Sony Ericsson W600i review

have had the pleasure of using pre release version of the W600. this is a beta unit, as such, take this first look as just that. A glimpse of what might be when the W600 production unit launches.

First Impressions:
First and foremost, being an S710a user myself the first thing that strikes me with the W600 is it's size. It's clearly smaller then the S710a. While the consensus is the S710a is a "big" phone, i myself never found it to be large considering it's pretty much identical to the V635 in width and height because of the V635's stub antenna. The W600 is a much smaller looking package and it's style is love it or leave it. I myself love it. the Orange rubbery removable face plates to the loop quadband antenna.

Comparing the W600 directly to the S710a you will notice size differences. Here are a few pics for such comparisons.

Keypad:
The keypad on the W600, while still not exactly there yet, is light years better then the S710a I find. The buttons themselves are lit Orange in going with the walkman theme, and prvide a reasonable enough click and feedback when pressed.

What I really like on the keypad of the W600 is that SE moved the power and wap buttons elsewhere only leaving the Numeric pad. No more accidental wap launches or power downs on the W600

The top portion of the swivel is also good. I find the "d pad" design on the W600 easier to use then the joystick/Dpad design of the S710a. Although the buttons are smaller then the S710a, the W600's buttons provide more travel and "click". As such, I find the W600's answer/end buttons etc easier to use.

Camera:
the W600 also features a 1.3 mpix camera on the back of the unit and has a flash that actually increases it's brightness prior to the shot being taken. The S710a has a light that remains constant and doesn't burst. Because it's a beta unit I can't comment to much on picture quality. I find them good enough for a camera phone and have included a shot for your viewing pleasure. Once the retail units are out I will run a W600 through it's paces.

Connectivity:
the name SonyEricsson carries some serious weight in the connectivity department, and the W600 doesn't let down. Quadband, Bluetooth, IR, cable, Class 10 EDGE. It's all invited to the party

Cable:
Even in it's beta form, i was provided with the data cable which allows you to transfer songs to and from the unit. I assume that this same cable will also function as a connecvitity cable since you have to connect the cable, then go into settings/connectivity/USB and select "file transfer" to have the unit be recognised as a virtual drive to move songs onto the unit.

Bluetooth 1.2:
Yes, that's right kids. The W600 is a 1.2 unit. being bluetooth 1.2 you are able to take advantage of newer headsets that are also 1.2 and get frequency hopping, bettter battery life and clearer sound.

what I like about bluetooth 1.2 is multiple connections. with 1.2 you can leave your headset connected and still send a MP3/Pic/theme etc etc etc to a PC or other BT user. No more "hold on, let me drop my headset" or "hold on, gotta drop the PC connection" with 1.2 units. As such I was easily able to leave my Jabra BT500 connected to the W600 and send over the "Man who wants SEEG, but watches from sideline" picture above in the Camera portion.

IR:
IF cable and Bluetooth weren't enough you have IR making it the trinity of connectivity. IR is also fully implemented the unit as well since under the "send" commands you're prompted with:
*As email
*Via bluetooth
*Via infrared
for those who need the utmost in connectivity, SE delivers as usual.

Screen:
The screen on the W600 is a 176x220 unit which is a 262k unit. the screen is good, provides rich colour and does what it's supposed to do. however, going from a S710a screen at 240x320 there is a definate difference. However, with the Size and the new things the W600 brings to the table I'm not that worried.


New additions:
a few things I've noticed that have changed for the better while they're not guaranteed to be around when the retail W600 launches, i see no reason for them to disappear

*Background SMS sending: no longer have to sit and wait at that "sending...." screen like on the S710a
*ability to select multiple SMS recepients: by "marking" them one at a time similar to motorola. the W600 still supports groups to so you can set up predetermined lists of people you SMS for specific reasons. I myself have a "huartz" list for which I drop 1 single sms to about 15 people to see if any are around and wanna meet up for coffee.
*Mic position not flush to front anymore:.. no more cheek rubbing noise
*Huge increase in battery life night and day so far with my S710a
*Earpiece and ringvolume is nice and Loud.
*Custom MP3 sms tones
*Gaming buttons: top of phone beside earpiece are 2 buttons used for games so you can hold the phone like a gameboy. They can also be used to light up the dark standby screen

thsese are the few things I've noticed in the few days I have had the W600 a lot of these things are carry over from K750 as well.

RF:
Being a beta unit i wasn't very harsh on this unit. however, i'm quite happy to report it works well and didn't disappoint me I am looking forward to the retail unit

Sound:
The unit is loud Loud clear earpiece Loug clear ringtones Loud clear MP3 song playback.

it's a great unit for volume and had me impressed, truth be told.

Walkman:
Of course, it's no secret the W600 is a walkman branded product. As such, it has a dedicated walkman button on the front as well as a dedicated play button on the top left side. This gives you easy access to all your tracks.

The layout of the walkman SW is quite straightforward allowing you to set up playlists or select single songs by album or single track. The walkman SW is quite good considering it's still beta and can be minimized while songs are being played as well.


Final thoughts:
In closing, with all the new little SW tweaks SE has added to an already solid SE UI platform the W600 will be one great little phone. it's already shaping up to be the replacement to my S710a.

SE just seems to listen to the customers. a while ago people complained that you can't set SMS tones as personal MP3's.. now you can. they didn't have the ability to mark sms recepients creating big lists on the fly, now they do. It just seems that with every new SE product they move forward with the brand and the quality of features they bring to the table.

Made by Treatz Original topic

05.06.2006. 15:00