Sony Ericsson W595 Walkman review

Sony Ericsson W595 Review

Reviewed by: Nate Lanxon

Reviewed on: 6 November 2008

Performance
If you've used any Sony Ericssons over the last couple of years, you'll have no problem working this one. It's essentially the same phone in a new case. There are various menu themes, most of which are clear and easy to navigate.

We have no complaints over sound quality, but bear in mind the bundled sound-isolating earphones, while above average, are still pants compared to a decent pair costing as little as £40. The phone sounds much better than the earphones let it, so upgrading is advised.

The W595 delivers good call quality and an altogether solid user experience. It's by no means an advanced phone or -- especially these days -- an innovative one. But if there's one thing Sony Ericsson (and Nokia, for that matter) can do, it's rejigging old designs from the previous year and upping the specifications with each release.

We're still not on board with the Walkman as a replacement for a decent dedicated MP3 player, but to compliment one when it's just not convenient to carry two devices, it's fine. The Creative Zen, Apple iPod or Sony Walkmans all offer better sound quality and richer music and video experiences.

Sony Ericsson rates battery life at 9 hours of talk time and 16 days of standby. With casual use you should be able to go about four or five days between charges, but significantly less if you're using this as your primary music player. 

Conclusion
With all this in mind, we're happy to conclude that this is a solid, fun phone -- aside from its lack of a real headphone socket and its poor video functionality. But if you're expecting anything radically new, you might want to wait a little while for Sony Ericsson to start innovating. 

Edited by Marian Smith