I had owned the Samsung U900 Soul for over a year, and I had a lot of small annoyances with it. I'd previously owned a Sony Ericsson and I had loved it, so when I saw an advert for the new Sony Ericsson W995, I knew I had to get it. I'm on Orange, and so their exclusive red version of this phone really drew me in, and after reading the spec I knew this was the new phone I've been waiting for.


== Appearance ==

One of the main features for me was that this phone is NOT a touchscreen phone. Personally I'm not one for this new touchscreen craze, I've tried out friends' phones, even the Apple iPhone and I just can't get away with them and they're not for me. The Sony Ericsson W995 is a sliding phone, which I like, and it has a keypad. No fancy 'mini touchscreens' to be found here either, unlike my Samsung Soul which had a small touchscreen navigation screen below the main screen and it annoyed the life out of me with its slowness. The keys on this phone are fine, and I find it very easy to text using them. No qualms there.

The phone feels of excellent quality, something which I often find with many Sony Ericsson mobile phones, and it is quite an attractive phone. It isn't bulky or ugly, and I really love the red colour on mine. I understand you can also get this phone in black, and that shade is also visually appealing.

On the back of the phone is a small metal 'hook' folded down near the battery cover lock. When you flick this out it's actually a stand for the mobile phone for when it's on it's side. Supposedly handy for when you are watching movies/TV on your mobile phone, but I can't think when I would ever need to do this. My boyfriend however argued he would use it when he watches media on this mobile phone at night in bed, and he usually has to prop his phone up against pillows, so I suppose it's a good feature if you need it. It doesn't however get in the way and it sits comfortably on the back of the phone.


== Memory ==

The W995 comes with an 8GB memory card, tucked away under the battery cover. You are given a cable to connect your mobile phone to your computer, but if you a suitable adapter for the memory card then there is nothing stopping you from taking this out and popping it straight into your USB slot.


== Camera ==

The W995 also has an amazing 8.1 megapixel camera. I know megapixel's aren't everything but I've tried and tested this camera and its amazing quality for a mobile. I currently own a large digital camera with a big lens, and whilst I love it, it's not handy to carry around with me everywhere. I was thinking of investing in a new 'point and click' digital camera but decided I may as well get a new mobile phone which has a decent camera built into it, even less objects to carry around! The camera has a flash and auto focus, and I was impressed with the various settings that come with it. You can choose from a range of shoot modes; Smile Detection, BestPic, Panorama, Frames and of course normal. Then you have a choice of scenes, Auto, Twilight Landscape, Landscape, Portrait, Beach/Snow, Sports and Document. You can also have face detection or macro mode turned on. Admittedly I haven't had a chance to try out all the different modes, but the ones I have tried I have been pretty impressed with. For example in Document mode, I was very impressed with how it picked up the text off a page and I could read it clearly when I transferred this photo onto my computer. The flash on the camera is good, it's not brilliant as is expected from mobile phones and you may find taking photos in a dark room not that great, but again, this is a mobile phone not a digital camera in itself.

I would like the lens on the back of the phone to have a cover but unfortunately there isn't. I'm always worried the lens will get dirty or damaged when they are simply uncovered on the back of a mobile, it's never happened to me yet though.


== Walkman & MP3's! ==

This is also a Sony Walkman phone and because of this you are supplied with a pair of good quality Sony headphones. The phone doesn't use the normal plug that you find on headphones, but it uses the Sony one. However the headphones have an adapter, meaning you can plug in your usual preferred headphones if you like into the adapter and use them with this mobile. Of course the only downside is if you lose this adapter then you have to hunt down this special lead!

My mobile phone also came with a free speaker. I didn't expect much from this speaker, which plugs into the side of the phone; however the quality from it is surprisingly good. The phone has different equaliser settings and stereo widening, so you can fiddle around with it to get it to sound even better.

I had no trouble transferring my music across and onto my mobile. The phone sorts them into albums for you. On the side of the phone there are some buttons, including one for volume, play/pause and the skip buttons. My only problem is with the volume button, I often find it quite hard to press as it seems really small and fiddly, but it's only a small problem. The other buttons are silver and much bigger so are easier to use. The W995 also has a shake feature; you simply shake the phone to skip tracks, handy if you need to do this quickly.


== Wi-Fi ==

This phone is also able to connect to Wi-Fi internet, so if you are in an area where you can connect to this then you can browse the internet using the Wi-Fi connection rather than your mobile internet, which is often charged for by your phone network provider. I have found this feature easy to use, it scans for local connections quickly, and you can save a favourite one. So for example I have my home Wi-Fi saved along with the WAP settings, when I'm in the home it will automatically connect to Wi-Fi for me, handy when I want to check e-mails when I can't be bothered to boot up the PC!


== GPS ==

As with a lot of new mobile phones these days, this phone also has GPS capability. My mobile came with Orange Maps and Google Maps, but of course you will not receive 'Orange Maps' unless you are on Orange! I haven't used the GPS feature as I have no need for it, but I have messed around with Google Maps a few times and it's an easy to use feature.


== Free Movies ==

The phone also comes with access to free movies. For this you have to visit the 'PlayNow Arena' website (a booklet comes with the mobile phone explaining this) and download the movie. New ones are released onto the website each month; however don't expect the latest blockbusters or even films you may have heard of at all. You can then transfer these films onto your mobile using the cable provided. To play the films you need to download a license, your phone does this for you and it doesn't take long, a few seconds. Once this has been done you can then watch the movies on your mobile, you can tilt the phone on its side so you can watch the movies sideways on.


== TV & Video ==

The W995 comes with BBC iPlayer on it, under the menu of 'TV.' You can of course watch the BBC channels 'live' on the iPlayer but I found it handy that you can download old programmes from BBC iPlayer onto your phone and watch them later, so I can download them using the Wi-Fi connection in my home, then watch them whilst outside of the home. Otherwise I would need to pay network charges for connecting to the Internet and watching these live, and the 8GB memory in the phone gives plenty of room for you to do this!

There is also the YouTube application, meaning you can access videos on YouTube. I've used this application a couple of times and it works fine, but I'm not a big user of YouTube myself.



== Other Applications ==

There are a few applications already on the phone; however you can download more if you wish. There is 'Voice Transformer', which basically records your voice then transforms it to make it sound silly. There's 'Walk Mate' which is basically a pedometer and shows how many steps you have taken, and even a 'Rock Bobblehead' which is basically an Elvis like characters wobbling when you shake the phone... not sure what the point of it is really!

The W995 comes with all the features you would expect from a modern mobile phone. It has alarms, calendars, timers, bluetooth, video calling etc. You can send and receive SMS and MMS and I personally love the predictive texting on Sony Ericsson phones. Compared to the Samsung phone I previously owned, I have found the predictive text much easier and quicker to use!


== Summary ==

Overall I find this to be an excellent mobile phone and it makes a refreshing change from the phone I owned before it. I couldn't recommend it more, an excellent camera, mp3 walkman and mobile phone in one!