Finally, forget the bundled Web browser included on the phone, and instead install the free Opera Mini browser. It's free, and it'll transform the W980 into a fast and enjoyable Web-browsing handset.
Performance
Sadly, apart from the sporadic feature addition, Sony Ericsson has
failed to innovate in terms of software. The user experience is good,
that's for sure, but it's little more than the same software inside a
new case. In fact, the Xperia X1 is the only truly innovative thing we've seen the troubled manufacturer come out with in a long time.
The W980 is a pleasant phone to use, though, and it shouldn't give even the fairly technophobic any trouble.
Musically, it's a decent little performer. We tested with lossless WAV files and studio-grade reference headphones and noticed certain shortcomings, but as a little MP3 player for listening to music on the way to the shops, it's fine.
It isn't, however, as good as a dedicated player such as a Creative Zen or an iPod. These offer audibly superior sound quality, and are still preferable as music devices. If optimum sound performance is essential, very few phones on the market are hitting the mark yet anyway.
Conclusion
Not an innovative phone and not without
subtle annoyances, such as the easily obscurable camera and the lack of
a 3.5mm headphone socket, but in most other ways the W980 is terrific,
and packed with features.
It wouldn't cause us to ditch our dedicated MP3 player, but it's ideal as a second music device for those times when carrying two gadgets isn't practical.
If you want a music phone that really is worth ditching your dedicated player for, consider Apple's iPhone 3G. Or if you want to steer clear of Apple but still use your own headphones easily, have a peek at the Motorola Rokr E8.
Edited by Nick Hide
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User reviews3
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Bobby Blanco 25 August 2008
Good: Ease of use, style, meaty
Bad: No gps
Comment: I've just got this phone and I'm so impressed. The sound, picture and camera quality are amazing. I got this phone on recommendation from a friend, and for once, they are right. Lots of internal storage, so easy to use from the box. I'm loving it :)
heymichael! 11 August 2008
Good: 8gb of music, retro look, fm transmitter, gps photo thingy
Bad: slight problems with the 3g internet (think it might be my service provider)
Comment: I took this phone as a replacement for a big ol vario II on tmobile.
first impressions- its tiny. i keep losing it in my pocket, which is a good thing. its very straight forward to use- if you've ever used a sony erricson before you wont be confused by the menu set up.
It can hold 8gb of music- thats alot, up there with iphones, and is half the size. Best part for me is the fm transmitter. now THISis amazing. I've you have an itrip for your phone you'll understand just how good an idea this is. It basically means you can broadcast your music from your phone to a selection of FM frequencies, then tune your radio/car stereo in and enjoy yur music on the go.
Other things about this phone's features. Well- this is strange. When you take a snap, you can go view it on a map through gogle maps. yep. it places your newly taken snap on a google map. so you can build up a photo library on a map, which is a bloody novel concept. I am slightly scared by this however!
Great phone- you won't be disapointed.
mitchuk 5 August 2008
Good: Great sound qaulity, gestural controls
Bad: A lot of great features hidden away
Comment: I got this phone as a replacement to my old Nokia. I was looking for a phone that could also play music as I was fed up of using an MP3 player and a phone, and I was not going near an iPhone as they don't support the music subscription services that I favour.
After playing around with the phone a lot, I am very impressed. The sound quality is excellent, both from headphones and from the phone speakers. Now I know what you are thinking - why are you playing music out loud from the phone. Don't worry - I'm not annoying fellow commuters on trains and buses. It comes in handy with a bunch of friends when you don't have a sound system in the room, or in a car when the stereo was out of use. The phone was a lifesaver on a recent 5 hour car ride with no stereo - crisp and loud! One annoyance is that although you can use your own headphones, you have to use the adapter that comes with the phone - in trouble if you lose that!
The phone has interesting gestural controls - tilt it towards or away from you to adjust volume and give it a flick to switch tracks - careful in public! Digging around, the phone has other apps which use these controls - the driving game to steer, a drum kit where you play different drums with a flick of the phone and a useful pedometer! However a lot of these features seem hidden away so explore those menus!
The phone has a camera which does a good job, though there is no flash. I was not expecting a great camera though as this is part of the Walkman series and not Cybershot - maybe one day they shall combine!
In conclusion this is a fantastic music phone, very small, very sleek, great user interface, using a cut down XMB for Multimedia and stunning sound quality.
Recommended!
See all 3 user reviews