...
FINALLY, THE PHONE!
Ah yes - the Sony Ericsson W580i, another of CW's end-of-line 'can't seem to shift 'em' clearance bargains, hence the cash-back. Last week you could have had an Acer laptop instead of the cash-back but guess what? They're worth about the same as the cash-back, what ... Read review
Sony Ericsson W580i White Mobile Phone on Orange PAYG. The W580i mobile phone is a walkman more
phone with a difference, the addition of fitness software, pedometer with the ability to calculate running speeds means you can monitor your exercise daily.
Sony Ericsson W580i White Mobile Phone on Orange PAYG. The W580i mobile phone is a walkman more
phone with a difference, the addition of fitness software, pedometer with the ability to calculate running speeds means you can monitor your exercise daily.
Advantages: Feature-packed Disadvantages: Connection port open to the elements. Camera doesn't set me alight!
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Ah yes - the Sony Ericsson W580i, another of CW's end-of-line 'can't seem to shift 'em' clearance bargains, hence the cash-back. Last week you could have had an Acer laptop instead of the cash-back but guess what? They're worth about the same as the cash-back, what a surprise!
Comparisons may well be odious, but relevant nonetheless. At this stage in the game, there are certain aspects of the new phone that are inferior to the ... .../>
Anyway, build-quality wise, the Sony is a tad of a disappointment despite feeling quite heavy and robust. It's a 'slider' that uncovers its keys if you need them. The slide mechanism doesn't convince you that its initial 'slickness' will last for ever and goodness knows how an un-cased one will survive getting sand in the sliders. The connection port, which is used for everything from recharging to USB connections and headphones is open to the ... more
Don't worry chaps - I promise to write about a mobile phone only once every 18 months!
OH NO, I JUST FIGURED OUT HOW TO WORK THE LAST ONE
I obviously had other things on my mind when I actually deigned to answer an unrecognised number on my Samsung D900 mobile - it was "David" calling me from CarphoneWhorehouse, to remind me that my 18-months' contract was nearly up. I'd been ignoring their e-mails and blocking their various numbers for weeks now.
My current deal with them, using O2 as my network was for 600 minutes and 500 texts on O2's £35/month tariff. However, CW had dangled the carrot of £280 cash-back spread throughout the period bringing my deal down to under £20/month. The only time I ever exceeded the £35 monthly charge was when I stupidly used the phone as a modem for my laptop, incurring another 36 quid's worth in one month - never again I vowed, despite the appeal of being able to use my laptop for web use wherever I was in the UK.
This time things were going to be different, yessiree!
"No!", I was going to say, "You can stick you service where the sun don't shine - I'm off to a SIM-only deal at Virgin, 300 minutes and texts for a tenner, matey".
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Ten minutes later……..
Carphonewarehouse 2, Bnibbles 0
Of course, I crumbled. You've got to hand it to the guy - I came away with a renewed contract for another 18 months and another new phone! To be fair, the contract still included cash-back (not quite as much as last time) and, carrot of carrots, unlimited internet use (as a 'loyalty bonus' although I could just have asked O2 for it), all of which means that my monthly costs are now about the same, with no nasty surprises like when my e-mails cost me £16 thanks to my antivirus software doing an update in background! In reality, the tariff I'm on now has internet capping which means that you can only be charged up to £1 a day for ad-hoc web use, so they're not giving much away since I won't use it all that often.
Did I want insurance? "No", I lied, "it's covered on my contents insurance along with cameras and other valuables." I've never lost a phone in my life and certainly didn't intend to 'rebuy' the entire phone (now only £69) over 18 months. There's always the Samsung to fall back on.
FINALLY, THE PHONE!
Ah yes - the Sony Ericsson W580i, another of CW's end-of-line 'can't seem to shift 'em' clearance bargains, hence the cash-back. Last week you could have had an Acer laptop instead of the cash-back but guess what? They're worth about the same as the cash-back, what a surprise!
Comparisons may well be odious, but relevant nonetheless. At this stage in the game, there are certain aspects of the new phone that are inferior to the old Samsung D900, itself an 'end-of-line' bargain 18 months ago. I'm glad to report that it exceeds expectation in other fields though.
One of its 'failings' is the 'loss' of a mega pixel of definition by its camera, being only 2.0, and typical of a camera in a phone, there's no means of focussing, and no lighting for dark shots, unlike its predecessor which was a half-way decent camera in its own right. Now I'm stuck with a lack-lustre camera suitable only for taking visual notes of car crashes etc, instead of the occasional shot worthy of the family album.
There are no pretty boot-up pictures to remind of the country you're in either! I kind of miss the daily view of the Palace Of Westminster with birds flying past - silly I know, but there you are. (Or the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, if you happen to be in southern Spain at the time, Acropolis in Greece, Eiffel Tower when in……oh I forget!)
