Sony Ericsson W580 / S500
Phone Scoop Review
Sep 18, 2007 by Eric Lin
The iPhone isn't the only new music phone on AT&T. The W580i packs a big sound into a tiny slider. With video tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Great Phone
I've had this phone for over 1 year now, here's my take:
Pros:
Excellent T9
Great lock feature
Loud ring
Clear calls
Exellent, intuitive user interface
Good daylight camera
Sturdy design
Fun music player
Very customizable themes
Customizable lighting effects
Cons:
No camera flash
Internet button on outside of phone, randomly connects in pocket if phone isn't locked
This is by far the best phone I've had in all my years of owning mid-range cell phones. I only have a few gripes with it, including the lack of flash for the camera and the poorly placed internet button (which isn't a problem at all if you just make sure your phone is locked).
Many impressive things in this phone. The operating system is fast and smooth, and I've had minimal to no glitch problems. Calls are always clear, I haven't dropped one yet and I live in a very rural area w/ AT&T. FM radio is impressive to say the least, I love it. And I've taken some AMAZING pictures with this phone, during the day in the outdoors is where this phone's camera really shines. That, and this phone just looks really cool. I've gotten countless compliments on this phone, even now with it being a slightly older model.
I've seen a lot of reviews talking about cracking buttons, but I have NEVER had this problem, and I have had this phone for quite a long time. My buttons are all still intact.
Also, on the note of durability, I've dropped this phone numerous times from 4+ feet onto concrete, and the worst that has happened has been the battery flying out. Absolutely no permanent damage to the phone whatsoever. It's quite a durable, sturdy phone!
If you're looking for a phone that will get things done with a bell and a whistle here and there, you can't go wrong with the w580i.
it was overall a great phone.
This was an upgrade, and by far, my favorite phone. I'm always looking for what's new and this phone has EVERYTHING- you'll never be bored.
-Bright display and a great camera had me taking pictures constantly, especially since the phone came with a nice sized memory card.
-for people that text a lot, it is very easy to get used to, and sliding the phone shut or exiting "sending message" etc, doesn't abort the message.
-the fitness application is AMAZING, you can customize it to even see how many calories you burn while walking or running, it counts steps, and even has goals you can reach if you want.
-the mp3 player is great and it also comes with earphones and a USB cord so listening to music is great. nice sound overall on the phone.
overall, if your a multitasker, this IS the phone for you.
Sadly on this walkman phone, the buttons do crack if you text a lot. also, my first 580i (of 3) had a temporary problem where some of the buttons didn't work and eventually where one of the buttons became almost jammed, so it was impossible to text and make calls or anything so i sent it in for a new one.
if you have at&t, they will replace your phone with a REFURBISHED phone, so technically you never get the same experience again. my replacement phone's screen went out completely the second day i had it, so i sent it in for my third 580i, and ultimately that phone had a temporary problem with sending messages.
i would NOT recommend buying a refurbished phone of this model. some of the downsides of this phone were:
-it felt like it was made cheap (didn't really bother me, but it isn't a sturdy phone if you're a heavy duty person.)
-changing your playlist or adding new songs was a little difficult for me.
-new messages don't always pop up on the screen if you're using it, but there isn't a feature in the settings dealing with this.
-this phone had many random glitches for me.
Very nice
I've had this phone about 2, maybe 3 months at the most. This site helped me in my search, so thought I'd leave some feedback.
You should know that I don't do text messaging. If I did, I'd want a different phone, as the keys just don't make frequent texting doable. But I don't care.
I'd say this is the best phone I've ever owned. I got the white one through a re-enlistment with AT&T. It came with not only a charger, but also a plenty large memory stick, earbuds for the FM radio, a headphone adapter cord for computer speakers or any other headset, and a USB computer adapter. I didn't have to buy any of it.
The ringtones and wallpapers/displays were lacking, but there are plenty of sites with free stuff to download via the included cord.
I'd never owned a slider before, and I love it. It is like a bar phone - small, easily fits into my pocket, and I can answer a call without having to flip the phone up. But because it slides to cover the keys, you don't have to worry about forgetting to lock them as in a bar phone.
Plus, I can receive and make calls while the phone is closed. Outgoing calls through the recently called list, and I can answer incoming calls even while locked, and when I'm done, it goes right back to locked.
I get as good if not better reception than on any other phone I've had. The camera is really nice, especially for a phone of this price. Blows my wife's camera away, and this phone is causing us to use our stand alone camera less and less.
I like having the FM radio and MP3 abilities. I work at a company that blocks our computers from streaming music or radio stations, so this lets me get around it.
Based on other reviews, the first thing I did was to turn my screen brightness down to 50%, which still seems plenty bright to me. I'm getting really tremendous battery life. And when I do need to charge it, it charges very fast, much faster than my wife's phone.
Anyway, I'm very satisfied.
Great Phone For A great person.
First of all, I would like to thank Sony Erisson for the best phone ever.
I have had this phone for about 3 months, and this is what i thought.
1. Absolutely, hands down, loudest phone ever. I ride fourwheelers, and, even while riding, i can hear the phone, clear down in my pocket, wether it be i use the headphones) or my phone ringing, it is great!
