Sony Ericsson W880i - The Thinnest Walkman Phone On The Block
Sony Ericsson prides itself on being at the forefront of technology as far as the mobile phone handsets it puts on the market go. This can certainly be said of every model of Walkman phone that has thus far appeared on the brand. The W880i is the latest model to be launched as part of that series, but does it live up to the standards established by its predecessors?
Available in silver as well as the more publicised black version, the W880i has one immediately noticeable feature that makes it stand out from the rest - it is just 9.4mm thick and weighs a mere 79g. Amazingly, it is a 3G handset and packs all of the features that come as standard in the most up to date phones. A 2MP camera, Bluetooth, WAP, USB and video playback are all included, but it’s the music capabilities that will make your jaw drop.
The music capabilities of the handset are nothing short of fantastic. A dedicated button will take you directly to the Walkman feature on the W880i and the menus are easy enough to navigate. The phone supports MP3, AAC and WAV files and you can opt to repeat or shuffle your play list. The sound is definitely designed for use with headphones because, whilst loud, the quality is bad if it is played out loud.
The 32MB of inbuilt memory will obviously not support the music capabilities of the W880i, but Sony Ericsson has added a 1GB memory stick to the package to sweeten the deal. This will hold over 240 songs on its own so the handset can replace your iPod if you so wish.
The keypad is one of the few irritating features of this phone. The buttons are actually very small and so close together that it is very difficult to hit the right key more often than not. The four-way navigation button has also been slimmed down because of the W880i’s size. Navigation is extremely difficult, although it does get easier with practice… if you have the patience to wait that long. If you like smaller buttons though, this may well be the phone for you.
|Concentrating more on the music and less on the image, another niggle of the W880i is the absence of the LED light to illuminate night images that has come as standard on previous Sony Ericsson models.
These niggles are not significant if you’re looking for a specialist music phone with great call features. Overall, the W880i is a good phone if you value music over other features but demand a decent functionality. After all, that’s what having a Walkman phone is all about.
You might also be interested in: Sony Ericsson W850i (Black/Grey/White) free line rental deals and other Sony Ericsson mobile deals