To be fair, if this is your first new phone for ages you'll be thrilled with its dinkiness and possibly daunted by it initially, especially as you discover that it's an MP3 player and an FM radio to boot. The list of things to try out when I get 'a Round Tuit' seems to stretch way off into the distance. Fortunately I got a Round Tuit for my birthday.
It's just that this is my third contract phone, and I've noticed that build standards are definitely going off the boil, compared to the largely metal Motorola RAZR I had back four years back, and which my wife still treasures (well that's when she's not swearing at the 'predicament' text!).
It does seem to me to be vaguely ridiculous, that if I'd said I'll stick with my current phone, I'd now be paying £35/month, but by agreeing to have a new phone, my costs are more like £20/month (and for more services). No wonder e-bay is awash with 'unwanted upgrades'.
Anyway, build-quality wise, the Sony is a tad of a disappointment despite feeling quite heavy and robust. It's a 'slider' that uncovers its keys if you need them. The slide mechanism doesn't convince you that its initial 'slickness' will last for ever and goodness knows how an un-cased one will survive getting sand in the sliders. The connection port, which is used for everything from recharging to USB connections and headphones is open to the elements, albeit the contacts are gold-plated. The lack of a hinged cover seems to be asking for trouble.
There are numerous reports of it having flimsy keys which crack, but maybe this is a facet of ham-fisted text-heads I don't know. They seem OK to me - so far and replacement keypads are cheap on e-bay should it fail outside of the warranty period..
Joy of joys, I've got voice actuation back - a much missed feature that I loved about the V3, and missed like mad on the Samsung, so it's not all bad news. This makes using a Bluetooth headset truly hands-free, and you can be childish, by making the words 'Kirk to Enterprise' phone your home number in reality.
The MP3 playing facility has some interesting add-ons, like its ability to send a few bars of an unknown song up to a web-based database where it is analysed, and where possible identified. Likewise, you can shake the phone to make it change tracks - joggers might like to turn this feature off especially if they are the kind who unconsciously paces themselves to their music. The sudden unscheduled transition from say Leonard Cohen to The Sex Pistols could be fatal, although listening too much to the former can have that effect anyway.
The radio only works on headphones, since the wire acts as the FM antenna, whilst MP3s can be played to the whole top deck on your way to school (don't I just know it?!).
Incidentally, the headphones are remarkably good. They fit the ear canal well and give good bass - better in fact than those supplied with my Zen.
Having fitted an inertial sensor in the thing for changing tracks, it'll come as no surprise that the phone is also a pedometer - well aren't they all? What do you mean no? To make it more accurate, you can add in your height, age and weight (there's no point in massaging these figures downwards, honest. It'll only imply that you're even less fit!).
Then at the end of the day, those of us who claim "I feel like I've walked 5 miles in the office today" can put up or shut up by checking their phone. To make it even more accurate, you are invited to walk a known distance whilst calibrating it - for example, you walk a mile, and then confirm that the number of strides you've done represents a mile. That way it knows how long your legs are for future reference!
Battery life is good and can be monitored on the status screen. For example, it was 100% last night after a charge, and 95% this morning after a night on stand-by.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU GET?
It's tricky these days to comment on a phone as a separate entity, when the software suite supplied has so much to do with the phone's functionality. The CD-ROM that comes with the phone (which was, incidentally, immediately out of date) is easy to install, but with hindsight, I'd go straight to the support page of www.sonyericsson.com and get the latest version.
This gives you the opportunity to download your Outlook (Express) Address book to save all that tedious typing numbers on a tiny key pad. Since this phone can handle e-mails, all you've got to do is tidy up your address book in advance, making sure that it's not JUST all e-mail addresses but home and business telephone numbers too. Once loaded to the phone, you get a chance to mark the default number for your particular contact (e.g. Home, mobile, Office, FAX, e-mail) and this becomes the one that first present itself on the phone's contacts list - alternatives are accessed by using the sideways cursors.
It's from this software that you can create an internet connection for your laptop, using the phone as a modem. Of course, whether you use this facility depends on tariffs, not the phone's abilities. What you end up with is a 115k GPRS connection which is reasonably quick for most day to day use, like checking e-mails, or a bit of browsing. I'll probably only us it as a last resort if my cable broadband fails or when hermetically sealed in for Christmas in a holiday let in North Yorkshire.
The software also acts as an explorer for the transfer of the various multi-media files, mp3, photos etc.
The phone comes with 11mbytes of internal memory and a 512mbytes of card memory in the Sony Memory Stick Micro format - not as cheap as some more generic formats to upgrade, but still reasonable at £20 for 4gigabytes. This would seriously boost your ability to actually use it as an mp3 player, beyond the handful of songs it will carry at first.
ANYTHING ELSE?
Oh yes, you can make phone calls with it!
Phone calls are easy to make and receive, just like every other phone in fact and I'm guessing that this is why makers are so keen on piling on the extras - otherwise it's only a bloody phone after all.
