Jan 01, 2007 01:27 AM
4078 Views
This review is based on my two months ownership experience of the phone.
Looks and Style
*W810i catches eyes easily thanks to its new age looks of a mobile phone. The satin black panel covers give the phone an executive look while artistically designed three navigation dials on the front add great style to the phone. Equally attractive is the back with open camera lens fitted in the centre of a large shiny dial which also sports a dark orange blob and three loudspeaker openings. On the lower end of the back panel lies the sporty Walkman emblem neatly engraved.
Display: The screen is comfortable to look at and the fonts are clear and sized properly. Resolution is fine, too. To cut it short, the screen is not a give-up and goes well with the phones looks.
You can log on to http://www.sonyericsson.com and over 40 attractive themes await you. These themes not only change the standy display but add beauty and effect to all other features. Don't miss to download these themes or ask your freinds to send you the themes via Bluetooth or Infrared.
The phone is asthetically rich.
*Features and Add-ons
*Camera: The 2 mp camera of the phone has been quite a debate. Many users have felt that the camera is not a performer compared to other mobile phones of the category. However, the camera is really good. It's just that you need to get hang of the camera settings. There are quite a few useful options that you can apply while capturing pictures or movies. One needs to remember that the phone is light sensitive and the camera behaves differently in different light conditions. It is advisable that you learn some photography skills if you wish to get the best out of the W810i camera.
However, there is an irritating flaw concerning the camera. The lens is not covered! And if you are wondering whether it really matters, it does. I have not been able to prevent some irremovable stains catching on to my phone's camera lens no matter how hard I have tried to keep the phone safe and clean all the time. For a phone that costs over 14K [current price], it is certainly not acceptable not to have a safety shutter provided for the lens!
Memory and Storage: The phone comes with a 512 MB memory card specially designed by the Sony Cororation in addition to the phone's internal 26 MB file and data storage capacity. Just in case you need more place to dump your files, you can go for upto 2GB memory card which is supported by the phone.
File Transfer: You should look at this feature only if you have a regular habit of connecting the phone to a PC. Make sure you download the files to'Other' on the memory card, otherwise you will not be able to see any of the downladed files once you detach your phone from the PC. Most users have found this'unfriendly' as it complicates your file transfering activity.
Radio: The phone has an exlusive FM radio feature. However, you can not access this feature if you have not connected your headset to the phone which means you either carry the headset everywhere you carry the phone or you forget accessing the radio!
Note: The phone has one and the same port for headset, charger, USB cable and portable speakers. You will find this highly inconvenient and uncharacteristic becuase you can not, for example, use headset while you have connected the charger.
Battery: Again, a debatable topic as most users have believed that Sony Ericsson batteries are a major give-up when compared to Nokia. I do not agree much though. The battery is fine and performs satisfactoriy. As we all know, the battery performance of any phone is subejct to the phone usage. However, I might say that Nokia is a safe bet if you are particular about the battery performance.
Bluetooth and Infrared: You will enjoy the two of these. Easy to access and user friendly.
Audio and Sound: You must have heard that the phone has excellent audio features. You have heard it right! The phone's audio and sound features are a class apart. Here, you have digital sound thourghout, be it playing a song, a sound track, radio or voice.
Of all the Walkman phones SE has introduced, this one ranks high thanks to its extra clear and near realistic sound. Go for it, if you care a lot about audio features. The phone also comes with two portable loud speakers which you can connect to the phone while you are studying or reading and enjoy good quality music.
The phone comes with many more features like Code Memo which you might find very useful to store passwords securely. Games are not bad either. Make sure you visit the website for more free downloads of games.
*But.
All said, the phone is nothing more than a stylish electronic gadget with high quality audio features. It might look as though you paid too much for the phone once you buy it. And there is this open camera lens that will constantly bother you as you will know that you are carrying an expensive camera phone with exposed lens.
You will get equally irritated with single-port connection feature as it will not allow you to connect the charger and headset at the same time.
And you will notice that there are some basic features missing, like timing a profile. you can not also assign separate ringtones to each of the profiles.
So, I conclude saying that the phone is not worthless but certainly not a value for money.
