PhoneDog.com - The latest about the Sony Ericsson W995 Progressive Black

ARTICLE: Details on the Sony Ericsson W995a

6/7/2009 9:15:00 AM

The GSM unlocked W995a:

Preorders began on June 3rd and will ship on July 6th;
the same date you can find it in stores for around $600.
Check out full features and specs at Sony Style.

I've been using the Sony Ericsson W995a as my primary phone for about a week now, and I've been really happy with it. As far as feature phones go, this is the best one I've used. And even though I have become accustomed to the touch screen and smart OS, my overall experience with the W995a rivals the experience I've had with my favorite smart phones. That is, without regard to web browsing, typing and a few (what I consider to be) gravy options.

The operating system is sleek, smooth, and never overwhelms the hardware. It results in a fluid environment that feels like a smart phone, minus some features. Those familiar with Walkman devices will find a similar but extremely polished design here. I don't have a set of them on hand to compare, but from what I know of the brand, this handset feels like a fresh, high-quality update. I've had zero problems with it, and the style and functionality took me by surprize.

The only complaint I have at this price is that there is no QWERTY - hard or soft. But if you're in the market for this one, you probably don't care. It's a media phone - meaning it's primary functions are media first and telephony second. It's not the most friendly choice for texts and email. The phone can be used in these contexts, but if you place a high priority on either of those functions, the W995a is not for you. If you want an excellent Media player and still camera, it most certainly is.

Because I tested a prototype, I didn't get a pair of the reportedly killer headphones that will ship with the phone. I didn't get the data port adapter that allows for a second set of headphones to be used simultaneously, either. I also missed out on the media services with this early model but I dumped some music and video over, took some photos, and looked for flaws.

The video isn't great. It's not terrible, but as you can see in the first few seconds of my video review, this isn't the phone you want to use to shoot a wedding or birthday. It would be great for a quick MMS vid, documenting a college prank, or capturing police brutality. The still camera, on the other hand, is fantastic. I'm not a qualified photographer, like the good Doctor Photo. But as your average point-and-shoot consumer, the camera satisfied. It has a wonderful interface, nice pictures, and integration with Snapfish for easy print ordering (not tested).

Aside from a few small details, quality of photos is why I chose to write a post in addition to my video review of the W995a, so here are a few samples. They are compressed, but you can see a full-sized image by clicking the previews below. My loan agreement did not allow me to take the phone outside of my apartment, so forgive the limited scenery.

The final verdict is that I love it. Then again, I'm not considering a purchase. The price tag is high, but you've gotta love the contract-free lifestyle

Also see Engadget's write-up. If the handwriting and letter on the "acceptance unit" sticker is any indication, I tested the exact same unit. They have some good photos of the phone, so check it out. Engadget wasn't as fond of the camera as I am, but they loved the W995a as a Walkman. They also point out that the lanyard clip works as a kickstand. (I think acceptance units are manufacturer proofs sent to the client for approval.)
.

VIDEO: Hands on with the Sony Ericsson W995a

6/3/2009 12:00:00 AM

It's unlocked. It's sexy. And its media functions are perhaps more central to the identity of this phone than telephony. The Sony Ericsson W955a packs an 8.1 MP camera with stabilization for video and still images. Not only that, but it can actually detect smiles. The software is intuitive and snappy - despite all of the animations, which I found very cool. I'll be following up soon with some sort of written content to cover any details I might have missed in this hands on. I need a reason to post some pictures taken with this phone anyway.

VIDEO: Sony Ericsson W995 Walkman Phone - Hands-On @ MWC 2009

2/24/2009 7:30:00 PM

Sony Ericsson's new flagship Walkman phone finally has a 3.5mm audio jack! Noah checks out the W995, a flip phone with the Walkman player and a 8.1mp camera - live from MWC 2009 in Barcelona.

ARTICLE: MWC 2009 Part Two: SE W995 and Idou, Garmin nüvifones

2/16/2009 2:30:00 AM

NOTE: Continued from Part One

Speaking of megapixels, Sony Ericsson held their MWC press conference last night and announced two new phones. The W995 walkman phone is a typical SE slider, but packs an 8.1MP camera and 3.5mm headphone jack along with a non-smartphone OS and Walkman media player. W995 will be available by the end of Q1, or within the next few months.

SE's star of the show, however, was "Idou" (an internal codename), a full-touchscreen media phone with a 3.5" 16:9 touchscreen, 12.1 MP camera, and Symbian OS. Yup: Twelve megapixels. Honestly, the megapixel arm race is a bit silly but maybe SE can figure out how to pack some serious optics into Idou before it launches sometime in the second half of this year. Honestly, I'm getting a bit tired of this whole trend of "announcing" phones six months before they're expected to ship, and SE has a pretty lousy track record of late when it comes to delivering on said promises. But Idou looks to have some potential, and SE really could use a big winner right about now, so I'll hold out some hope for this one.

I also got some time with Garmin-Asus' two new nuvifones: The M20 and G60. I even got to ride around town in the back of a big, black Mercedes while checking out G60's navigation capabilities. Both phones feature dedicated GPS chips backed by Garmin's navigation software, which features pre-loaded databases of more than 6 million points of interest. The nav software worked well on both devices, though I much preferred the G60's custom Linux-based UI to the Windows Mobile M20.

Be sure to check out my hands-on videos with Memoir and both nuvifones, too.

Alright, it's on to Day One of the show on Monday: Things kick off with back-to-back Nokia and HTC press conferences, followed by LG's press event later in the day and the Pepcom media event tonight. Woo boy, it's gonna a be a long day full of some crazy new phones ... And who knows, maybe I'll even run into Helena again ...