In 1999, Ericsson brought out the classic -- and popular -- T28 flip phone. With a nod to its past success, Sony Ericsson has released a new budget Walkman handset.
The Sony Ericsson W350i is a Walkman entrant with a retro appearance and pseudo-candy bar form factor. It's out now on a range of networks, coupled with both pay as you go or for free on contract price plans.
Design
The W350i's retro appearance is the result of the seldom seen flip phone design. When open, the flip panel reveals an easy-to-use glossy keypad comprising fairly large, smooth buttons. When closed, concealing the keypad, it plays host to dedicated Walkman buttons on its exterior, making the handset much more like a Sony MP3 player when in standby.
The flip panel does its job well enough, but it's quite flimsy and actually bends -- a result of Sony Ericsson's desire to keep this handset just 11mm thick, though the rest of the handset is reasonably rugged and should survive the odd drop.
We also found it to be a nice phone to use -- it's ergonomic, fairly lightweight and sports an attractive finish in a range of colours. While small, the 176x220-pixel screen is bright and clear.
A small annoyance: while the Walkman buttons on the front of the flip panel allow you to play, pause and skip tracks, you have to fold it down to navigate to other albums or artists.
Features
Slightly annoying too is that unlike almost all MP3 players, neither protected nor unprotected WMA files are supported -- only MP3 and AAC files are compatible, including DRM-free iTunes Plus downloads.
You can use Windows Media Player or Sony Ericsson's bundled media manager software to sync content and the latter supports podcast subscriptions. You can also simply drag and drop content using Windows.
Aside from weak audio compatibility, there's a rear-mounted 1.3-megapixel camera without a flash for still images only, plus FM radio, stereo Bluetooth, email and RSS support, games, but sadly no 3.5mm headphone socket. This is a standard seen across the industry, despite our constant complaints.
Bear in mind that this is a 2.5G handset, not 3G, and as such Internet browsing speeds won't blow you away. Installing Opera Mini would be a good move if you plan on using the Internet on this phone.
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters
User reviews4
Add your review
woolaineyboo 22 August 2011
Good: Good memory, ok camera, good games and applications, easy to text, quick web browser.
Bad: Lacks Video, very fragile flip panel, small screen,
Comment: Have this phone since 2009. Have dropped it a lot of times. The flip panel broke quite easily. I once dropped it from a rollercoaster and it still works, although the silver has started from the top buttons and they are sometimes unresponsive. Also has picked up a few scrapes. It stores about 100 songs and 200 pictures. The sound isn't very loud but sounds good with the earphones. The web browser loads quite quick I have found. Battery life is about two days or maybe four sometimes. Very good phone for music and very easy texting. Really love this phone but I will have to let go of it because I am getting another phone for my birthday. It's a good buy for the price.
Joshua Gregory 28 April 2011
Good: Nothing
Bad: Performance Issues
Comment: I've had mine for 3 years and it is now so slow it freezes and I have to take the battery out to reboot it. Even repairing it using the sony ericsson PC Suite didn't cure it.
Verdict: DO NOT BUY!!!
jeremyjakes 4 August 2009
Good: Dedicated music keys, slimness, looks.
Bad: Limited 1.3 Megapixel camera, cannot lock the phone without the flip
Comment: This is a neat little phone, and you can pick it up from the carphone warehouse at mereli £30, bargain. And as we all no, from the carphone warehouse, by it on the cheapest network they are offering as they are all unlocked to all sim cards.
The looks, wel, i think the best way to describe it, is as the C902's little brother. It inherits certain looks ( the best bits ) and chucks the ugly bits from the C902 and replaces them with improvements.
However, features, if you're looking for a phone packed with features, you're going to be greatly disapointed. Sure it looks great, but besides the Walkman player, which is exceptional, the rest is a fairly basic phone, limited options in the options menu, however, I would say it isnt lacking anything really important, making it very easy to use.
The main review, you may notice, it says you have to flip down the flip to change artists/albums/tracks when you are playing a track. THIS IS WRONG.
When you are listening to a track, and you see the progress of the track etc, press the up key, this will bring you to a list, of the the tracks, queued to play, then press the right key (this is all with the flip up), and you will be brought to the main menu, GREAT!!
The one downside, is the volume and dedicated walkman key, these have worn quickly, and stil work, but not as they used to, this is a minor critiscm to a absolutely fantastic phone. Despite it being cheap, its looks and its simplicity means that I shall be keeping this phone for a very long time.
So to summarise, a great phone, cheap, only £30, supberb looks, but limited features, but, the fact its on 11mm makes it so u cant have super processors for amazin apps on it, do i care, NO!
See all 4 user reviews