[GadgetSG Review] The Sony Ericsson W880i

31Jul07

Presenting the first in-house review : the Sony Ericsson W880i  

Pros:

1. Slim and great to carry around, good build quality 
2. Excellent MP3 functions
3. Good call quality and 3G 

Cons:

1. Keypad is uncomfortable
2. No FM radio
3. Poor camera

Summary/Overall Score:   

A good phone to get if the poor camera and absence of FM radio does not bother you. And make sure you try out the keypad before you get it.

Introduction:

When photos of the W880 unique slimness and keypad design (for a SE) appeared on the internet, SE fans were surprised at its departure from previous conservative looking but technically advance phones like the k750, T610 and T28.

Interesting fact : the W880i is the 2nd phone to be designed by SE’s design centre in Tokyo (first is the W900i) and it’s design goal was to minaturize the W900i into a thickness equal to its swivel screen (9.4mm).  

(think of the W880i as a W900i that has all its features shrunk into the size of its screen )  

Specifications:

(click for details)

 

Look and feel:

The W880i looks and feel like a well built MP3 player like the ipod nano due its slimness and use of stainless steel for the front. 

It’s compact size also makes it very convienient to carry with you everywhere.

On the topic many people are concerned about: how’s the keypad?

 

Well, its bad but useable.

Initially, you will hate that the keys are really small and hard to press. 

After a few days getting used to it, you can type as fast as other phones but it will never be comfortable.

The W880i gets a 4 for looks and the excellent size and build quality but 2 for the keypad so overall 3 stars.

Calls and Messaging:

The interface and menus are easy to understand so most users  will not have a problem finding the feature they want.

 

Call clarity and reception is good but some might find the earphone a bit soft. 3G video calls can also be made.

Messaging input method is similar to Nokia’s and smileys or emoticons are automatically converted into a nice pictorial representation.

MMS and most email are supported. 

Overall, the W880i is easy to use and performs well for calls and messaging.

Camera

The 2 megapixel camera is able to capture almost decent images in bright day light but its almost useless at night due to lack of flash. It performs less well than the K750i even though both have the same resolution.

Video capture is done at the lowish 176×144 resolution and is similarly hampered by the poor camera. 

If capturing pictures or videos is important to you, the W880i will not be able to perform adequetly

Please click below for a sample picture taken

Multimedia 

The music playback function supports MegaBass which enhances the sound and the control are also quite easy to understand. The supplied HPM-70 headset/earphone performs well and you can choose to plug in your own eaphones if you have better ones. A 1 Gig storage card is supplied by default and can fit up to 400 songs.

Unlike all other Walkman branded phones, the W880i does have FM radio. However, it does supports stereo bluetooth headsets so you can get something like the iTech radio which will enable you to have radio and wireless listening at the same time. 

The phone also supports playback of all the normal mobile video formats but due to the small size of the screen, it probably will not be too enjoyable.

One very interesting feature of most recent walkman phones is the TrackID function which is also present here. If you hear a song that you don’t know the title, you can use this function to identify the song. On all the songs tested, including lesser know chinese songs, it actually gets the song correctly.

In short, as a music player, it performs very well.

Internet browser , Connectivity and Others

The built in internet browser is perfectly adequete for surfing WAP sites to check news or 4D results but not as impressive as the one in newer Nokia phones which displays websites just like they appear on the computer. 

Frequently used functions like alarm, calendar and calculator functions are also present.

SE has bundled a USB data cable for you to transfer music/pictures to and from your computer but you can also use bluetooth.

 Conclusion

The W880i has great features but also critical drawbacks.

It’s slimness and good phone function makes it a great phone to carry around. However the poor camera and awkward keypad is something that will also affect your experience. If these 2 are not critical to you, its a good phone to have. 

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