Sony Ericsson W880i Review

The W880i is a classic-shaped phone that's relatively large but flat. The keypad is reasonably well designed, avoiding the problem that the W850i slide phone had with the top row of keys being hard to access, but the keys are too small and separated. The W880i uses a 5-way scroll key rather than the clumsy joystick used on some of its other phones. Ergonomically we'd give it 3 out of 5. The stainless steel casing gives the phone a real quality feeling though, and the phone looks great both in black or silver.

Like the W850i, this is a 3G phone, with the benefits of 3G video calling, music & video streaming and fast downloads. The camera is 2 megapixels with a digital zoom and a video recording function. This is not as good as the K800i's camera, and lacks a flash, but it's typical for high-end 3G phones and is fine for casual use. The display is a high quality TFT screen with 262,000 colours and 240 x 320 pixels.

The music player is the feature that's at the heart of the W880i, and as you'd expect it's a really excellent player that can match an iPod in music quality. The music player can be accessed by a single click, and you can play, rewind, fast forward, equalise, shuffle tracks and create playlists. Sony's MegaBass™ feature gives added woomph when playing music from the built-in loudspeaker, but for the best quality audio you need to listen via a pair of good headphones. A set of good quality headphones are included in the sales package, and the phone is also compatible with Bluetooth stereo headphones. There are some extra gadgets included in the music department. TrackID™ lets you identify a song (name, artist and album) from a few seconds recording, e.g. a song that you hear on the radio or in a club. The PlayNow™ download service lets you buy and download MP3 ringtones from your phone. The phone is supplied with a 1 Gbyte memory card, so there's lots of room for storing music tracks - almost 250 tracks.

Most types of connectivity are supported. Bluetooth lets you connect your phone to another phone, a PC, a Bluetooth stereo headset, or a car handsfree kit. USB and Fast Port are supported too. The phone is also equipped for the internet age with a web browser, support for RSS feeds and a picture blogging function. 3G lets you access the internet whilst simultaneously making a call, and the internet is "always-on". Flight mode lets you use the music, imaging and organiser functions of the phone with mobile telephony switched off.

Does the W880i lack miss out on anything? It's an obvious question, since the size of the phone is about half that of the W810i Walkman phone. There are a few things. First, the camera is not as good as that on the W810i, but is about the same as that of the W850i, although there's no flash. Fair enough, as this is primarily a music phone and not an all-rounder like the K-series phones. Secondly, the screen is smaller than on some other Sony Ericsson phones. Thirdly there's no radio, and this might be a disappointment to some readers. If you want an FM radio, then the W810i or W850i are the phones for you. Finally, the keys are too small and many people will find difficulty using the keypad, especially for texting.

The Sony Ericsson W880i may not have everything, but it has a heck of a lot. And what it has most of is style. The other Walkman phones, whilst being fantastic phones to use, are shall we say a bit dull to look at. The W880i is still brick-shaped, but it's a very nice-looking brick and one that many people will be very happy to have in their pocket. However, on balance we still prefer the W810i which has the advantages of a better keypad, superior camera (with flash), and a radio.

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