Sony Ericsson W810i Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera, MP3/Video Player, Memory Stick Duo--International Version with No Warranty (Black) | 
| Brand: Sony Ericsson
Category: Wireless
List Price: $299.99
Buy Refurbished: $134.98
as of 9/9/2010 12:05 EDT details
You Save: $165.01 (55%)
Seller: paragon_ds
Rating:  84 reviews
Sales Rank: 13431
Color: Black
Media: Wireless Phone Accessory
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 3.9 x 1.8 x 0.8
MPN: DPY 101 2947/58
Model: W810
UPC: 095673184577
EAN: 7311270001158
ASIN: B000FSJYQ8
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | This unlocked cell phone is compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. Not all carrier features may be supported. It will not work with CDMA carriers like Verizon Wireless, Alltel and Sprint. | | • | Quad-band GSM cell phone compatible with 850/900/1800/1900 frequencies and EDGE/GPRS data capabilities | | • | Walkman music player and styling--supports MP3 and AAC digital audio files and includes FM radio | | • | 2-megapixel camera with video capture; Bluetooth for handsfree devices; Memory Stick Duo expansion; USB connectivity | | • | Up to 8 hours of talk time, up to 350 hours of standby time |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
The Sony Ericsson W800 was a big hit. Now, here comes the sequel, the W810. All the same great Walkman features are here, along with robust phone functions, but now you get quad-band GSM, a larger and brighter display, and perhaps most importantly, support for EDGE high speed data. In addition to a powerful and easy-to-use Walkman music player, the W810 boasts a 2-megapixel auto-focus camera with flash, a Memory Stick Duo card slot, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone. Simply put, this baby's loaded. 
Big screen, big features, big fun. View an interactive demonstration of the W810. You can also check out the W810 video. | 
Dedicated music control buttons make for easy listening. | 
Transfer songs to your W810 with the included Disc2Phone software. | 
Two megapixels of camera goodness. | Design
The W810 follows a long tradition of beautifully designed and crafted phones from Sony Ericsson. The same candy-bar style that graced the W800 is here, as is the horizontally-oriented camera unit on the back of the phone, allowing you to hold the phone just as you would a camera when you're taking pictures. The W810's screen sports 176 x 220 pixel resolution with support for 262,000 colors. Quick access buttons below the screen make it easy to control the phone's Walkman music features, while a five-way center button controls most of the phone's menus and features. The W810 contains 20 MB of embedded memory, but as mentioned, a Memory Stick Duo slot is provided, and it also supports Pro Duo cards, giving you storage capacities of 2 GB and beyond. Of course, there's also a port for the phone's included stereo headset. USB and infrared data ports are provided, as well, and the phone supports USB mass storage so you can simply plug the phone into your computer and drag and drop files into the phone's memory using the included Disc2Phone PC application. To top it all off, the W810's camera flash can double as a flashlight. Calling Features
The W810's phone book can hold up to 1000 contacts with multiple entries per contact. A call list remembers your most recent missed, received and dialed calls. The phone's voice activated dialing makes calling your contacts as easy as saying their names, while the built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear. Polyphonic ringtones are included and you can also use MP3 and AAC music files as ringtones. A cool application called Music DJ even lets you mix your own ringtones. Meanwhile, picture caller ID lets you assign a photo to specific callers. Similarly, a ringer ID lets you assign ringtones to callers. For those times you want to keep things discreet, there's a vibrate ringer mode. And because the W810 is Bluetooth-enabled, you can use a variety of headsets and handsfree kits for total wireless freedom when you're on the go. Messaging, Internet, and Tools
If you're looking for a mobile productivity partner, the W810 has you covered. Support is built in for sending and receiving pictures, text, graphics, and sound via MMS messages. When used in combination with the phone's built-in still and video camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging possibilities. The phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP protocols, while the included Access NetFront Web Browser allows you to surf full HTML web sites. T9 text entry, a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users. Getting on the Internet is easy with the W810, as it supports the GPRS protocol, as well as the high speed EDGE data protocol. When used with your carrier data plan and the phone's Bluetooth or USB data capability, the phone can be used as a wireless modem for laptops and PDAs. A number of handy software tools are bundled with the W810, including a voice memo recorder, a to-do list, a calculator, a calendar and an alarm clock. The phone also supports the SyncML PC synchronization standard, which lets you synchronize your PC-based calendar, contacts, notes and tasks with your W810. Imaging and Entertainment
