Sony Ericsson W350i Review
The Sony Ericsson Walkman phones are legendary in their class, and with good reason. Aimed at the music lover and coming in a range of prices and varieties, they offer Walkman quality sound with all the trimmings expected of a Sony Ericsson phone, and the W350i is no exception.
This is a budget phone, however, but that does not mean it is a poor competitor in the field. Far from it, in fact, for if one is looking for a handset with great music capability, and you are not bothered about high quality photos, this is a certain contender and at some very good prices.
Style and function
Like many phones in this bracket – those aimed, unashamedly, at the younger generation – the W350i comes in a variety of funky colours, the ice blue version looking particularly good and the alternatives – black, with colours, and white – also very attractive.
For it is an attractive phone in more ways than one. Slim and very light, the handset weighs in at only 75 grams and is just 11mm thick, while it is a very compact design that feels good to hold. The W350i is a flip phone, a popular configuration, with a display visible in either open or closed, and is interesting in that the flip covers just the keyboard. It’s a neat design touch that gives the phone something different, and it looks very good indeed.
The keypad is a good size and very usable, and the display perfectly adequate, but it’s the music we’re concerned with for that is the main talking point with this phone. The Walkman needs no introduction – it is, as always, exceptional – and the W350i comes with stereo headphones in the package. The phone only has a very small memory – just 14mb – which is unusual for a music-biased phone, but the addition of the available memory stick brings added, and adequate, capability to this very neat little phone.
On the other hand is the camera, and it has to be said this is not a strong selling point. It is only 1.3 mega pixels, has no flash or autofocus, and no video camera; the thing is, though, that nobody will be buying this phone with a camera in mind – it’s a Walkman, and it’s excellent in that respect.
Is it worth the money?
As this phone can be bought at seriously knock-down prices on pay as you go it is well worth considering. Small, sturdy and stylish, with fantastic music and more, the W350i falls short only on the aforementioned camera.
Other features are adequate and, in some cases very impressive for such a budget priced phone, and in addition to the Mp3 player there is an FM Radio, enhanced with a bass-boosting function that increases the bass frequencies. There are a number of polyphonic ring tones and a very neat sound recorder, and Java games can be downloaded with ease.
Messaging is by the usual methods – SMS, MMS and Email – and the phone comes with a very handy personal organiser function that will be well used. It features GPRS and EDGE, and has Bluetooth and USB connectivity in addition giving it very capable web-browsing ability for a phone of this diminutive size, not to mention price.
With claimed talk time of up to seven hours and standby of 300, the W350i lacks nothing in comparison to others in this class and would make a sensible addition to any shortlist.
In summary, this is a very nice little phone at some seriously bargain-basement prices. The size makes it very handy as it can be stored anywhere, and its capability does not put it to shame in any way at all. In true Sony Ericsson fashion the W350i is well designed and nicely built, and carries enough features to make it a worthy choice. It looks good in all colours, is reportedly reliable, and stands out from the crowd with exceptional music player ability.
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