Sony Ericsson W800i Walkman

After many months of a Pay as you Go mobile, which was the Sony Ericsson T68 quite an old phone really. Him in doors decided that I should now get a new phone, muttering something about being embarrassed to be seen in public with me and my old phone, and also because the battery now wasn't properly charging. So I bit the bullet and logged on to the Orange site to purchase a new phone. Being used to the Sony Ericsson I opted for the W800i due to the fact that I'm used to the layout of the Sony Ericsson brand and also I really liked the funky orange colour. As I signed a 12-month contact with Orange the phone was free but I believe that you can get them from £199.00 on Pay as you Go through Orange.

The phone duly arrived presented in a funky plastic box complete with phone, headphones, Memory Stick, charger and all the relevant software for downloading and uploading information from the phone to the PC and vice versa. The phone itself is not the smallest of phones but for someone like me who has a handbag the size of a small continent that's not a bad thing. Weighing in at only 99g or and measuring 100 x 46 x 20.5mm its not it can't be classed as a brick.

All of the features are accessed via the dinky little joystick on the phone and there is also a shortcut to the WalkmanÒ feature. When you actually switch on the phone you have the option of "start phone" and "music only" if you select "music only" this disables the transmitters on the phone. This, in essence, means that you can listen to the WalkmanÒ say, for example, on a plane without affecting the pilot's controls. Obviously you can't make calls but can listen to your favourite music if you've downloaded it. You can download your favourite CDs and store them on the phone's memory which brings me to another feature of the phone that you have the option to expand the memory to 1GB which will be enough for 10 to 15 full length CD's depending on what you are using the rest of the memory for. As I have an i-Pod, I don't use the WalkmanÒ much however I do use the Radio, which is perfectly adequate and easy to navigate. It uses the hands free headset as the aerial. The hands free headset is an in ear system and is very clear however the phone does have Bluetooth integration so can be paired with any Bluetooth device such as a car kit or headset for use in the car.

The fully integrated 2 mega pixel camera is easy to use, but I have yet to work out how to store my photos to the My Pictures file and also to show them up on the screen, now this is only because I haven't got round to completely reading the manual and to be honest, even if I had read the manual I'm not sure if I'd be able to work it out. Must remember to ask Him in Doors to read and let me know how to do this. The phone also has video capture mode, which to be honest I don't use on a regular basis so couldn't really comment properly on this feature.

The phone also has all the usual features such as SMS and MMS messaging, Contacts, Organiser including calendar, stop watch, calculator, alarms etc). You can also connect to the internet although on my phone this is through Orange World so I would assume that this is provided by your network. If you have a spare moment or are that way inclined you can download several ringtones, pictures and games through the internet and the phone has the facility for real tones rather than polyphonic. I'm sure that there is far more that I could say about the phone, as it is I have completely fallen in love with it and would recommend those who want a new funky phone to go and get one.