I am a hardcore Nokia fan, having used 4 Nokia models before (3310, 1100, 3100, and 7610), I just always assumed no other brand can come close to Nokia when features are concerned. I saw its previous version (W800i) with a colleague and went for a Walkman phone myself.
I was literally made ’mouthshut’ by this awesome model. I am now fully convinced that Sony Ericsson does makes some real GREAT phones.
Without delving into documented features of this mobile which can be obtained from any tech website, I would give my opinions of the phone features which I discovered in course of usage:
The shape and size of the phone is too good. I always love block style models, but this range of phones has given new meanings to this design altogether. It looks exactly like a sony camera from back and becomes a walkman from the front. And the Satin Black color with orange-red hues is very appropriate for this phone. In short it is an absolutely beauty to hold, use and possess. Though the small keypad becomes a minor nuisance at times.
The phones boasts of heavy-duty walkman features, which are not in vain. The sound quality is simply SUPERB. My colleague recently purchased a Nokia 3250 (the one with a swivel 2 MP camera), and believe me, the sound quality doesn’t even comes closer to this masterpiece. With 512 MB card, you can store about 100-150 songs in the memory at a time. The speaker is very loud and clear (useful for both - better song listening and better conference calls)
Radio: One of the best mobile radios I have seen in recent times. I am in Bangalore and my phone was catching Delhi Vividh Bharti signals! And with Sony stereo headset, listening to FM radio wouldnt be the same again.
Camera: The camera has an auto focus feature (meaning, it will focus automatically on the subject). And again, as compared to Nokia phones I find the images taken by this camera to be much better. The only minor problem is that camera lens does not have a cover but it can be made proper by using a phone pouch or a separate cover. The phone boasts of a very clear and powerful flash and macro mode, useful for night-shots and close-ups respectively.
Superior and faster GPRS and Internet facility, A PlayNow feature, Call recording facility and comprehensive Scheduler features makes this phone very appropriate for business purposes.
Data Transfer - Has all the features - bluetooth, IR and a USB cable. Have tested bluetooth and USB mediums and they are very fast and accurate.
Battery - The phone boasts of a 9 hour talk time, but practically it goes for about 7 hours. Therefore a normal usage person would need to charge it in 3 to 4 days which is actually better than Nokia phones (Nokia rules because of its battery life, hopefully we have someone who can dethrone Nokia).
A good feature with this phone is that music playing doesn’t eat up battery heavily which usually is the case in Nokia music phones. The phone also has a default power-save black mode which conserves a lot of energy.
- Light-sensor - Phone’s screen is ALWAYS visible very clearly, whatever be the time of the day (even in the brightest sunlight), thanks to a light sensor which senses the screen brightness requirement according to ambient light. This feature makes this phone a generation apart from other similar phones which become literally invisible in bright ambient light.
In short it is a phone to have if you want a good phone for entertainment and business purposes both.