Sony Ericsson W880i - reviews

Sony Ericsson W880i (review by TheGadgetStylist on 10/01/2008)

Ease of Use

Style and Design

Battery Life

Camera

Music Player

Mobile Internet

Reliability and Quality

Overall

SonyEricsson launched the W880i in February 2007 and, being out of contract and very impressed with the last two SonyEricsson phones that I'd lived with (the W810i and K750i), I signed up for a new contract and a shiny new W880i. I've now used the W880i as my main phone for 9 months - not bad for a commitment-phobe like myself!

First Impressions
A long time has passed but I distinctly remember being very impressed with the W880i when I received it. I was amazed at how slim it was, the high quality feel of the finish and the great Walkman software. It was the first truly slim and sexy 3G phone that I'd used.

The stuff you get with the phone seems very generous too; high quality SonyEricsson stereo headphones, a 1GB memory card (the same amount of storage as an iPod Shuffle!) and a PC synchronisation cable.

What's great about the W880i
Beside the design and build there are a many great things about this phone. The menu system or user interface was another step forward from the already impressive SonyEricsson W810i. I, and many of my friends, believe that SonyEricsson are now the leaders when it comes to user interface. It is truly intuitive and easy to use.

The Walkman software is impressive and easy to use. You can download your music via a PC or Mac. I even found a free software application that you can download which allows you to sync any Walkman phone with iTunes. Click here to read more.

The battery life is pretty good for a 3G phone, certainly above average these days. Despite being a music focused phone, the camera performs pretty well when used in good conditions, such as taking photos in good lighting and with no movement.

This was also the first time I used stereo Bluetooth. What this means is that you can ‘pair' the phone with wireless stereo headphones, speakers or, in my case, a car stereo and play your music wirelessly. Very impressive.

What's disappointing about the W880i
There are a few niggles about this phone that need to be improved in future phones. The biggest disappointment for me, and something I missed when researching the phone, as the lack of an FM Radio. This feature has become almost a given on the majority of phones.

Another problem that has prevented friends from buying this phone is the size of the keys. They are very small and can be fiddly to use if you have larger fingers, making texting a little annoying.

The connector for headphones, as with all SonyEricssons, is too large and clumsy. On this phone it is situated on the side of the phone which is a problem when trying to wedge the phone in your pocket. Come one SonyEricsson, sort out a better solution to this!

I ordered the W880i as soon as it was launched. In doing so I broke one of my own cardinal rules - don't buy a phone in the first 6 weeks of it's launch! My legendary impatience struck again.

The first batches of phones to roll out of the factory and on to the streets always have a few minor (and occasionally major) issues with the hardware and software. In the rush to get the latest phones on the market before the competition, manufacturers and operators will overlook a few smaller issues and fix them later on in the product's life. This means that if you get one of the first products to leave the factory you may well find your phone has a few annoying glitches.

My W880i suffered from one such glitch. It kept switching itself off. I've experienced this in past with SonyErisson phones and as soon as it started happening I popped to my local O2 store and they sent it away to be repaired under warranty (no need for expensive mobile phone insurance to do this, although you'll need to use your old phone for a week or two). Once I got it back the switching off issue more or less disappeared although I have a cunning trick for reducing this problem - check out the Help section for more.

Who is this phone ideal for?
If you like the idea of a phone that can be used as an occasional music player, for taking the odd ad-hoc photo but you don't want a device that feels like you've stuffed a house brick into your pocket then this could be the phone for you. Easy to live with, simple to use and discreet to carry around.

Summary
Despite a few flaws the W880i is a really good phone that has a good mixture of features in a slim and stylish design.

It's one of my favourite ever phones - I'm something of a phone tart - and I look forward to seeing if it's replacement, the W890i, manages to iron out some the issues that prevent the W880i from being perfect.

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