The W810 is a Walkman phone, and that means it offers a great mobile music experience. Load up your favorite songs in MP3 or AAC format on a memory card and listen to your heart's content. The user-friendly music player application also includes a "Music Mode" that shuts down the phone functions so you can listen on an airplane or anytime you don't want to accept calls. Meanwhile, Digital Mega Bass and stereo widening combine to enhance your listening experience. There's even an FM radio for catching the big game or your favorite stations. The radio also supports reception of digital song information from radio stations. And don't forget about that powerful 2-megapixel camera, which features something most camera phones lack -- autofocus. Finally, you can get consistently great shots from any distance, shots that rival the quality of a dedicated digital camera. The camera also features an LED flash and a 4x digital zoom, and it can capture video, as well. Dedicated controls on the side of the unit will make you forget you're holding a phone in your hand. And what about gaming? This phone is definitely geared for the mobile fun fanatic, as it supports widescreen and 3D games. The W810 comes preloaded with several games and more are downloadable from Sony Ericsson. Vital Statistics
The Sony Ericsson W810 weighs 3.49 ounces and measures 3.94 x 1.81 x .77 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 8 hours of digital talk time, and up to 350 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
Product Description
Complete music kit
W810 Walkman is a stylish music player with everything you need for a mobile music lifestyle. An easy-to-use Walkman digital music player with folders for artists and customized playlists. A 512 MB Memory Stick PRO Duo with enough memory, for up to 175 songs. And a stereo headset for quality listening. Enjoy hours of your favorite music wherever you go. And when you want quality entertainment around the clock, W810 has an FM radio with RDS. Music to your phone
Disc2Phone music copying software is supplied in the W810 kit and its easy to copy songs from your favorite CDs, and PC music folders. Get the picture
The built-in 2 megapixel digital camera with autofocus takes excellent photos and when you need to catch some action, W810 has video too. Sharing images and other phone content is easy. Use Bluetooth, or Multimedia messaging when you want to send images and video. W810 takes pictures to be proud of. Fast and mobile web experience
Wherever you are, you have high speed access to the internet. EDGE technology makes surfing the mobile internet fast and a full function Internet browser lets you view all your favorite Web sites as you go. Messaging - text, picture and email
W810 makes keeping in touch with friends and family fun and easy. As well as SMS text messaging, you can send text, pictures, video and music to another phone or email address. A full-function email client in your W810 gives you access to your inbox wherever you go.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 84
 The iPhone Alternative June 30, 2007
Prasanna Karmarkar (Dover NJ)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Going from an old Nokia 6200 (which had great call quality and was ahead of its times) to a Moto Razr I suffered the torments of usability hell. No memory, no headphone jacks, terrible address book, substandard camera, terrible alarm clock, etc etc.
The day I got my digits on the W810i (i for international, unlocked quad band) was a happy day for me. Now, one year into using it I can expertly outline the pros and cons, and authoritatively issue bouquets and brickbats.
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Hot -
* Great battery life. I don't measure this in terms of hours and minutes but the reality of how often I had to charge. I use the phone quite a lot for listening to music especially and have never run out of charge when on the road. On days of low usage I have gone 3 days without a recharge, but topping up for 1 hour everyday is all you need. With the Razr I was constantly being stranded with a dead phone.
* Superior voice quality - as distinct from CALL quality, which thanks to Cingular sucks like a vaccuum cleaner!
* Walkman quality music - I use iPod earbuds for a good reason, sometimes a Sony MDR 7506- More later.