2. The Fitness part of this phone is Amazing. There were other phones with this feature, but they're $200+! I used to see no point in it, but now that I have it, I use it constantly.
3. The fact that you can change the light, not only for times like listening to music, and just idle times, but also for custom profiles, when my family is calling, I can look at my pocket if it is on vibrate and see their color.
the phone is pure awesomeness. I mean the phone is great, but it wouldn't be worth a darn without the sliding.
5. All the materials you'll ever need are included with this phone. USB, Headphones, Memory Stick (like a memory stick pro duo), Charger(of course), Owners Manual(of course), and a headphone adapter.
6. I got this phone through my parents, which work at our local Viaero Shop. And I used to waltz in the store and pick up a phone about every month or so. Now, I will never change unless a new version of this phone is released.
7. Astonishing Brightness. If you are in a zone where phones are prohibited (school, and some work places), you will want to turn this brightness way down. if you are txting or receiving a call while in that area, you are pretty much done for, you could see this thing beaming from 3 miles away! (hyperbole there folks.)
8. If you read these other reviews and see that txting is hard, and that turns you away, think again! It is quite easy to text after using it 3 or 4 times. Just takes some getting used to.
9. Get this phone, it is SO great! I love having it, and all my friends are amazed by it. So go for it!
This phone is great!
cute phone
Had this phone in pink and it was so pretty. I really loved the features- especially the step counter! I never realized how much I walk in a day. Internet wasn't great but it is a small screen and not really made for internet. The radio and music had good quality. Overall the phone was one of my favorites I've had.
pretty good phone
First off this phone is one of the most awesome phones i've ever had. That is until my buttons started cracking and my screen goes out on me often.
Pros
The sound is great!!!! I never keep it on 4 and the volume goes all the way up to 8
It has good battery life for me
The lights in the side and the lighting effects are neat
I absolutely love the pedometer
The 2.0 megapixel camera is the greatest
Cons
The buttons are all cracked, but that doesn't bother me too bad...I text like crazy
My screen is going black on me and when it does stay out, I have to turn it off and turn it back on
Over all its a pretty good phone though.
Great for multimedia use.
This is a great SE phone. Pretty good for multimedia use.
It has a slot for Memory stick, charge, data, and USB ports.
Camera quality is nice, has some pretty cool editing functions as well, to make the most of a photo youve just snapped. I havent tested the video quality, because I have yet to use it but I assume that its standard for what it is.
Its a shame that Sony uses a proprietary headset port for their headsets and headphones. You really won't find many high quality headphones for a phone that does not use a 3.5 MM headset port. So this will burn for those audiophiles looking to purchase this phone. But still sound quality was on par with most MP3 players, and for a phone thats pretty good.
Its a slider obviously. The slide mechanism is tight and doesnt loosen up like some sliders, and its has this very satisfying snap as it spring upward, so you know it isnt cheaply constructed. There's a 4-way D-pad that works how its supposed to. With two usual soft keys, a C button, and the send call and end call buttons. These are all pretty easy to use and aren't out of reach. But I felt that the keypad is a bit smallish given the phones size. So if youve got some large fingers the could take some getting used to.
The voice quality is actually quite good, no problems hearing, no background hissing noises either. And the speaker volume was very loud. You could probably hear your phone ring while operating a lawnmower.
It also has great battery life. Something that'll come in real handy for all your multimedia needs. It lasted about 8hrs with all settings at normal, so depending on what's going on it could be lower or higher.
All in all pretty good phone.
Eh...
I've carried Sony in the past, like the s710 and w810, and this phone lacks the quality those phones had. With that being said, it is still one of the best feature phones that att currently offers and I would sell it to friends and family.
Pros
FM Radio with RDS
Good Camera (2 mg)
Pedometer and shake feature pretty sweet
Great Reception
Same user friendly Sony interface
Great display
Cons
Not 3g
No flash
Cheaper feel than past Sony's
Sliding hinge tends to get loose
Keys Cracking (which has supposedly been fixed)
Loved it at first
Point blank, the phone is amazing out of the box. You'll love it. After awhile your keys will crack, the phone will start lagging, the freezing entirely. I have been thru 2 in 4 months and am going back to LG. The internet key seriously must have been put there for a money making scheme because the phone lock is a JOKE. The internet turned itself on so often that i had a 300 dollar cell bill and ended up having to get an unlimited internet package to save some money. Don't be fooled by it's cool look!
w580i:overall good phone
I have had this phone for only 10 days and I am pleased with it. It replaced my Samsung Sync and I like it much better.
Pros:
-Good looking phone
-User friendly
-Lots of fun and helpful features
-Very good camera
-Well-organized walkman feature
-Memory card compatible
-Lots of memory on phone to begin with
-Cool light effects-many to choose from also
-Many editing options for contacts (such as ringtone light effect birthday etc.)
-Bright and clear screen
-Good reception most of the time
-VERY clear and loud music speaker(different than earpiece)
-FM radio
-Came with headphones(nice ones at that)
-Walkman simply minimizes when you want to use another feature so the music continues to play
-Decent battery life
Cons:
-Made of plastic: cheap feel
-Crammed digit buttons
Overall this is a great phone
