Tentatively trying to be back here. How the hell do you navigate this place? dididave elsewhere
Tentatively trying to be back here. How the hell do you navigate this place? dididave elsewhere
Member since:08.03.2005
Reviews:124
Members who trust:43
Like any man, I love my technology. My shiny new Sony Ericsson W850i is my new toy and I can happily spend hours fiddling with it. After three years with my battered, war hardened Siemens SL55 I thought it was time for an upgrade but I was buggered if I was going to pay the £250 retail price for this. Step forward Vodafone who enthusiastically offered me the phone for free on an eighteen month contract. Of course as with all contracts you pay a hefty monthly sum but I find £12.50 per month for six months and £25 thereafter quite reasonable. Particularly as it includes 300 minutes and 500 texts which is adequate for my needs and means I rarely get a phone bill.
Anyhow, back to the phone itself. The W850i is by no means the smallest phone on the market. In fact it is considerably brick like. This is not a palm of your hand phone! This is a phone that fits into your whole hand. It is fundamentally a curved brick shape and this gives the phone a sturdy, indestructible feel. This is a phone which could never be called pretty but it is stylish in the matt black I own. As this is a slide type of phone the majority of the buttons are hidden away which is both a blessing and a curse, as you will need to open the phone to make a call or text. Fortunately the slider is smooth and even with my clumsiness I can be open and close the phone one handed. Unfortunately, as with all slider phones the screen is open and prone to scratches. I would recommend purchasing
a clear plastic case as I have done. Particularly, since you are likely to have this phone for eighteen months.
Although, you cannot access all the functions without opening the phone many are still available. I can access all the menu items via the central control pad and can switch to camera mode using the “shoot” button on the side of the camera. This phone is intuitive in its operation and I have rarely need to consult the lengthy accompanying manual thanks to tips available via the two “action buttons” just beneath the screen. The buttons and keypads themselves need a good amount of pressure to be used and I personally like this, particularly when texting as it means I rarely make mistakes. Unfortunately, as with seemingly every sliding type of phone the top row of numbers is too close to the slider meaning that a less feminine handed man might have trouble. Fortunately, my female, childlike sized hands have no trouble. Furthermore, the decision to sink the control panel into the phone is not a good one as it feels unnatural compared to…say Sony’s own K800 joystick.
The W850i as with all the W (Walkman) series of Sony phones concentrates on the MP3 player and music element of the phone and in this it is exceptional. You can expect this phone to completely replace your MP3 player as it has a memory card slot able to hold up to 4GB. Despite the phone coming with just 1GB I have still been able to store hundreds of songs with room for more. Tracks are easily arranged into play lists and artists using Sony’s inbuilt music library. This library can be completely customised and there is also an intriguing “Track ID” feature were if you are listening to the phones FM Radio it can access the Internet and retrieve the track title, artist and album for you. Speaking of the FM radio, on the whole the quality s excellent. The in built speakers are clear and crisp for FM and MP3 alike and the supplied in ear headphones are comfortable and definitely better than those supplied with a certain Ipod. However, the only drawback is that to listen to the radio you have to have the accompanied “dongle” plugged in.
The other features on the phone work just as well. The phone comes with some demo java games which irritate you with heavy handed pleas to buy the title but I have yet to find a game that I have downloaded that will not play on this phone. Furthermore, images on the large screen are crisp and this phone is really ideal for mobile gaming. There is a large selection of ringtones and themes to choose from so although you cannot customise your phone externally, you can have anything you like internally be it a Transformers ringtone or Tinkerbell screensaver. Rather disappointingly however, you cannot have a text message alert longer than fifteen seconds. I suppose that should be all that is necessary but it is a minor irritant.
As the W850i concentrates on the Music function of the phone, it does somewhat neglect the camera. Although at 2megapixels it takes a sharp, clear picture, there is no flash function and the zoom only works at lower quality settings. There is also no auto focus so you need to stay quite still. Rather bizarrely instead of a flash there is a “night light” to illuminate dark areas. This is effective but does not replace the flash. A good torch in an emergency though and it can be set to flash SOS! Taking a picture is straightforward with the W850i and with it on its side it shoots like a normal camera. The phone has its own “photo album” and you are able to rotate your photos, adjust the brightness and even add some novelty effects and frames.
Transferring files to and from the W850i via the PC is simplicity itself thanks to the provided USB cable. Simple drag and drop files into your phone or onto your computer. You can use Sony’s file management suite to do this but I find it slow and not at all user friendly. On the Internet side of things this phone works particularly well with it containing 3G technology. This means that the in built browser navigates particularly quickly and is very speedy when downloading. Might well save you a fortune if you like downloading games and tones and the Vodafone email function is free.
Other options include Mobile TV and an Instant Messaging service which I have yet to try. The phone has a good quality video player and recorder which plays all recognised formats (MP4 etc) and also has the usual calculator, alarm clock functions.
Finally, we get to the most important thing for most people, the phone calls. The phone book seems infinite and is easily accessible and you can customise your contacts with voice dialling, personalised ringtones and a picture of your choice if they ring. Dialling out is fine and the numbers come up very large on screen so you have little chance of phoning a wrong number. Actually talking to someone is good enough and on Vodafone the signal remains strong throughout (unlike my previous network Virgin) although I have had complaints that my voice seems quiet on occasion. The phone has a good speaker phone function that is loud enough to use hands free and volume can be altered easily using the side buttons. There is also a video call function with a clear picture although I have not used it much. Pity that this camera is not able to take a self portrait though.
All in all the W850i is a good phone with a great MP3 player and radio. It has all the features you would expect from a phone that is top of the range including Bluetooth but other than the music functions, it does everything well rather than exceptionally. As a phone it is ok but as a multi-purpose device it is definitely worth having and the battery life is very impressive.
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Great review! I've just bought this phone...its delivered on Monday! All exciting stuff! Liz :-) xx
lilwatchergirl 28.06.2007 10:32
A great review - thanks. This helped me decide against buying this particular phone, as I am more interested in camera and phone functions than music functions. Cheers for the great advice.
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Anti-reflective coating: no* Scratch resistance: Pencil hardness 4H .. 5H* Dirt-repellent: strongFor devices with multiple displays 1 film per display in the packageVikuiti Crystal clear screen protector DQC160Invisible protectionThe scratch-resistant surface protects your display for damages of any kind without being conspicuous. With a very high scratch resistance of 4 .. 5H survives the film itself aggressive contact with sharp objects. Due to the dirt surface remain no trace of ball point pens or similar term.Crystal surfaceThe high transparency and optical quality of the film make it virtually invisible. The glossy surface makes images appear to contrast.Easy to mount, completely removableThe film has a little sticky, slightly wetting adhesive layer. Should you sell your unit back to the film at any time easily and completely removable.
Advantages: Brilliant features, great sound quality,takes a right beating and it's easy to use. Disadvantages: Your pockets will buy stuff off the internet,camera isn't the best of the best.
May 22nd, 2007
very helpful by (100%):