* An expandable Sony ProDuo memory slot of upto 2GB.
I bought the phone with 512 MB and have not needed to upgrade yet.
* A feature rich 2 MP camera with flash, white balance controls, macro mode, night mode, zoom, resolution settings, and effects settings. This is quite adequate for point and click oppotunities - but also great for video, I bring out my Rebel XT 8MP only for more "artistic" photography.
* A great FM radio. Works really well, although it does require the customary earphone-jack extension that also works as an antenna. I say "customary" because I don't think there is any phone that can play the radio without having to attach the headset cord.
* The proprietary audio jack (Sony Ericsson only) actually ends in a generic RCA type stero headphone plug! This saved the phone and allowed me to jettison their earbud in favour of the iBud, or my Hi-Fi studio monitor when I feel like it. You can easily switch from whatever you're listening to -- the radio, the MP3 player or the video player and take a phone call by clicking a button. The song is paused, and will continue where you left off after ending the phone call. The iPhone is trumpeting this feature, but its been a part of the W810i for over a year.
* Has an MIDP 2.0 mobile java O/S, which means you can download any and every java app. I use the Opera Mobile browser instead of the packaged Sony browser and google maps which are are also a free j2ME download - *no more paper printouts for me*. I also use a mobile app from cricinfo.tv for streaming cricket scores, and the pre-loaded Music Mate which playes basic guitar chords and also has a pitch pipe for tuning musical instruments.
I am a non-starter in video games so i won't comment, except to say i tried the "JC does Texas" preloaded game - it was fun, but did not convert me into a gamer ;-)
* The Address book is really excellent. It has a full featured contact list system like a vCard that includes full address and multiple phone numbers for the same contact. In theory the calendar and address books can be synched with Outlook if you download the Sony Ericsson PC Suite and connect use Outlook to synch calendar and contacts. I have no reason to believe this won't work, except my work place will not allow personal devices to be installed or synched up on the work machine. At home I don't use Outlook, so I'm missing out on all the calendar and reminder functionality
* A nice alarm clock that lets you select days of the week you find" alarming".
So my alarm does not go off on weekends, then comes back on every day of the week.
This is a big improvement over the old way where you had to manually set the alarm for each day.
You snooze, you lose.
* I found this out very recently - but the phone plays videos appreciably. There is a minor geek factor to this, but well worth it. You can take pretty much any video file you have - from P2P, DVDs, flash, etc and convert it to the 3gp format. I use a free universal encoder that's quite a wonder. Its called SUPER and you will find it at e-rightsoft - For example I watched the final episode of Heroes on my phone in a flight. Downloaded from bittorrent, encoded to 3gp to a 176*144 format that took all of 90MB. You can watch full length movies doing this, but the movie player functions like bookmarking are sorely missing for long files. If you don't watch the full movie at a stretch, you'll spend minutes simply forwarding to the correct spot the next time.
THIS IS HUGE -- you can take any YouTube video with you on this phone. Yeah, yeah its a two step process but which one of you is busy saving the world anyway. Get a firefox plugin for downloading YouTube videos as .flv files (flash videos), then use SUPER to encode into 3gp. Voila! -- I have Rihanna's Umbrella and Fergie's Bumps accompany me on all my rides.
* The phone is recognized a USB plug-and-play drive. Need I say more?
This is very useful, because its easy to move files and also charge it anywhere I have a computer with USB! Forget DRM, everyone is going away from that anyway. Also, Apple's way of requiring iTunes and having to register a device by deviceID before using it, that is way too restrictive.
My kingdom for USB P'nP freedom!
* W810 has Bluetooth and Infra Red ports. Use them for file transfers, synching or for headsets.
* An email client that is configurable for POP3 so I get my gmail, no problems. This is not a business phone so there is none, and never will be support for corporate email. Its easy enough getting to your personal email though, even without POP. Use the browser, doh!
* pretty standard but worth mentioning - has voice dialing, that can save you in some situations.
