Sony Ericsson W518 / W508
Average Ratings
Not worth the hassle
In the same 2 year agreement term I've had 3 of these phones because they keep freezing or shutting off. Other than that, which is a BIG DEAL, the phone is good in terms of camera, MP3, FM radio. Hate that Sony keeps putting the Internet access button as the main select button so I've connected to the Internet (and been charged by AT&T) countless times when I had no desire to connect to the Internet. Also the select device edges, which you need to use require a finger nail to access it without ending up connecting the Internet. It is hard to see games and some type without magnifier. The proprietary accessories are a drag too.
Not a Sony Ericsson fan!
At first I loved this phone but after a week it started freezing up and the screen going black. I keep having to take the back off about 20 times a day and taking the battery out and put it back in. Then it started freezing up when my phone was closed and leaving it open drained my battery and I was charging it almost every hour.
Best phone I have ever owned
So far out of all the cell phones that I have owned, this is this best one. And I have owned a lot of cell phones. Sure beats the Blackberry Curve 8520 that I had for like a week.
Pros:
Absolutely everything
Cons:
None
Great hpone!
Pros- beautiful exterior and screen; slim design; great music player; keypad comfortable to text on; fast and responsive.
Cons- I have the w508, so no 3G in the US; a bit hard to get the flip open; proprietary headphone jack D:
Overall a great phone; I love it! I keep getting comments about how pretty it is too! The white exterior makes for a really unique design. It's a great phone to get if unbranded; but there will be no internet access in the US. Definitely recommended if you just want a beautiful phone that can text, call, play music, and take nice pictures :)
Disappointed
PRO : Great Camera, MP3 Player with expandable memory, Nice Inner screen, AT&T New Orleans Call quality great. Never dropped a call.
CONS : Software freezes, Front screen would occasionally not turn off and would drain battery down. After two months of use inside screen went blank.
Overall, I thought the phone was great, if it wasn't for it lagging, and my screen not working after two months..
I'm becoming quite the Sony Ericsson fan
this is probably one of, if not THE best flip phones out there right now. It is so much more advanced and feature-rich than the rest of the flip phones you can get for free with contract. but I would recommend NOT getting it through AT&T, unless you are up to the task of unbranding it yourself, the unbranded version is better, more freeware, less bloatware, center button becomes menu button, and most importantly: the ability to turn off 3G, which can greatly increase reception in rural areas.
Pros:
3MP camera, rare for a flip phone
stylish, thin and light
external Music controls, great media capability
Battery life
fast, responsive OS
Cons:
AT&T branding
Sony's proprietary M2 media cards and Charging/headphone jack.
and the Sony C905 (unbranded) is equally impressive, with almost the same OS, but adds Wifi with media sharing, 8MP Camera, smooth integration of google and google maps, and more.
pleasant surprise 2
i like the first review on this page . have very similar comments i was also a nokia fan for years but i think I've found my new brand. this phone ROCKS! i consider myself a electronics geek and this phone for being a middle of the line phone is overall great. sound is very clear. numbers are easy to hit and not really small at all like some people mentioned. messaging is different as with different brands they all are, but nice!
this phone was free from at&t which makes it a sweet deal. i myself have spent unreal money on phones before and have learned to look for exactly what i want rather than popularity.
the [clamshell] or flip phone is perfect for me , only i found it hard to open, which is the biggest flaw for me. signal is great too. much better than the nokia. all in all a great phone! oh the walkman is cool too!
Pleasant Surprise !!!
Typically a Nokia fan with limited experience with an SE. I've been waiting to see what the W518a would be like and I'm surprised - I'm liking it !!!
Thin, comfortable, and fits the hand very well. Still trying to get used to SE's D-pad in terms of getting to my selection without executing 4 other apps on the way, but I think it'll come.
Sound has been very good - inbound and outbound - very clear with no echos or "mud". Music capabilities seemingly are typical Walkman (which means it works pretty well although not my personal favorite), FM radio works / sounds as expected. User interface has been nice and quick with no lags. External music buttons work well as advertised.
Internal screen is REALLY sharp - external is also very sharp but very limited in size and information shown (i.e., basics and that's it).
I'm not a high tech afficionado but do like some "stuff" on my phones and at this point the W518a looks like a keeper !!!
Overall I'm very pleased at this point with the W518a (4-day expert) but wanted to give some initial thoughts to those who might be interested. I've anxiously awaited early reviews on phones and it seems as though users have to live with them awhile before providing impressions.
At this point I have only two disappointments in the phone: 1) ATT's HUGE load of non-deleteable bloatware on the phone that I'll never use, and 2) Google Maps that drives me nuts with the continual internet response required. Hopefully I'll be able to find a download to get around that, but for now the GPS is useless for me 'cause I'm not going to subscribe to Navigator (or maybe re-branding could also help if I knew how and had the guts to try it).
worst ever
The phone probably is quite nice unbranded. Yet with all the bloatware and locks and limitations ATT put on this phone, its severely crippled and useless. Seriously changing the center menu key to an internet key to grab a few bucks from people it who have always used it as they have for the last 7 years as a menu key. The locking 1/2 the shortcuts so you can't change it back. Also, locking every application like transfer of info due to it not being an att download. I'm sorry i paid 20 dollars for an cd and now wanna use an mp3 for a ringtone. I know you need that .99 cents to 3 bucks a ringtone from em to survive. Seriously i pay 200 a month for service, paid 100 for the phone. Do they limit my car to 55 miles per hour when i buy it? Do yourself a favor buy unlocked unbraned from the manufacture or ebay. Its not worth the headache to buy from a service provider anymore.Oh and for those saying your not really rating the phone i have no idea how they locked me into whatever towers but my signal is total 1-2 bars and the same exact spot with a w680 is 4-6 bars.
Simple yet Sophisticated
I've had this phone for about 5 days now, and I'm ready to write about it.
Pros:Slim, smooth, and easy to use. It has a 3 Mega Pixel camera, with a wonderful picture editing tool/software, and it is free with a new 2 year contract.
Cons: No flash on the camera (not really necessary anyway I'll explain more soon.) No auto focus, or manual focus. It is a fixed focus. The camera doesn't take awesome pictures! However, don't worry. The built in mini photo editing software will fix most of your pictures, to look like they've been taken with a point & shoot digital camera.
Botom Line: It is one of the best camera phones out there, even without a flash! (specially for a free phone) Sony-Ericsson has just released a new phone with 8 Meg Pixel camera on it, and it looks awesome! The model # is C905a.
