Sony Ericsson W580i review

Sony Ericsson W580i Review

Reviewed by: Andrew Lim

Reviewed on: 18 September 2007

The Sony Ericsson Walkman phone range isn't always very exciting, but the W580i has a few unexpected features that make it stand out from the crowd. It's also rather cheap relative to the rest of the range and worth checking out if you're on a budget.

It's currently available for free on a monthly contract from several major networks, or for around £120 on pay as you go.

Design
The W580i feels solid and looks like a quality product with some attractive details, such as the different coloured section surrounding the camera and keypad. Similar to the Sony Ericsson S500i, the W580i is a relatively slim slider phone with a curved section at the bottom. Our model came in a respectable grey and blue casing that attracted several glances at the pub.

The Sony Ericsson W580i's 2-megapixel camera has a blue casing and is protected behind the slide

Behind the sides of the W580i there are partially hidden LEDs that light up when you get a call or open the phone, and can be set to display different colours. It's rather a gimmick, but it does make it easier to tell when you're getting a call.

The W580i's screen isn't particularly large, but it's okay for viewing text messages and track information when you're using the Walkman feature. Safely protected behind the screen are the 2-megapixel camera at the back and keypad at the front.

We found the keypad a little on the flat side and we would have preferred it if the keys were a little more distinguishable from each other.

Features
Most of the features that you would expect on a Walkman phone are found on the W580i, including the Walkman Player 2.0 software, support for MP3 and AAC files, stereo Bluetooth and an FM radio.

In the box you get a 3.5mm adaptor so you can plug in your normal headphones should you choose, but we'd really like to see a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack so we could plug our headphones straight in.