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Not -
* No WiFi !
* No GPS receiver. This means that when you use google maps you have to manually figure out where you are, then also check if you are sticking to the route. I have had no problems with this myself, but could be incovenient for some.
* The T9 texting system is disappointing. The Razr did it much better. There is no multi-select word completion, and there is not auto-add to dictionary any time you type out a word that was not in the dictionary. The process of adding your own short forms, cute names and whatnot is very manual and laborious. Also, the auto completion with the Razr showed multiple word possiblities in a multi-select as you typed (like the AJAX javascript lookups in gmail adress) so that meant you could really fly through the message.
* An open chat interface called MyFriends (under the Messages menu) using which you can log on to all your chat clients at once - AIM, yahoo, msn and IRC - possibly google chat but i've not cracked that nut yet.
The setup is strictly for nerds/geeks/professionals - an average user could never set this up. After spends hours on many forums I was able to set it up. You need the use of a free third party registration system: Yamigo to create a chat profile to which you can add your chat accounts. When you create your MyFriends profile in the W810, you need to provide the URL as the server and select the Allow Connection tab to "Any Network" or else this won't work.
MyFriends is a very ambitious concept and works in essence but fails in usability.
It keeps the internet connection open always because it relies on an HTTP service. When you lose connection it logs you out of all your chat systems, requiring you to re-login. PAINFUL. It also drains the battery a lot. Sony would have done better to do what the Razr did, have an AIM chat client onboard that connects directly to the AIM server, so you did not have to use a third party http service.
The best option is to set up the AIM and yahoo accounts to forward to cell phone when not signed in. Works like a charm.
* The phone is capable of playing streams really - but bleeds to death on Cingular's cutting "EDGE".
Hear me ye all - Cingular is the one thing that can kill Apple's iPhone. The situation can only be rescued if Jobs takes it over and refurbishes their network from the ground up.
I have NOT found a realplayer for java mobile yet, so it is really a player problem.
I'm sure there's an open source java project out there that can play all the streams.
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Shot -
* The earbuds from Sony are pure product suicide. They are so bad that I could barely hear the music and calls. If I had not tried the iBuds I may have hated this phone, only because of Sony's lazily and badly produced earbuds. That would have been a real shame because this is really quite an instrument.
* browsing pictures on the phone is painfully slow.
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What you got - The W810i is already more and does more than the iPhone will ever be, or do. Hi-Fi music, first class camera, great voice quality (when the signal exists!), calendar, addressbook, reminders, notes, alarms, email, SMS, MMS, bluetooth, video recording and playback. The iPhone will conquer the world anyway, because it has sex appeal and ease of use like never before. Contextual buttons that come and go, basically an expanded interactive menu system. Brilliant breakthrough in usability. For those who don't want to spend the big bucks, you can get all that and more in less than half the price here.
Sony claws back the portable media market June 4, 2006
Mr. Cj Jothi (London, England)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
I won't lie, I'm a Sony fan. Have been for years. When I was at school, I would take the Sony catalogue with me and look at each of the hundreds of products and admire the constantly evolving designs and technologies this company offers. Sad, I know.
There are two things that made Sony what it is today; televisions and Walkmans. Their TVs were and still are today the standard by which all TVs are measured by. And Walkmans, well, they revolutionised the way people listened to music. And of course they are now good, if not the best, at many other things, from video gaming to professional video cameras used by James Cameron and Michael Mann!
The company however has always annoyed a number of people by unnecessarily introducing proprietary formats. Some good, some bad, but ONE company alone will always find it hard to win public support with a format if it is not supported by other manufacturers. This was highlighted by the company's biggest EVER mistake, encapsulated in one word: ATRAC.
