Sony Ericsson W580i Carbon Grey Review - Conclusion
Sony Ericsson continues to make some of my favorite music and cameraphones, and the w580i brings a sense of style to their US market offerings. This Walkman line handset offers one of the most complete out-of-the-box music phone experiences available this side of top of the line handsets costing hundreds of dollars more. Between the refined user interface, included music adapter and stereo earphones, and 512 MB memory card, the w580i is ready to be loaded up with tunes and used on your daily commute as soon as it’s taken out of the packaging.
Seen as an upgrade from the w800/810i Walkman phone (the 810i was also offered by AT&T), the w580i is a sleeker, sexier model with a better display and user interface but, oddly enough, a weaker camera. SE would should at least built the 580 with the same autofocus lens and LED flash assist light found in those older Walkman models - instead a very good cameraphone is reduced to an average one.
Still, if you like the way it looks and feels, the w580i is a great choice in a handset that does just about everything a cell phone can do this side of full smartphone functionality. The lack of 3G data is a sore spot, but between the Walkman features, the HTML and RSS browsers, Email, and even the pedometer functionality, the w580i is a small slider with a lot going for it. Definitely check it out if you want something more than the average cell phone that won’t break your bank.
Compare prices »Reviews by manufacturerVerizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, Sanyo, HTC, Palm, BlackBerry, Sharp, Pantech, BenQ, Apple, Eten, o2Our fancy algorithm says this stuff is related...My wife has used a Samsung T809 ever since we signed a service contract a year and a half ago and she got one for free (after rebate, of course). She really liked the phone's sleek slider profile, big, bold display, and overall cool factor. Mind you, she's not a geek in any sense of the word - she's got style and so did her T809.
But the T809 broke a few months ago and she'd been using one of my extras until the Sony Ericsson... Sony Ericsson packed nearly all the features of its high-end k790/800 handsets into the w580i, making it a very versatile device for entertainment and communications purposes. The 580’s interface, Web browser, RSS reader, email cilent, and file manager will all feel very familiar to users of these devices, but as a Walkman-branded device, the 580 also gets SE’s latest music player software. As such, this is really a feature-packed... Though only 2” in size, the w580i’s display is big, bold, and bright - unless it’s in direct sunlight. Capable of QVGA (320 x 240) resolution at 262,000 colors, the 580’s screen generally looks very good - all the more so because the phone’s user interface is such a pleasure to work with. While confusing menus and hidden features are common complaints in the world of mobile phones, SE’s UI is refined and mature - both intuitive to... For a consumer phone that doesn’t have a QWERTY board, the w580i’s messaging features are fairly robust. The phone supports SMS and MMS messaging and POP/IMAP email via pre-installed software.
Messaging setup is fairly easy, and text, MMS, and Email messages are stored in separate mailboxes. The phone’s camera software makes it easy to take a photo and include it in an MMS or Email message, and video clips may also be attached to...
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4.7
