Photo gallery: Sony Ericsson W950iAfter the rash of competitor's MP3 phones, Sony Ericsson is busy throwing out every Walkman model they can find, hoping the iconic name will have some cachet in a saturated market. "Me too, me too!" the W950i shouts, leaving its business clothes -- based as it is on Sony Ericsson's own M600i -- discretely in the bin outside. But are we fooled? Is this device little more than a PDA phone with MP3 buttons nailed on?
We tested a preproduction model of the phone and found it had some some unique quirks of its own.
DesignBased as it is on a PDA shell, the W950i is larger than most phones, and is even larger than the last Sony hard-drive Walkman, the NW-HD5. However, it's still smaller than an iPod.
For those who've seen the M600i, the build and interface are very similar. The W950i is a candybar shape, and it is dominated by the large 240x320 touchscreen display. Gone is the M600i's QWERTY-based keyboard -- replaced by a frankly, annoying numeric keypad flush with the case. The reason for this frustration is that there is no delineation between the keys -- save for a pinprick-sized nub in the middle of each key -- and hence it's very easy to mis-key numbers.
The business-like features are still there, however: be the dorkiest kid on the block as you navigate your music player with an orange stylus! The thumbwheel and back button are also identical to the M600i.
Features
The biggest drawcard for this phone is that it contains 4GB of storage, and as such is pitting itself against Nokia's N91. Also in line with the newer phones in the Walkman range, the W950i supports TrackID which enables users to record several seconds of music of a song playing within earshot and then, potentially, get the track name and artist.
With the handsfree unit attached, there is also a decent quality radio onboard. The handsfree unit also comes with detachable earbuds. Being a music-based phone, there are numerous controls on the side and front of the unit, as well as a dedicated "Walkman" button. Pity there are no dedicated "Talk" or menu keys as well -- all navigation is via the touchscreen or the thumbwheel.
Of course, the W950i is also a 3G phone, and includes an Internet browser and also supports push email.
Performance
As a music phone we are happy to report that it's actually quite successful. The sound via the included earbuds is clear, and so as an mp3 player it's a very good one. It's easily better in this regard than the otherwise excellent W810i. The comparatively boundless capacity helps here, too.
The media controls are a little too smooshed together on the front of the phone, but the remote is sensible and intuitive. You can view by album art if you wish, though if you don't have art for all the records there is no caption, and all you see is a default placeholder with no indication of which album it is. The text menu works a lot better.
However, despite the gubbins they've glued on, the W950i is obviously a telephone first. And it's here where the problems begin.
Despite engaging the key lock, the play/pause button will still work. This means that if the button is bumped in your pocket or bag it could run your battery down. While this is not an issue for most MP3 players, it's definitely an issue for a telephone.
As a phone, this device is quite frustrating. There is little of the ease of use that other Sony Ericssons pride themselves on. Some functions are hidden deep within menus and the software is glitchy. For example, the SIM contacts and SMSs won't download by default, and contacts in particular need to be downloaded each time. And numerous times we'd turn the phone on and it would download all the messages from the SIM memory without prompting -- telling us we had 12 new messages each time.
We also had initial problems with getting ringtones to work -- there are so many different ways to do the same thing via the menus that it's hard to know where to start. Options are arranged seemingly higgledy-piggledy, and it's difficult to know whether the function you need is in "Call Settings", "Devices" or a "right-click" somewhere along the way. Of course, there's no right-click option, but the "More" option on each page acts like one. The W810i is more straightforward in this way -- everything is kept in the one place.
Having also used the superior W810i, we would suggest buying one of those and a 4GB MS Pro Duo card instead. If you need a PDA, then try the M600i and buy a Nano or something similar. Both options will end up costing you a lot less and the experiences will be so much richer.
It's hard to imagine who this device is aimed at. It's certainly not teens, who will be put off by features like the stylus and the confusing menus. Business users will also be put off, as its bizarre colour scheme and stunted business features mean its not quite a functional PDA either.
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