Sony were slow to the MP3 market. In the beginning they shunned it, developing the MD and Discman lines whilst Napster was taking on the world. It took computer companies like Creative and Apple to introduce MP3 players whilst the likes of Panasonic, Sony and Philips failed to embrace such a simple concept. Sony were so complacent that they built their own audio compression format, ATRAC, which could only be made by Sony's own Sonic Stage software, and played by Sony's hardware. The software was absolutely appalling, and did not really improve on MP3's already strong compression rate. It was cumbersome to use, and next to the hip image of an emerging iTunes, and the ever improving iPod, Apple did not just overtake Sony, they pretty much obliterated them out of a market they dominated. Heck, they invented the portable audio market.
Come 2005 and Sony execs are looking at themselves wondering what happened to their once-guranteed hundreds of millions a year. They quietly admitted to themselves that they blew it. But their other markets were thriving. Look at the PSPs, the PS2 and upcoming PS3. Look at their Bravia HD displays. Look at their groundbreaking HDV cameras. Sony are kicking butt, but Discmans and MD players are no longer a top 5 option for ANYONE. It is either an iPod video, an iPod shuffle, an iPod nano (get my point) or maybe, for those somewhat bored, a Creative whatchamacallit!
But they have found a way to use the Walkman brand, by using cutting edge technology and simple, ingenious design, and incorporating a music player in their line of phones.
The W810i is one of the more recent additions to an ever-expanding line of sublime phones and I've got to say "it is amazing!"
This phone, unusually so from Sony, allows a great deal of flexbility in terms of how the user can import and export data. The phone boasts a memory stick port, which is such a massive feature, because this means you can replace the standard 512MB stick with a 2GB stick (4GB is now available, but let prices fall before you buy one). 2GB!!! We may no longer be impressed by such a figure, but may I remind you that with an average 4 minute, 4 MB MP3 we are talking a ridiculous 500 song/45 albums capacity. That's an iPod nano my friend! Hook up your phone via USB and two drives pop up on your computer, the memory stick and the phone's internal drive, and just like your own HDs, you simply drag and drop data from folder to folder. It's brilliant, and obviously lends itself well as a USB stick for students. This means you can use it with PC and Macs, unlike an iPod, and it is not restricted to working with ONE program, unlike an iPod, although iTunes does rock!
So just how good is the Walkman feature? Well, it is very similar to the iPod interface, and whilst it may not boast the brilliant iPod navigation wheel it still has some effectively positioned buttons that allow volume change, starting and pausing music and skipping back and forth tracks. They are in the perfect place, and I commend the designers, because this is where the phone truly excels; ergonimics. With such a vast array of features, it must take a pretty smart bunch of people to make it anything but a hassle to use. The devoted Walkman button transports you to Artists/Albums/Playlists etc etc. You can change the equalizer, you can send your tracks via Bluetooth/Infrared to other people, you can basically have fun.
Sound wise? It sounds damn good. Is it hi-fidelity? No, not by a long shot (but then, neither are iPods!). It comes with good earphones, but I like good sound, so will use my best phones, and encode at a slightly lower compression to cull the best performance from this hardware. It does not sound as good as an iPod, but this is a very personal opinion. The differences are marginal, but this, unlike an iPod, does so much MORE!
A test of whether this is a direct competitor with an iPod is whether, if you took away all the other features and were left with just the Walkman feature, would it be good enough, and the answer is yes. It can improve. It would be great if Apple would allow iTunes to work with other players, because integrating the W810i with iTunes would be phenomenal. The W810i could improve by showing the music artwork, having MORE control over how your music is played, and I would argue to somehow make the menu less cluttered, although it is already well designed. The small details Apple lend their products are great, so if Sony could change the font or anything, to make it a LITTLE bit more streamlined I think it would be more or less perfect!. A great extension to this would be allowing Walkman phones to be dockable in cars like the iPod is, so drivers can control the songs through their stereo. Basically it is a great product, and Sony needs to think big like Apple so it can really stop people buying iPods! They have the quality, but they now need to work hard with PR and accessories to convince people who are set on buying an iPod to reconsider.
