Design
The W550i is a swivel phone similar to last year's Sony Ericsson's S700i. In fact Sony Ericsson is the only manufacturer we've seen to release phones with that distinctive design element in Australia. The 3G-capable W900i is also on the cards for release before the end of the year but we'll have to wait and see if they can deliver in time for the Christmas rush.
One gripe we had with the W800i was that there was no way to swap the blindingly orange case. Thankfully with the W550i, the orange front and back covers can be removed and swapped; the alternative faceplates provided in our review package were pearly white. Interestingly enough, changing these cases changes the entire feel of the phone, with the burnt orange cover giving a rubberised grip feel and the white a slippery glossed finish.
The 262K-colour screen is a large 1.8 inches (4.5cm) and displays images and text brightly in dark and light surroundings on its 176x220-pixel TFT.
Features
With the Walkman brand emblazoned on the front of the phone, it should come as no surprise -- for people who lived through the 80s anyway -- that this is a musical mobile. It has 256MB onboard memory to load your favourite MP3 or AAC playlists, or you can listen to its built-in FM radio (with eight presets).
If you want to listen to the MP3 player while you're on an aeroplane you can turn it on flight mode, which turns the transmitters off so it will not send or receive any radio signals.
As with most Sony Ericsson phones, the camera -- 1.3-megapixel on the W550i -- is housed on the back with the shortcut key on the right edge of the handset so taking photos with the screen acting as a viewfinder feels akin to a digital camera.
A USB cable is bundled for transferring files and the W550i also supports Bluetooth and infrared connections. An awesome set of stereo earbuds come with the handset, which fit comfortably in your ear and produce excellent bass. You probably wouldn't use them often, but there are also stereo speakers on the back of the phone.
Performance
As we've come to know with Sony-branded MP3 players, in terms of sound quality, the W550i is at the top of its class. We've got mixed feelings about the aesthetics of the handset, however. The swivelling design certainly had the "wow" factor when colleagues would spot it on the CNET.com.au test bench. A but something along the lines of "but it's so fat" would usually follow.
Photos taken with the W550i turned weren't quite as vibrant when taken in sunlight as we've seen on other camera phones. We also found there to be quite some noise when viewing them back on a PC monitor.
If we were given a choice between Motorola's iTunes-compatible ROKR E1 and either of Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones, we'd choose the latter -- without question. We prefer using iTunes to sync music as apposed to the W550i's drag-and-drop method. But that said, the W550i is faster to transfer files from thanks to a USB 2.0 connection, and it can also hold more songs than the ROKR.
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mireku
12/07/2008, 04:40 AM
rating
10/10
is nice and great
Pros: good
Cons: good company
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sony ericsson k220
07/06/2008, 09:38 PM
rating
6/10
One more walk man hand set introduced by Sony Ericsson. I like this tiny hand set because it has many great fast features. This walk man hand set has great battery timing. I love it.
Pros: Very easy to use.
FM radio.
Small stylish design.
Cons: Nothing.
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shery_pup@yahoo.co.in
03/06/2008, 04:57 PM
rating
8/10
the phone's pretty good have used it 4 past 2 yrs its vry fast doesnt hang awesome music quality but lacks a memory stick thats a bad pt and its different 4rm other phones looks like a little suitcase lol gives a funky look 2 ^^
Pros: really cute ,unique and good player
Cons: memory i think thats it otherwise this phone rocks
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about 3 years
14/02/2008, 04:55 AM
rating
9/10
ive had this phone for about three years now and its been so good to me. ive dropped it loads of times and it has never broken, the music player is loud, but the only thing is that the battery goes down quicky but thats expected after youve had it for a while. The pone is abit bulky but its still good
Pros: The camera quality is alright and the music player is good, it has both infe-red and bluetooth. When the battery is on red it doesnt die straight away it still lasts
Cons: Even though you put the phone on lock it some how goes onto the internet. The battery is not that long lasting, ive chaged the battery before but it still doesnt last that long
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moody
29/11/2007, 01:02 AM
rating
10/10
good PERFECT
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not2happy
19/10/2007, 03:08 AM
rating
4/10
ive had this phone for a year and a half, loved it at first, now i hate it.. it was always connecting me to the internet when it was in my purse because the internet connection button was easily hit being on the front portion of the phone, and now, it has fell apart, the screws all came out and the screen part of the phone and bottom part are only connected by the wires, ive maybe dropped it once before the screws came loose, and now its gonna cost me an arm and a leg to fix...
Pros: the features and the camera
Cons: everything else
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Pam
01/10/2007, 06:30 PM
rating
10/10
well my old phone was pretty old, so when i got this it was great. But i only have the phone and the charger so i need to get some other stuff for it i guess. The camera is pretty good, n the music is awsum. Love the games!!! really cool! :)
Pros: swivel
music player
camera
games
Cons: i dont have all the equiptment yet...
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adrielex
19/07/2007, 10:38 PM
rating
7/10
i love this phone.but the only problem is it lacks memory.i wish i could store a lot of my favorite videos and sounds but i must delete previuos files first just to load new ones. i love also the themes.when the theme is changed, the display icons are also changed as well as the format
Pros: solid built, sounds, walkman,
Cons: memory stick!!!!!!!!
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flippin
30/06/2007, 08:32 PM
rating
3/10
ive had this phone for a year and a half .. a few months after i got it my battery charger stopped working . and now the usb cable doesnt always allow it to charge .
Pros: the walkman part to it
Cons: battery life
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abeabe
28/05/2007, 07:42 PM
rating
7/10
ei...for me its a great fone!!but!!!now ..ive got a big big problem!!da screen in all menu..got its colour negative..and when someone txt me...i cannot easily read da msg...can sum1 help me??!!
ill w8 for sum quick response!!tnx..
Pros: hirs my eamil address...abe_0808@yahoo.com.ph
Cons: hirs my eamil address...abe_0808@yahoo.com.ph
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