Performance
Of course, this slow network performance is the result of this phone
being geared almost exclusively towards music playback, despite the
sparse audio format support.
After a very slow file transfer (roughly 15 to 20 seconds per song, 3 minutes or so per album), we started listening to some tunes and heard pretty decent sound quality -- as long as MP3s are encoded at a decent bit rate (at least 192Kbps). We used our high-end reference headphones, but you'll at least want to replace the rubbish bundled earphones with a decent pair.
Dashboard Confessional's nicely recorded Fever Dreams had warm and decent detail through the W350i and its general sound quality was on par with a good standalone MP3 player.
We did feel though that Dream Theater's Take Away My Pain sounded cleaner through Creative's Zen with subtle background sounds just slightly less well defined though the W350i. If you don't plan on using earphones any better than the bundled pair, though, you'll probably -- and sadly -- never notice this.
It's a fun phone to use with simple menus and reasonably large fonts, so phone addicts and newbies alike should enjoy using it. Call quality is good as well, though we've heard louder -- it might not be ideal if you plan on using it in mostly loud environments.
As a pocket camera, it's fine for quick snaps, but it can't compare to even slightly more capable handsets in terms of image quality (example here). Don't forget there's no flash, either.
Conclusion
Considering its price, its ease of use and
its generally decent performance, it's hard not to like this compact
little handset. But it's still no match for a dedicated MP3 player, which we'd choose over solely using the W350i for music in a heartbeat.
Still, few handsets -- bar the iPhone -- offer music playback capabilities to rival dedicated MP3 players, but if you fancy a better camera and more phone features, Sony Ericsson's more costly models will cater and are still the best of the bunch as music handsets.
Edited by Shannon Doubleday
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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