only features.

Camera - the camera I was quite pleased with despite the low MP rating. It has several different shot settings and the night one was really good for quick snaps on a night out.

Messaging - no real surprises - still marvelling at how easy it is to type!!!

Media - nice simple scroll set-up

Radio - good signal - good to have!

Walkman takes you through from the menu to the same screen as the direct button.

Contacts and call register are precisely what you would expect. As are the settings menu (you DO need your own music for tones ASAP).

The Organiser was another interesting surprise, it include a world clock fitness monitor, music mate weather & metric/imperial converter.

This phone is a good little multimedia phone, excellent for music with 8mb installed memory. For the price I would say definitely worth it. I don't use a lot of the functions day to day, but I like having them there for when I do!!!

Summary: Good value, good fun

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