Photo gallery: Sony Ericsson W300iSony Ericsson's "Baby Walkman" expands the Walkman phone range into the lower end of the market, joining the pricier W810i, W950i, W550i and W900i models. The first clamshell offering in the range, it features a slightly scaled-back spec list, but promises the same sound quality as its predecessors.
Design
The first clamshell model of the Walkman range, the W300i has a funky design that is tailored to appeal to the younger folk. Its pearlescent shimmer, rounded edges and bubble-influenced shapes give the phone a playful look, and the large lanyard hook at the top allows it to be toted around as an accessory.
At 90mm by 47mm by 24mm and 94 grams, the phone is small and light when closed, but the lanyard loop is a gratuitous protuberance when in a pocket.
The keypad looks groovy, with orange-backlit overlapping circles comprising the number buttons and giving a 3D effect. While the odd shapes do take a small toll on ease-of-use, the main issue is with the power and Walkman buttons beneath the keypad -- they're just too small, and needlessly so.
An orange 101 x 80 pixel external screen displays the usual info (time, date, battery and signal strength), and also indicates the name of the person calling or messaging if they are in your contacts list.
The layout of the navigation keys may take some getting used to for those who haven't owned a Sony Ericsson phone before. There are no dedicated Send and End keys, and the buttons to delete input and navigate to a previous menu option are reversed. We got caught out pressing the wrong key a few times when composing texts, resulting in 160 characters' worth of solid gold conversation being wiped out instantly. Once you're used to the layout, navigation becomes easier, but the five-way centre key could be larger and more distinguished from the phone's surface.
There is a single proprietary port in which to plug the USB cable, AC adaptor or stereo headset. This means that you can only use the supplied headphones to listen to music, as there's no standard 3.5mm stereo socket.
Features
Naturally, the most notable features of the W300i are music-related. Tunes can be transferred using a variety of methods, including via the supplied USB cable and music software; Bluetooth; infrared, or by attaching the file to an e-mail or MMS. Music tracks can also be used as ringtones or alert noises -- we liked having the option to wake up to the Black Eyed Peas as well as more traditional alarm clock sounds.
As with the other models in the Walkman range, selecting the Walkman menu option leads to a catalogue of the songs you have loaded, organised iTunes-style by artist, track name or playlist.
A sound recorder, video recorder and audio/video "DJ" software -- which allow you to compose your own tunes, edit video files and enhance pictures with borders and colour adjustments -- give you the option to meddle with your multimedia. If you prefer a more passive approach, there's an FM radio to kick out the jams as well.
Like the W810i, the W300i has 20MB of onboard memory, but comes supplied with a 256MB Memory Stick Micro. Lack of out-of-the-box memory could also be an issue for those intending to build up a formidable portable music library, but there is the option to increase the flash capacity to 1GB by shelling out for another card.
The quad-band W300i is a good choice for jetsetters, with the flight mode allowing travellers to listen to tunes at altitude without funking up the airplane's navigation instruments.
Performance
While we weren't expecting great things from the flash-free VGA camera, photo quality was on the poor side. The camera is fine if you'll be keeping your photos on the phone, but seeing them at 640x480 resolution on a monitor is a disappointing experience.
Transfer of songs using the USB cable was quite slow -- it took about 15 minutes to transfer 54 MP3s. Once the files are in the phone though, navigating through them and creating playlists is simple. The only downer is that listening to music for extended periods will drain the battery quite swiftly.
Sound quality was very good; the earbuds blocked out almost all ambient noise, allowing songs to sound rich and enveloping. Just watch out if you're crossing any roads, as it's possible to lose focus on your surroundings and get swept away with the melody and into the path of an oncoming truck.
Overall there was a lot to like about the W300i, which pairs the multimedia inclusions of the Walkman range with a scaled-back feature set. The main issue is that iPod Nano-toting target users may not see the value in transferring their music to a separate device with a smaller memory and shorter battery life.
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