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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 73 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 80 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent slider. Great Value. Slick Design Aug 27, 2007
By AreYouKidding?
A long-time Motorola phone user now converted. Not only is this phone lightweight and amazing looking, it's feature packed.
Pros:
- Crystal-clear calling. No static and loud when needed.
- The screen is amazing. The resolution is awesome. By far the best I've ever seen on a phone this size.
- This phone is tiny; in a good way. Super-slim and tucks nicely in your pocket. Being that it's a slider, you'll never have to worry about pocket-dialing. :)
- The software is very easy to navigate. This is nicely improved over the Motorola interface of my older RAZR.
- The MP3 player rocks; no pun intended. The Walkman software lets you sort by Artists, Albums, Tracks, Playlists and more. This is light-years ahead of the my old RAZR's MP3 player. This one rivals any standalone MP3 device I've used.
- The stereo headphones that comes with it include a 3.5mm adapter. While the included headphones sound great, this adapter gives you the flexibility to use your Bose, Shure or other stereo headphones. A very nice option.
- Unlike "some" other sliders, the camera is protected and kept under cover when the slide is closed. This works great in keeping dust off the lens.
- The 2.0MP camera is actually pretty good. It takes great outdoor photos.
- I LOVE the fitness/step counter. It measures distance in steps and calculated miles along with the calories you've burned. It also keeps a daily average and each days results.
Cons:
- No 3G
- Sony Proprietary Memory Stick Micro M2 versus easy to find and less expensive MicroSD
- No LED Flash or Photo Light
In conclusion, if you are looking for a super-slim phone with great call quality and superb music capability, look no further. This Sony wears the Walkman name with pride.
UPDATE 9/27/07: I bought a SanDisk SDMSM2-4096-A11M 4GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) and it works perfectly. 4GB of music!!!
24 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Very Happy With This Phone Oct 19, 2007
By Tab1715
Even though this phone received good reviews on CNET and elsewhere, I must admit being hesitant to get a slider phone. I was afraid I would accidentally being making calls or snapping pictures from my purse as I had done with a bar phone. I decided to give it a try though, and I am very happy with it. As a phone, it functions great with clear calls, long battery life, etc. However, it has some additional features that I found very useful.
What I like:
*Automatic key lock option - Turn this on, and you don't have to worry about accidentally calling anyone. All the outside buttons are 'locked' or protected until you touch two buttons. However, answering a call still functions as normal without pushing any extra buttons, and if you slide the phone open, you don't have unlock it either.
*Programmable outside buttons - You can program 4 outside buttons as 'shortcuts'. I have one set to toggle my bluetooth on and off, one to go to my phone directory, one to go the camera, and one to my files. Very handy!
*Synchronization - The supplied cable makes synchronization with outlook and transferring music a breeze! Download the PC Ericsson phone suite from their website. However, you can also tranfer via bluetooth and even by using your memory stick with the supplied adapter and Windows Explorer.
*Presentation Remote - If you have bluetooth, you can use this phone as a presentation remote from Power Point, or navigate your desktop/media center from afar.
*Pedometer/fitness trainer - Like it! Lets you keep a past history of your walking/running for the day.
*Walkman feature - Love it! I upgraded my memory to 2 gb first thing.
*Ringtones - Short MP3 files can be used as ringtones. You can also use the MusicDJ to make your own or even use the 'recorder' and save what you record as a ringtone.
*FM radio - another plus
*Password saver - This in an password protected area where you can save passwords or other sensitive information you want access to, but not have to worry if you lose your phone.
*Notes - You can synch Notes from Outlook, but you can also select a note to show in 'standby'. I've used this to keep an address handy or a train schedule.
*Screen - Very bright and clear. (I've even used it as a 'flashlight' at night to find my keys.) I did put on screen protector though to help prevent the inevitable scratches.
What I don't like:
*Battery cover very hard to put on or take off.
*Memory cover seems very flimsy - As though it would easily break.
*Lanyard holes - So small, I couldn't get any of any lanyards to thread through it.
What I wish it had:
*3G
*Ability to play audio books (and bookmark your place)
*Enhanced video playback capabilities
*Ability to show your calendar for the day in standby.
27 of 29 found the following review helpful:
And now for the CONS Oct 14, 2007
By C. Evans
"Slynky"
I can spend some time on the PROS, but mostly, if anyone is like me, they want to know just what it is that doesn't live up to what is billed.
MOSTLY, I can't believe the rated talktime versus the actual talktime in practical experience. 9 hours rated. Now, I haven't talked till the phone died. Nor have I just turned it on and talked after a full charge to get an idea of how long I MIGHT be able to talk. But I can say about 45 - 60 minutes of talk time and 3 days of standby put the battery into the 50+% range. Which leads me to believe that phone will get no where near 9 hours talk time on a single charge. (I realize these ratings are under the best conditions as tested by the manufacturer...and the usual rounding up but if anyone gets 5 hours of talk out of it, post a message about it)
Numerable messages on forums about the keypad cracking. Do a search and make your own decision. I learned of it after I bought it.
It's the first slider phone I have and while this is not necessarily a CON in the truest sense of the word (i.e., advertised as one thing yet doesn't funciton as advertised), one must understand that the screen is exposed all the time. That means, most likely, scratches and smudges will become the mainstay of that screen...I bought it knowing that but others should know it. Also, because it is a slider phone, more buttons are exposed and available to being pressed by accident than a flip phone.
When dialing, one must (duh) slide open the phone. The keys light up. But, if you find yourself stuck in voice mail menu hell and have to wait to see what key to press, you had better be in a lighted area...the key lights go off pretty quickly and then they are quite hard to see.
