Sony Ericsson W800i Walkman
By
Team Digit |
Updated on 01-Oct-2005
Luckily for me, Sony Ericsson had just launched the W800i-the first ever mobile to carry the Walkman branding. I asked the good people at the company to send us one to review. To be honest, that was just an excuse to lay my hands on it!
Day 1: Good Things Come In Small Packages
A little package wrapped in white arrived. I tore open the casing and out came the neat transparent box that contained the white and orange phone in all its glory. At first glance, the colour combination seemed a trifle too jazzy-this is one phone that was made to flaunt.
Day 2: Get, Set, Go
With the SIM card installed and the phone fully charged, I was all set to show off! I powered the phone and immediately a menu popped up that asked whether I wanted to switch on the phone or go into the music mode? Thanks to this option, I could use the phone as a regular MP3 player-and it had great music playing features!
Day 4: Music To My Ears
I put the included 512 MB Memory Stick Duo Pro card to good use, and transferred loads of MP3 tracks to the phone. A cable and drivers to connect to a PC were also provided-very thoughtful indeed. The integrated FM radio tuned to available frequencies and within minutes I could listen to radio in the stereo mode. The bundled in-ear wired handsfree kit let me connect to my headphones and my PC’s speakers. No wonder they call it the Walkman!
Day 9: Flaunt Value
There’s a party at the Editor’s house. The W800i’s integrated 2 megapixel camera with flash is just the thing. I simply had to slide the switch at the rear, and the 262K colour screen turned into an LCD viewfinder. With complete control over white balance settings and with many shooting modes such as macro, night, panorama etc, I didn’t miss having a dedicated digital camera. The pictures looked brilliant on the screen. Even the boss was impressed with the flattering images!
Day 12: Walk Man, Walk
I had to attend a press conference at the other end of town. The one-hour local train journey flew by with the W800i for company. The Media player button at the side of the phone could be set to play either the FM radio or the Walkman, or the most recently used application of the two. I created my own play lists on the device, and adjusted the equaliser settings. With glorious music in my ears and great audio sound, I was soon oblivious to the crowd.
Day 20: Games People Play
Raaabo, proud owner of a new Sony Ericsson K750i tried to pass me some Java games I wanted to install using Bluetooth. The two phones detected each other in Bluetooth mode, but we were unable to pair them. We finally figured that the ‘Power Save’ feature in Bluetooth options was ‘on’. It allows pairing only one device through Bluetooth to save power, and I already had a paired Bluetooth headset in my list. Man, they sure have thought of everything.
Day 26: Remote Control Your World
In order to try the Remote Control feature under the Entertainment menu, I paired W800i to the Acer Ferrari 4000 notebook using Bluetooth and switched on the Remote control option. I could use the joystick on the phone to control the mouse pointer on the notebook, and even operate various menus and launch applications on it!
Day 30: The Last Word
Alas, it was time to return the phone to its rightful owners. With a heavy heart, I packed it neatly into its box. Then, I headed straight to the nearest Sony Ericsson dealer, and returned with a considerably lighter wallet!
Day 1: Good Things Come In Small Packages
A little package wrapped in white arrived. I tore open the casing and out came the neat transparent box that contained the white and orange phone in all its glory. At first glance, the colour combination seemed a trifle too jazzy-this is one phone that was made to flaunt.
Day 2: Get, Set, Go
With the SIM card installed and the phone fully charged, I was all set to show off! I powered the phone and immediately a menu popped up that asked whether I wanted to switch on the phone or go into the music mode? Thanks to this option, I could use the phone as a regular MP3 player-and it had great music playing features!
Day 4: Music To My Ears
I put the included 512 MB Memory Stick Duo Pro card to good use, and transferred loads of MP3 tracks to the phone. A cable and drivers to connect to a PC were also provided-very thoughtful indeed. The integrated FM radio tuned to available frequencies and within minutes I could listen to radio in the stereo mode. The bundled in-ear wired handsfree kit let me connect to my headphones and my PC’s speakers. No wonder they call it the Walkman!
Day 9: Flaunt Value
There’s a party at the Editor’s house. The W800i’s integrated 2 megapixel camera with flash is just the thing. I simply had to slide the switch at the rear, and the 262K colour screen turned into an LCD viewfinder. With complete control over white balance settings and with many shooting modes such as macro, night, panorama etc, I didn’t miss having a dedicated digital camera. The pictures looked brilliant on the screen. Even the boss was impressed with the flattering images!
Day 12: Walk Man, Walk
I had to attend a press conference at the other end of town. The one-hour local train journey flew by with the W800i for company. The Media player button at the side of the phone could be set to play either the FM radio or the Walkman, or the most recently used application of the two. I created my own play lists on the device, and adjusted the equaliser settings. With glorious music in my ears and great audio sound, I was soon oblivious to the crowd.
Day 20: Games People Play
Raaabo, proud owner of a new Sony Ericsson K750i tried to pass me some Java games I wanted to install using Bluetooth. The two phones detected each other in Bluetooth mode, but we were unable to pair them. We finally figured that the ‘Power Save’ feature in Bluetooth options was ‘on’. It allows pairing only one device through Bluetooth to save power, and I already had a paired Bluetooth headset in my list. Man, they sure have thought of everything.
Day 26: Remote Control Your World
In order to try the Remote Control feature under the Entertainment menu, I paired W800i to the Acer Ferrari 4000 notebook using Bluetooth and switched on the Remote control option. I could use the joystick on the phone to control the mouse pointer on the notebook, and even operate various menus and launch applications on it!
Day 30: The Last Word
Alas, it was time to return the phone to its rightful owners. With a heavy heart, I packed it neatly into its box. Then, I headed straight to the nearest Sony Ericsson dealer, and returned with a considerably lighter wallet!