Sony Ericsson W600i / W550i
Phone Scoop Review
Jan 18, 2006 by Eric Lin
In-depth review of the new Sony Ericsson W600 Walkman phone for Cingular. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
The Sony Ericsson W600i, is a great phone.
The form factor of the SE W600, is that of a 'swivel' phone. While both unique, and fun, it makes it difficult to use the phone when preoccupied. It's a fairly small phone, not too heavy. I like the dual speakers, as they produce great sound compared to other phones I've heard. I love the fact that the phone plays mp3's without having a headset attached. Speaking of headsets, the included SE headset has an adaptor for the standard sized earphone plug. Now I can listen to my tunes on the road, thanks to a cassette adaptor [ although hearing someone talking through my cars speakers is a little weird ]. Just about any file can be sent over bluetooth, which makes life a little easier for me when I'm too lazy to hook up the USB cable. The 'Walkman' button is very useful, bringing up the music menu no matter your doing, then [ if pressed again ] returns you to exactly where you were. The volume, and play/pause button can be used when the keypad is locked. The camera is fine for a phone. 1280 mode is a bit iffy, requiring you to keep the phone completely still to attain a fair picture. There is very little to complain about with this phone. However the fact that the memory is not expandable kind of irk's me. This didn't stop me from buying the phone though. =) Most of the messaging is standard fare. Full length mp3's can be used as ringtones. This phone has a '3d enhanced gaming engine'. I've seen the 3D in action, its not much to be excited about. So far the battery quality of my phone has been average. In mixed use, [ internet, music, camera, and texting ] I managed a full 5 hours of use. This phone gets great reception! No dropped calls, and clear sound. This is a great phone! Just what I was looking for this time around. Great quality, features, and a joy to use.
PROS: Fun/Unique Design, Very good sound quality, Good picture quality
CONS: No expandable memory, FM Radio lacks an EQ, Hard to use with one hand, Flat keys prevents easy texting.
w600i(great)
Hello, I just wanted to let everyone know that this phone rules!!!! I have had 7 razors and they have all had issues. I just got this phone 2 days ago and cannot believe that I didn't break down and purchase it a long time ago. The mp3 capabilities rock and the phone hasn't dropped a call as of yet. The battery life and the signal strength are very impressive. I use to charge my razor twice a day and I haven't had to charge this bad boy yet. the 256 megabytes rule and the sound is great. The only con is no room for extended memory:( Overall it is way better than the razor!!!!
S.E. W600i
I absolutely love this phone. I originally had a moto razr and it was OK, but when I saw the features on this baby I just had to have it. The MP3 player on it is great, the camera is great, and most of all the service is perfect. I've had this phone for roughly a month and I have not dropped a call yet. This is no doubt the best phone out there. It's a must have!
The Best SE Yet
This is one of the best phones I have ever used! Coming from a Nokia fanboy, that's saying a ton. I've played with and owned other SE phones in the past, included the t616 and the s710, and this phone is by far superior. There are many complaints on what SE left out of the phone and I agree 100%, but SE really nailed the features included with this phone. Quality over quantity?
PROS
Very Fast User Interface
Great Speaker setup
Easy MP3 Access
Good Camera Options
Easy Key-lock
3D Games Play very well
FM Radio is a nice extra
Great Battery Life
Reception is great even in fringe areas
Cons
Keys are flat against phone, making it hard to dial without looking
No Expansion
I've seen some reviews comparing this phone to an S710 and bashing the w600 for lack of expansion. What most people don't tell you is that the S710 only has 32mb of on-board memory and can only go up to a 128mb Memory stick. This only gives you 160mb of memory compared to the w600's 256mb. So you see the w600 is truly an upgrade to the s710, although competing with other phones, some much older i.e. Nokia 6230, I can see the lack of expansion being a drawback. Honestly, if you want a phone that does MP3 player well, wait a year or so and buy a W600 and Ipod in the meantime.
Well balenced phone
Excellent battery life. Great camera. LOUD speakers. Good reception, quad band and edge. One of the better phones in its class. Probably one of the best phones of the non-WCDMA generation. My favorite feature is a realitively simple one. The spring driven keypad lock on the side is the easiest keylock I have ever used. If you want a phone that has plenty of nice multimedia features AND is actually convient to use primarly as a phone. Not always a combinaiton you get. In repsonse to the gentleman that hates the w600 with a zero review, well the s710a does have expandable memory which this phone should have gotten. But 256megs is plenty for the average person. I see the walkman feature as more of nice benny, if I wanted an MP3 player would have gotten a different type of phone or an MP3 player wtih 40gigs. Plus the w600 has an fm radio which the s710a did not have. I recommend this phone especially to parents with teenagers that want a cool phone for christmas.
