Sony Ericsson Launches W980 Mobile Phones
Only a couple of years ago there was a definite split in the types of handsets available on the market - Clamshells and Candybars. The most popular clamshell was the iconic Motorola RAZR, but even this handset now seems like a distant memory and the market is now dominated by sliders and touch screens.
So clamshell fans will be delighted that’s to the unveiling of the Sony Ericsson W980 Walkman phone, complete with a superb 8GB of internal memory.
Looking at Sony Ericsson’s press pack for this handset reveals a sleek and glossy body with little to suggest it is a flip phone.
However, once in your hand you realise that this handset does indeed flip, and doubles in sizes whilst doing so. Maybe this has been the main cause of demise for the clamshell, because once open the W980 really does look large and even a little cumbersome. In fact compared to the legendary Motorola RAZR2 V8 the W980 looks fairly chunky.
However flip phone fans do not despair! Its not all bad, because once shut the device is actually pretty attractive, thanks to its mirror like fascia, and external TFT screen and 3 circular indentations, all of which are invisible until the phone is activated.
Once in the open position the device continues to impress. The keypad is glossy and black, the circular pattern on the front of the phone is repeated inside and this time works the navigation, clear, end and call keys and the navigation key.
Underneath these circular buttons is a sparse keypad, which is simple to use.
The screen is 2.2” in side, which isn’t huge but perfectly adequate and the 240×320 pixels help to produce a real vibrant glow.
Above the screen some music fans may love the strip of lights which dance and flash in time to your music.
Of course this device is built around music and there is a dedicated Walkman key on the left of the keypad, which will take you straight to the MP3 player. The main music controls are found on the front of the phone (in the closed position). The circular buttons on the front of the handset control play and pause, skip, rewind and volume. As these buttons are touch sensitive users will probably benefit from using the sliding lock mechanism to avoid accidental nudges.
Bringing this phone bang up to date are the shake controls. Rather than use the normal buttons users can shake the phone with a simple flick of the wrist. This then changes tracks or alters volume levels. Sony Ericsson appears to have done its homework on this function, because it provides more reliable and consistent results than competitors shake function handsets.
There is no 3.5mm jack on the handset and Sony Ericsson has stuck to its standard port. However, there is an adaptor to plug in your own headphones. And when your headphones are plugged in the outcome is a real treat – the sound quality offered by this phone is excellent (Sony Ericsson supply HPM-77 headphones with this handset).
With 8GB of internal memory this handset is on a par with the 8GB iPhone and there is plenty of space to store your musical content. Music can be divided into artists, play-lists, years, albums or genres and there is even Sony Ericsson’s SensMe facility, allowing you to put your music in various categories to suit your mood.
A built in transmitter also means you can also stream your audio music through your car stereo by selecting an un-used frequency.
With HSDPA web connectivity, web browsing is speedy and music, ringtone and videos can be downloaded in no time. The W980 is also embedded with Google Maps for any navigational needs. However the lack of GPS means this system works on triangulation. This works by locating the 3 nearest cells to you before guesstimating your location, so is therefore not as accurate as GPS.
The handset even offers push email, but users have to be patient when setting this up.
Now for the negative…The 3.15MP Camera…
Sony Ericsson have done a superb job with the music and seem to have almost forgotten the camera. Thanks to the clamshell body and the position of the lens the phone does not feel like a camera and the user may struggle to get a natural grip. The display is cluttered with function symbols, so it obstructs you whilst taking a shot and the results have been noted as being grainy. On the up-side you can geo-tag your shots, tag and instantly blog your shots.
Overall the Sony Ericsson W980 is a cracking device and stands out from the crowd thanks to its attractive clamshell body. Camera fans should look to the Cyber-Shot range as this handset is targeted, in the main, at the Walkman music lover. And the music lover will certainly not be left disappointed with this handset.
Sony Ericsson W980 Technical Spec
Size - 92×46x16.9mm
Weight - 100g
Display 256,000 colours
Resolution - 240×320 megapixels
Camera - 3.15 megapixels
Video - yes
Playback - yes
Streaming - yes
Video calling - yes
Ringtones - Polyphonic, MP£, AAC
Radio - yes
Connectivity - USB, Bluetooth, A2DP
Intenal Memory - 8GB
Memory card slot - No
Messaging - SMS, EMS, MMS, push email, IM
Internet browser - WAP 2.0 / xHTML/HTML (Net Front), RSS Reader
Java - yes
Data speed - HSDPA
Frequency - Quad-band
Talktime - 540 minutes
Standby - 370 hours
Built in music player
Shake control
HSDPA
8GB internal memory
Considering A Pre-Pay Deal?
Ever considered the Flat-Packed Furniture Giant Ikea?
If the answer is “no” then maybe you should have a re-think!
The flat packed furniture giant is branching out into the technological world with the launch of its pre-pay SIM card package.
Ikea Furniture and Ikea mobile phones SIM deal may seem like an odd combination but Ikea are confidently claiming that their “Family Mobile” deal offers the lowest pre-pay prices in the UK, and as an additional benefit new customers can keep their existing number.
Ikea are the latest retail giant to become a mobile virtual network by offering its Family Loyalty members this pre-pay SIM package, which will run on the T-Mobile network. The plan offers all UK calls for 9p per minute and 6p for all text messages.
The “Family Mobile” package offers customers a number of SIM cards to distribute to family members.
As a benefit to staff Ikea has recently presented all its 9,500 UK staff with free Family Mobile SIM card plus £5 credit and a mobile phone.