As is usual with Sony Ericsson handsets, the player supports MP3, AAC, WMA and MPEG 4 files, and comes with an equalizer that you can mess about with plus the usual raft of genre pre-sets and a Megabass option.
The 3.2-megapixel camera does a fair enough job and comes with a macro setting and a digital zoom that runs to 2.9x, though the twin-LED flashes are no substitute for the xenon flash on the K850i.
Comfortable to hold
Sony Ericsson's refusal to enable its top-flight phones to record video at more than 15f/s 320 x 240 is frankly beginning to grate when there are phones about that will record at 30f/s 640 x 480. Video playback defaults to a portrait on screen layout. If you tilt the phone over, nothing happens - to change to landscape you have to hit the 'Expand' soft key.
The speaker on the W960i is one of the best we have come across, it really does produce a great sound for something so small and is superb when used in speaker-phone mode. Call quality and signal strength are up with the best from Sony Ericsson.
The manufacturer claims three hours of talk time and 300 in standby mode when you're in a 3G area. The numbers rise to nine and 370 without the UMTS drain. In the real world, our handset lasted for two-and-a-half days of fairly heavy mixed use in a 3G area with the Wi-fi switched on a couple of times for 10-15 minute spells before we went rummaging for the charger.
Verdict
It's hard to shake off a slight sense of disappointment about the W960i. The looks are nothing special, the UI seems a little unresolved and the features list while long is lacking in some important areas. Unless you really want the Symbian OS and Wi-fi, we suggest getting a K850i and sticking an 8GB Memory Stick Micro up its backside. Then you have an 8GB music player with a five-megapixel camera and HSDPA that you can use with one hand. You can't say that of the W960i
Sony Ericsson Walkman W960i music phone
COMMENTS
Business Card Scanner
"Something we haven't come across before was the Business Card Scanner."
Isn't this a standard feature on HTC/O2 Smartphones these days?! You really should have come across it...!
Can we get Symbian to the K-series?
I've been very impressed with the Java Platform on my K790a, even though I have found a few bugs here and there. I'm hoping that JP8 on the K850i is even better, but man, Symbian on the K-series would be very cool.
Paris, on my K-series, please.
Track ID
Track ID is indeed present on the 960i, as it is on the 850i.
K850i + 8GB M2 = W960i? Ehh, what are you smokin'..:)
I don't know what are you smoking but I want some - K850i is well behind this phone, I think (sans HSDPA over UMTS, of course.)
I have this phone for a while and:
- I use it *without* the stylus (until few days ago I don't even know where did I put my stylus) and
- with *one hand*
- yet I can access *everything* including *submenus as well*
- this latest Symbian OS - same as in P1 - is waaaaay ahead of the K850i's proprietary SE OS
- touchscreen + roll-wheel + shortcuts give you *multiple* ways to click, start, access etc
- 8GB+160MB might sound limited for some people but in reality out of my 100GB+ collection I have over 1000 high-quality (e.g. 320k MP3) songs on it, along with few videos (including the ones I shot during last Fall's The Cult concert :))
- paired with SE's stereo BT headsets it's an excellent urban traveler's music+web setup.
Am I right when I think this article forgot to mention that W960i it comes with TrackID? If so it must be mentioned, even if it's standard on most SE phones because trackID *IS* the *best-ever* application for *any* music lover - it works literally everywhere for me, even in noisy pubs!
I must admit it took a few weeks until I figured out the best ways to use it, espcially with one hand - no, I'm not disabled but it's NYC here, the other one holds the coffee mug :) - but once you discover all the tricks you really develop an appreciation for the very thoughtful engineering that went into this phone.
Perhaps it's time to learn how to use it properly, Alun? ;) :P
FYI: it takes a bit more than few days but ever since I got this phone - few months ago - I have not touched my perfectly working WM6-running HTC TyTn...
This phone has a great potential but SE dropped the ball when they did not introduced here, in the US. I've showed it to 4-5 of my colleagues so far and at least 2 people immediately dropped the idea of buying an iPhone, they want W960i instead - too bad SE priced it stupidly high, they should go down at least $100 below Apple's price (8GB) and start promoting it heavily on these markets (the US, that is.)
Hmmm...
...doesn't sound good enough phone for me to relinquish my brushed ally W880i...
