Rumors of a thin phone from Sony Ericsson first surfaced last November, and since then the buzz about the W880, or "Ai" as rumor-mongers have been calling it, has been building to a fever pitch. Last month, Sony Ericsson admitted the existence of the W880 by publishing some enigmatic press photos, and early this week we finally got some detailed specs. Though we weren't able to attend the press event in London, here is our "hands-off" preview, including everything we know about the phone.
Design:
The phone is thin, sure, but it's not the thinnest candy-bar phone out there; the Samsung Ultra Edition 6.9 (or X820), which is about three millimeters thinner, takes that honor. The W880 is nice looking, but not as luscious as some recent LG phones, like the Prada phone or the Shine. The face seems to have too many buttons, with a five-way toggle and three buttons on either side forming three overlapping circles. While many phones are moving to replace hard buttons with a better interface, Sony Ericsson seems to be stepping in the wrong direction. From what we have read, the interface seems to be similar to current high-end Walkman phones, which is also disappointing. We think that innovations in design for the next generation of phones will not come from hardware, but rather from the user interface. That is where the Apple iPhone will most likely have an effect on the industry.
Music:
In order to compete in the music phone field, manufacturers like Sony Ericsson and Nokia are again going to have to rethink their music transfer software. Without Apple in the market, Sony Ericsson had been able to rest on its laurels with its Walkman software. Sure it works fine, and is fairly easy to use, but it isn't as intuitive or engaging as iTunes. Integration with Sony's Connect music store certainly helps, but some spiffy navigation, like Apple's Cover Flow, would help set this player apart. The 3.5mm jack is a nice addition for music fans, but why not plant this phone firmly in the high-end and include a set of stereo Bluetooth phones? As it stands, the W880 has barely more musical functionality than the iPod shuffle. Other Walkman phones have included a pedometer and other interesting features, we're curious to see what the W880 brings to the party.
Multimedia:
Sony Ericsson's choice of UMTS for 3G data is obvious, considering it's part of the GSM family and will work all over the world -- except here. AT&T has a large UMTS network that works well when you get a signal, but the network broadcasts on the 850 and 1900 band, while most of the world uses the 2100 band for UMTS. Thus, without some reworked hardware, even importers won't be able to use the W880 to its full potential here in the states. Also, the front facing camera is practically a standard on advanced, 3G phones outside of the U.S., but to us it's simply another indication that the phone won't be sold here. Otherwise, with push e-mail and an RSS reader, the Internet functions on the W880 aren't very exciting. Certain nothing revolutionary, which is disappointing for a phone that will be considered top-of-the-line in Sony Ericsson line-up.
Final thoughts (for now, at least) . . .
Those of you holding your breath for the W880 can exhale, and once the headrush has passed, you might wonder what the fuss was about. The design is nice and slim compared to other Sony Ericsson models, but the beauty seems to be skin deep, at least from what we have read. The user interface is mostly unchanged from previous models, and the feature set lacks any stand-out function that will make this a must-have device. It is interesting that Sony Ericsson released a high-end Cyber Shot phone at the same time (the 3-megapixel K810). We can't help but wonder if the two phones should have been combined for a superior music-playing, picture-taking machine.
Specifications
Size: Candy bar, 103 x 46.5 x 9.4 mm (4 x 1.8 x 0.4 inches)
Weight: 71 g (2.5 oz)
Screen: QVGA 262,144-colour TFT, 240x320 pixel
Network: GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz, GPRS, UMTS 2100 MHz
Camera: 2-megapixel
Memory: 16 MB internal, Memory Stick Micro memory expansion
Multimedia: Music player, Music controls, A2DP
Video conferencing
Price & availability
The Sony Ericsson W880 is now available for approximately $550 US.
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