Finally, if you like the idea of the cute little flashing lights one can choose from, you should know in advance that the 10 (or is it 15) or so lighting choices one has to choose from off the menu are quite similar. In fact, some menu choices look exactly the same (just a different name). So, there's not as much variety as you might originally think.
Otherwise, most everything else I have used has met or exceeded my hopes and expectations. I give it 4 - stars even with what I have listed.
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Excellent Music Phone ! Sep 15, 2007
By Francisco
I have had this phone for one week now and it is great! About 1 year ago, I was looking for a phone with a music player and not having to buy an mp3 player or ipod so i decided to buy the Samsung SGH-d807. The samsung is far from being a music phone, especially with the low quality OEM Samsung headphones ! USB music tranfer is slow, (about 25sec per song) and most of the time it woudn't let me transfer songs ! ( i ended up buying an ipod shuffle just to listen music on the go )
In the other hand, the unbeliavable Sony Ericsson w580i and its 2.0 USB cable lets me "drag and drop music, pictures, vidoes..!" straight from my computer to the phone with no hassle ! Transfer speed is about 10sec per song.
- Headphones sound REALLY GOOD, in my opinion.. they sound better than my ipod.
- My phone included a 256mb memory stick M2, but i recommend getting a 1gb or 2gb.
- This phone sends standard messages in one second and multimedia messages in about 3-5sec.
- The cool thing about the Walkman on this phone is that while you are listening to music, you can minimize the music player and use your phone without having interrupt your song. When you recieve a call or text, your music will fade and then resume when you are done. No need to push stop and play.
- The battery last a loong time, 9hours talk time, 14days in standby and 20hours in Walkman mode. The battery will drain a little faster if you play your music straight from your folder, so it is best to use the Wlakman when ever you play your music and save power.
- From my experience, Sony Ericsson phones have excellent reception and call quality (phone or speaker). The other line can hear you loud and clear just as they would from a regular house phone. (There is an option in "Settings" where your number is automatically blocked on every call you make without having to dial *67 before making a call, wich is great for your privacy. )
- 2.0 mega pixel camera is awsome ! Cristal clear pictures every time, whether you are taking a picture in 2mp, 1mp or vga format. (Note: you can only zoom in when you are in VGA mode, and your pictures still come out very good !
- The nuber pad on this phone is a bit small. I personally have big hands and dial / text with no problem. The keys can break easily if mistreated.
- Phone has very good graphics, so you will always enjoy viewing your picture and playing games with little loading time. Speaker is LOUD ! . . Fast Internet, just as fast as 3g phones !
VERY GOOD PHONE OVER ALL.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Great Phone/MP3 Combo Dec 16, 2007
By SaidWhat
I had been looking for the right phone/mp3 combo for quite a while and finally settled on this phone after trying and rejecting the Nokia N75 -- no stereo bluetooth on ATT version, poor battery life. The W580i is a clear winner. Although I wrote much of this review on the phone, I would say that a heavy texter probably won't like the small keyboard.
Design:
Compact form, sharp, colorful screen and sturdy slider. Can answer calls with phone closed (not so N75). Don't like flips, wanted a candybar, but this now feels like a better format. Faux metalic finish on large front nav control already beginning to show the plastic underneath.
Nav buttons on the closed phone are raised, textured, and of different sizes and shapes allowing me to control many features without looking at the phone (not so iphone). This is great for stopping/starting the music player, ending a call, closing out apps.... without looking.
Keys have a nice click but number pad probably too small for heavy texters.
Menus:
Easy to use and logical. Easy transition from my 3 yr old Nokia. Voice recognition is speaker dependent, but works. Don't voice dial much anyways as most calls are on speed dial. Pop up submenus are also great and always seem to be where you expect them.
Calls:
Strong signal, no drops or interference. Sound from the speaker could be a bit clearer, but calls on the included headset are excellent.
MP3/Storage:
This is a really nice interface and the sound is very good and includes an equalizer. It is easy to complain about the proprietary POP port rather than a standard headphone jack, but the included earbuds are just fine for podcasts and non-critical music listening. Better still, their 2 part design allows you to plug in your own standard headphones and use the included headset simply as an adapter. This POP port design is a lot better than the Nokia one. It is easy to insert and remove but still stays put; not so Nokia.
Sony includes a POP to USB data cable, but Sony's included Disk2Phone music management software hangs up under Vista. Fortunately the phone synchs fine with Windows Media Player. Maintains tracks by album and artist automatically, but playlists can only be created on the phone. Album art gets transferred too, but only in a very small thumbnail (bet there will be a firmware upgrade to allow viewing full size).
Other phone management software works just fine and the phone shows up as just another drive in Windows, so you have access to all music and photos that way too. Threw away all the kid pics in my wallet and just copied the jpg's to the phone. POP to USB doubles as a spare phone charger.
M2 memory: yeah, another proprietary memory format from Sony. Don't worry, available cheap over the net with an adapter to allow use in any modern memory card reader. 2GB works just fine. I hear 4GB is out now. Inserting and removing is not very fun, and the card cover feels flimsy. Who cares, just use the included data cable and leave the memory alone.
Photos: Wow, not bad, but not why I bought the phone. No flash, still cant get zoom to work.
Web/Email: sorry haven't used these.
Other: Cute fitness apps, plus usual calculator, stopwatch, calendar... It's all here. Have not tried synching w/ Outlook or the like.
Battery life: Excellent. Play music, make calls, take photos, never use up more than a 1/3 of the battery in a day.
Myths: Battery cover hard to remove? Not for me. Slide a thumbnail in the crack, pop off cover. Cracking keys -- maybe, but not sure how much abuse you need to throw at them to make this happen.
Summary: Need a great phone and music player without heavy texting. This is it.
See all 73 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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