Frankly, Shake is very gimmicky, and is unlikely to impress anyone above voting age. It’s far simpler and more precise to use the music buttons, and you don’t run the risk of launching your phone across the room when you change tracks.
The rest of the Walkman experience is pretty impressive, though. Using the latest Walkman user interface, it’s again an intuitive, easy-to-use music player. Track classifications include artists, albums, tracks, playlists, year and genre, plus podcasts and audio books. Sony Ericsson’s SensMe option can compile a playlist automatically from your choice of mood and tempo, selected graphically. However, it only uses tracks suitably rated with Sony Ericsson’s supplied Media Manager software.
Available in black or silver, the plastic casing feels fairly sturdy
Although again veering towards the gimmicky, you could at least see this being useful for workouts, or for runners using the W760i’s Tracker software. The audio performance is high quality too. The supplied two-piece earphone set is much better than average for a mobile, and gives a pleasant sound delivery, with proper amounts of bass and lots of detail.
Although the W760i uses a typical awkwardly bulky side-mounted headphone/charger/USB connector, it’s easy to add your own better quality headphones, thanks to the standard 3.5mm headphone socket included on the phone side of the two-piece boxed headset. Stereo Bluetooth wirefree headphones are supported too.
The loudspeaker on the W760i can be cranked up loud – it needs to be for its satnav duties – but doesn’t produce quality sound output for music: it's bass-light and harsh when at high volume.
The W760i has 40MB of on-board user storage, but comes supplied with a 1GB Memory Stick Micro memory card - there’s an easy-access handy slot on the top for popping it in. Copying tracks over from a PC involves either using Media Manager or drag-and-dropping tracks, or Bluetoothing files across.
Other usual music features are present too, including a decent quality FM radio with RDS, TrackID song identification software, and the Walkman-staple Music Mate application.
COMMENTS
SE's Versatile A2 Platform
Why not talk about it?
SE is known as a supporter of UIQ, but it's also a heavy Java supporter. SE's A2 hardware platform which spans the low to mid-high end phones is using SE's JAVA8 OS platform. Many of the phones in this range have similar features and functions just as this reviewed phone.
My daughter has a Z750a phone. Unbranded in the US it has GPS functions (a older Google/NavTec GPS enabled map application), and works fine with AmAze navigation tool. GPS is a requirement for the US E911, and SE a number of the newer phones have had the chip installed but disabled by the carrier. With headsets it has 'Walkman' mega bass and the same media player as most of the SE phones be they so-called designer or Cybershot or Walkman. The non-US Z750i version has two cameras and can make video calls. Burdened with only a BST-33 battery it just doesn't have enough juice to last more than a day in heavy use, but that could be an incentive to connect it to your PC (to charge) and sync your contacts, calendar and podcasts.
I'm surprised that the SE RSS Desktop has never gotten more attention. Frankly it is just as functional as you could want, with your favorite news feeds immediately available on the screen, scrolling by and ready to be selected for reading. Configurable to update hourly (or up to weekly) your phone can keep you current with whatever interests you. When browsing if the web page supports RSS, the icon popus up over one of the softkeys, enabling you to easily add the feed.
The A2/Java8 platform is also compatible (via the SE Media Center software) with podcasts - audio and visual, and audiobooks. For a small upgrade fee you can let it convert any media file format to the phone's native.
There is available XM satellite subscription software as well as TV streaming applications though currently limited to AT&T branded phones (the software exists).
Everyone made such a fuss over push email on the iPhone. SE A2/Java8 platform phones have push email too, and are certified compatible with Exchange and iLife. What they are lacking are Java applications to read MS Office attachments that are easily available.
SE phones all have contact information with multiple addresses and phone numbers per contact. Each phone number can have an independent voice command.
All newer SE phones have an easy MMS photo blogging widget to Blogspot.com.
Though SE has been slow on the UIQ front with updates, the A2 platform has had numerous updates and the while all phones are not getting all the Java8 updates, SE is in the 4th revision. Many firmware updates are available for many SE phones.
I guess since it doesn't have WIFI and a touch screen, and with M2 micro cards only going up to 8G (most A2 phones will handled 8G cards, but some apps may not report the space accurately), it's just not as important as a phone that you can't change the memory, battery or have copy/paste functions, voice commands, tethering....
Not a bad phone...
Been using one of these for a few weeks, and it's not a bad phone at all...
Important to me was its ability to sync with iSync on my Mac, which was easy once I'd installed a plugin from feisar.com
Terrible
These phones are rubbish. I got one on contract a few weeks ago. The menu takes 1/2 second to respond to any button presses. The call quality is terrible, the battery lasts a day, 2 at the most with no use and it will drop signal connection randomly.
It freezes, requires battery removal to reset and won't keep
synced with a bluetooth headset.
O2 are no help. They will replace the phone with the same "refurbished" model, which means i will get someone elses crap. Their other suggestion is to update the software which I cannot do because i don't have a windoze pc.
I have been a fan of walkman phones for years, they usually have outstanding battery life and software is usually responsive. Ear phones are good quality and the walkman, FM radio functions are second to none.
This ball of crap however is definitely the worst phone I have owned in a long time and soured my taste for Sony Ericsson in general.
Stay away.