W 600
It seems like Sony Ericsson is the little company that could. Here in America where everyone is in Motorola land [...] it is nice to see a company make a phone that is not a me too phone. I loaded my Bee Gees and I am rocking at the Gym (I was around for the first Sony Walkman so this phone is taking me back to my smoke under water days). Moving music to the phone was fast with the USB cable that is in the box. The sound quality was good, though I would have updated the headset. Rumor has it that Cingular wanted this headset because the original headset sounded better than the Rokr and they had a lot invested in the Rokr. I also noticed that the interface is much faster than my S 700. I was skeptical about the new connection I think Sony Ericsson calls it fastport. But It was "very very fast" during my music transfer from my PC. Battery life is excellent, I am getting used to the smaller size. But I am extremely happy with my purchase.
Ed. note: Removed inappropriate language
So far so good....
Well just got the phone yesterday as an upgrade from a Samsung SGH-e730. Even with the lastest firmware I've noticed an error w/speed dial. I set numbers to speed dial, but when I press & hold the corresponding key...it takes me to a randomly chosen name from my phonebook, although it is the same one each time if I press speed dial for the same 3 on the keypad. Here's a further breakdown:
~Upgrade from Samsung SGH-e730~
Pros:
- Bumped up from 92MB to 256MB memory. (the RAZR only has 5MB eww!)
- Very Loud (has 3 speakers!)
- Animated Wallpapers
- Speakerphone (e730 had none)
- Airplane mode
- Uses Themes & you can apply one & still change individual parts such as wallpaper, etc.
- Not a VGA camera, but a 1.3 Megapixel (the RAZR uses a VGA yuck!)
- Keylock key (e730 had none)
- Infrared (e730 had none)
- 3D games, some you can turn the phone horizontally & many games come pre-installed. I even got Tetris =D
- No pointy antenna sticking out, has this weird curled antenna at the top which is hard to break under normal circumstances.
- Comes with multiple accessories.
- MobiTV compatible & software preinstalled.
- AIM, Yahoo Messenger & ICQ.
- Nice metallic feel (except for keypad).
- Camera Flash.
- Equalizer & many options for audio adjustment such as MEGA BASS.
- Cool matching orange glow on buttons.
Cons:
- I now have again what coulda been a super phone but again has no MiniSD slot.
- Swivel is manual & phone ends up upside down if you open it with your thumb.
- Yet another phone with radio that requires earpiece to be plugged in to function.
- 1.3 Megapixel camera... getting tired of 1.3... 2+ please!
- Dealing with the data cable & your PC requires a little patience when connecting & disconnecting to avoid errors or damage.
- The connection type for the chargers & data cable for this phone is weird, Samsung is easier.
- Yet another phone w/stupid door covering charger/USB port that gets in the way when trying to make a connection.
Fantastico
This phone is the best one I ever had (trust me I have plenty)
Pro;
reception is good
Battery life is the best
Screen is awesome
Camera takes good pictures too
The MP3 player is loud (really loud) and you are able to select the song that you like to listen to.
I can download my notes, task, Contacts, and appointment (calendar) from Outlook.
Voice recognition is great.
Perfect size and weight. (It is a guy phone)
Cons;
The software had a problem with my computer. Driver conflict. I discovers that I had two different version of drivers for my video card and fixed.
The stereo headphones have to be push in to you brain in order to keep them in your ears. Good sound.
Wow, Im really impressed with this phone.
I just got this phone yesterday and I previously owned an LG 1400. "Boy was that a good phone."
This phone is really something great. I like that you can change the face plates, if you don't like the color of the phone. The menu was easy to get around. I love how in camera mode this phone sets up like a Cyber-Shot camera. The reception on this phone is incredible. Just about everywhere i went i had reception. (My cell carrier is Cingular.) Oh and the EDGE support for internet is awesome. The swivel is kinda fun to use. I also like that you don't have to open the swivel to answer the phone.
The Walkman interface is really nice and allows you to listen to music and move about the menu or to take pictures at the same time. The Radio function on this phone is enfuego. I kinda wish that they had built it in to the phone instead of the hands free cord. But being able to listen to it out of the loud speaker is awesome. Oh and speaking of the hands free cord, being able to hook up any wired stereo headset and use it while talking is great, especially if you don't like the ear bud headphones that are included, although the ear buds are clear and comfortable headset.
256MB of internal memory for video, mp3 and pictures is ok with me although some people would like it to be more than that and expandable too. Bluetooth can be used with multiple devices at the same time. And that is awesome to. I kinda wish that they supported bluetooth stereo headsets for music listening.
Bottom Line
If you are looking for a very fun and interesting phone the W600 will not disappoint.
Great phone from Cingular
This is a great overall phone for both the average and high end user. Feature packed and user friendly, the W600i has all the innovative features anyone would ask for in a cell phone, in a nice compact design.
Cingular came out with a winner here, call quality is great and EDGE data support is quick.
Pro's...
Call quality
Solid build
Great reception
EDGE data
Speakerphone
Changeable faceplates
Bluetooth
1.3 MegaPixel Camera with Flash
Con's...
None yet.
Sony Ericsson w600i and Cingular service=
A Winning Combination...go check it out!
