The 2Mp camera is about as low-rent as any manufacturer can expect to get away with these days. The Walkman series isn't the best place to look for cameras, though the W902 has a 5Mp snapper, as Sony Ericsson tends to save the best of its photographic innovations for its Cyber-shot range.
Low-rent camera
We've certainly seen worse 2Mp cameras and, within its limits, it delivers reasonably sharp, colour-accurate pictures, though they're better viewed on screen than in print. It offers a maximum picture resolution of 1600 x 1200 and a few useful snapping options, including 2.5x digital zoom, a timer that runs up to 15 seconds, a burst mode taking up to four pics, and a night mode. SE's deal with Blogger allows you to upload your snaps straight to the internet.
Video quality takes a step down from the still pictures but it's not exactly a nosedive and there'll be no shame in uploading the results to YouTube - assuming the actual content isn't shameful, of course.
Connections-wise, the W302's quad-band, which will take you around most of the world, but there's no 3G, which limits the attractiveness of the browser, and means you'll be hanging around for a while if you download tunes from SE's PlayNow or other track download services. There's no Wi-Fi either, so fast internet access simply isn't an option.
Also available in silver
The browser, such as it is, is hardly worth bothering about, unless you're extremely patient and get guilty pleasure from watching paint dry. There are a couple of 3D Java games on board - old Tetris-clone fave QuadraPop and 3D Rollercoaster - and you can download more.
The W302's battery life is decent enough and we got a good three days of moderate use out of it – the only disappointment being that its heavier specced brethren such as the W902 and W595 actually claim longer battery life.
Verdict
The cheapest Walkman phone still manages to deliver an above-average music player and its 2Mp camera is better than you'd expect from the rather lowly spec. There are no fancy fripperies like 3G or GPS but it's only the lack of a decent browser that feels like a serious omission. However, for phone calls, basic messaging, music and an okay camera, it's a recession-busting little wonder. ®
More Phone Reviews...
Sony Cyber-shot C905 |
LG Cookie |
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Nokia 6600 Slide |
Sony Ericsson Walkman W302 budget music phone
COMMENTS
Re: Xbox fanboys?
Can't be me, as I am not American, suffered from SE products and their "you bought it, your problem" attitude for years, and saw enough SE units break or die (other than mine), sometimes within days of purchase, to clearly state that stuff coming out of SE is mediocre at best. If I had to choose, I would rather have a Motorola these days. I guess that says it all.
Xbox fanboys?
Whenever there's a review of a Sony Ericsson phone, there's usually lots of comments made by Sony-hating Americans, who clearly *never ever* have used Sony Ericsson phones, and have a hard time understanding the concept of a joint venture business. This time too.
While I do agree that Sony Ericssons proprietary "Fast Port"-connection sucks, the overall quality and features of Sony Ericsson phones are first-rate... and, like AC posted above, MS flash memories are not more proprietary than SD...
SD is proprietary
I agree about the proprietary connection but not on the memory card. SD is equally as proprietary as MS. Hell when SD was first announced, it was not even compatible with MMC slots and came out later than Sony's MS as well! And now we have miniSD, microSD, microSDHC, miniSDHC, all of which are proprietary nonsense.
What kind of degree
do I need to differentiate all those Sony / Sony Ericsson products? The phones look like the music players and they all have cryptic names and employ proprietary tech like this was the 90s. Some have some more useless software features than others but you will likely never know. Try browsing their website, you'll be in tears. Sony needs to slim that shit down (all of it), give all of their devices proper names and make them distinct — you know, like that Xperia thingy, but available for purchase and working well out of the box. Otherwise it's just "some crap Sony (Ericsson)" even to people who care about gadgets, and "some phone" to everybody else. You don't want that.
Lost me at 'no 3.5mm headphone connector'....
If you are designing a music phone then you need a headphone socket, for me it's not worth arguing pros and cons, it just needs one, and a micro-SD slot.
Typical Sony...
ttfn
PH cos I bet her slots not micro...