Advantages: Good looking phone, great music features, easy enough to use Disadvantages: There are a few design faults that need to be ironed out
...I have had have been Sony Ericssons. A couple of years ago, I would have gone for the Nokias every time - they look pretty and I knew the functions on it were pretty good. However, two years ago I ended up with a rather chunky looking black Sony ericsson, it was a bit of a boys phone but I wanted a phone that had a decent music feature and at the time (and its probably still true now) the Sony Ericsson was the best option.
So two years on, I've ... ...I finally found one that actually looked attractive, so now I have a phone that ticks all the boxes!
'''Looks & Features'''
===============
I am not going to list all the features here - I don't think its really necessary, if you have had a mobile phone before you will know the main features that mobiles have such as '''alarms, calandar, WAP, Bluetooth, ringtones''' etc, and this phone is no exception. I will mention the more interesting of its ...
burtybookworm 02.12.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Ericsson W580i
Advantages: Good features, good battery life Disadvantages: buttons are starting to crack
I got this phone for Christmas. I chose it myself after my Motorola Pebl was no longer working efficiently (I was charging it everyday and it didn't have enough power to make a phone call!) So far I really love this phone. I have never had a sliding phone before so this is still a novelty and I like the fact that it is pink (exclusive to Orange).
'''~ Getting Started ~'''
It took a while for me to get used to the way the features were on this phone. ... ...but the same screen was there. (I actually like this feature now) I began to get in a bad mood with my new phone but eventually I found the back button (there's an arrow on it lol - I probably should have read the manual) I also found the phone difficult to switch on but I eventually found the button after referring to the manual.
The manual is fairly easy to follow but I have had easier instructions for things. I have learned most of what I know ...
bluejules 03.02.2008 (29.12.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Ericsson W580i
Advantages: looks good, great features Disadvantages: poor battery, one key cracked already!
Sony Ericsson W580i Walkman
My Sony Ericsson W580i was purchased through mobiles.co.uk on the orange network as they were offering the best deal at the time. If you've read my review on my iron you will know that I love all things pink and my W580i is the pink version, they are also available in black, white and red. Orange was the only network I could find that were doing the pink W580i and I wouldn't go for a different brand of phone because I ... ...inch). Above the screen sony ericsson is printed in silver then under the screen the walkman logo is in bright pink, the shade of the phone is a metallic baby pink. There is a silver dial on the front with the menu controls, shortcut button and walkman button. When you push the slider up this reveals the keypad in very light silver with little pink dots inbetween the keys. The keypad and screen light up automatically when the slider is pushed up. ...
charlotte_thomas 21.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Ericsson W580i
Advantages: Trendy colours... light... Disadvantages: pay for games, stiff buttons and slide.
...my mothers opinion) on the Sony Ericsson W850i (Pink).
Firstly, the W580i is a very attractive looking mobile phone. Something you would be proud to own. At 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches it is a relatively large phone compared to many on the market these days but still not too much of a handful. Bear in mind it is also a slide style phone so the size does takes that into consideration. It feels very light to hold and weighs 94.0 gr. So yes, very light ... ...the Walkman® player range at Sony Ericsson, basically this means that it's easy to manage the music in your phone. One click starts the Walkman® music player. You can play, rewind, fast forward, equalize, shuffle tracks and create playlists - just like in any other digital music player. Walkman® player supports several file formats including MP3 and AAC. So great if you're a music person. The music element is what makes this phone different from ...
izzoh 04.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Ericsson W580i
Advantages: Great Features, Easy to use, Fantastic battery life + loads more Disadvantages: None as yet
...handset you should receive the Sony ericsson pc suite software which allows you to share files with your pc and also sync them.
*Organiser*
There are loads of features on the handset to help make life a little easier such as:
Alarms - Set up to 5 at once and have them go off once or set them to go off at the same time every day.
Applications - Add your own or use the ones pre-installed as mentioned above.
Calendar - Set appointments, birthdays ... ...the best, I really rate Sony ericsson as they have come a long way. This handset is like a phone and an MP3 player rolled into one. Fantastic price too. I have found nothing as yet to complain about, the phone is sop simple to use, the sounds are clear and well defined, there are so many options and features that I spent a day playing around with it non stop. Battery life is great, I only charge it up once a week and have it switched on all the time. ...
phoenix221984 02.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Ericsson W580i
Look & Feel
Durability & Robustness
Battery standby time
Value for money
Range of features
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Advantages: good sound quality,mp3 player,large memory,easy to use Disadvantages: no camera flash,crashes at times
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ok thanks you very much for reading
if you have any problems comment me please
thanks again
charlotte ...
charliechick2 08.01.2008
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When you're out and about, you can have your favorite music with you wherever you go. And your picture library and favorite Web sites. W580i is for active people.
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