Next up is the 2 MP phone, which, for a phone, is remarkable (and is now no longer the biggest, with Nokia's N80 offering 3MP). Compared to the first batch of dedicated 2 MP cameras, this wipes the floor with most of 'em. It does not come close to any dedicated digi cameras on the market today, but I took some pictures this past weekend that were full of colour and detail. It is impressive stuff, and serves perfectly well for a number of applications. Yes it is grainy, no there is no optical zoom, but it has a macro feature, which is amazing. Noise is naturally evident, and I won't be taking my holiday photos with it, but considering where we were two years ago with camera phones it has to be said it no longer is a gimmick. In a year or two cameras on phones will be able to take pictures comparable to point and shoot digicams, and that my friends is a fact. Please look here at a picture I took with the w810i! (http://www.auff11.dsl.pipex.com/w810i.jpg). Looks good, doesn't it! The phone comes with flash, white balance, macro, panorama, nightshot, and a number of other features. The video camera is subpar, so I guess another year or two will mean DV quality cell phones coming our way (maybe not, lets not get excited!).
Another massive plus is the RDS radio. Reception seems to vary, but once it hooks onto a strong signal it sounds very good, and if you have RDS services it will show you the name of the station. That's another one over the iPod!
As for the phone. Well you got simple navigation towards your address book. Text messaging and calling is straightforward. The person on the other end of the line sounds good. You have a lot of detail on your Call History. It is so easy to make calling on mobile phones to be frustrating, much like Sony's earlier phones. Thankfully they have not taken anything for granted and made this an effortless task for users.
Sony's unsurpassed battery life lasts for hours upon hours. How they do it I will never know!
The screen is bright, and the phone saves battery power by reducing the strength of the LCD light based on the ambient light.
The phone is very modern, has a good weight, and unlike the Motorola RAZR, is not uncomfortable to hold in you hand (sure, it looks good, but I do want to HOLD a phone sometimes!). The phone numbers are small, but I really cannot expect anything different when you consider just what these designers are having to pull off.
I wish I could comment on the internet capabilities of this camera but my service provider still charges too much for surfing the web via my phone, and I find the whole experience a bit boring and slow. Mobile internet still has some way to go before it can really be an attractive proposition for me HOWEVER, the RSS reader function will certainly serve me well if I want a quick headline from the BBC website.
You see, when you have a camera, a phone, a Walkman, internet, text messaging, radio, games etc all in one package, that because of consumer demand needs to be small, be light, pack in a colour screen, long lasting battery and removable media, then you have to wonder how it will all work together. Sony have done brilliantly here, and as technology becomes more and more advanced (smaller, lighter, quicker, brighter etc) phones will continue to evolve. They are clearly the best place to find the latest technology, and the W810i may not be the absolute cutting edge, but it is certainly the king for the moment. Apple better watch out. Sony want their crown back. Thankfully there will be only one true winner, and that's us, the consumers!
Nothing can touch a Sony Ericsson phone. September 1, 2006
Azurestrangelove (Upstate NY, USA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
As an already dedicated Walkman phone user(w600i)and converted SE afficianado, the w810i was an easy choice for me when facing the dilemna of having to find a worthy replacement for my beloved w600i(Which is no longer being produced.)Walkman phones are not only chocked full of quality features, well made, loaded with the extremely quick and user friendly SE interface, but also extremely easy on the eyes. And besides, it's a WALKMAN phone, complete with Sony's own Mega Bass trademark. It simply doesn't get any cooler than this.
Rumour has it that Cingular will be releasing this phone sometime soon, but I found myself too impatient to wait and went along and got the unlocked version to use on my Cingular service. For anyone who has considered buying an unlocked phone but is nervous(I was,) I can most honestly tell you that SE makes it painless to set your phone on your network. You simply go to the SE website and answer a few questions about the phone, and they send you everything you need in a text message which contains special software for your carrier which installs itself. It is also beneficial to buy unlocked phones because sometimes service providers cripple some of the features and capabilities when 'branding' the phones to them and adding their own software. Also, sometimes the carrier's software can cause problems with the phone, which was rumoured to be the case with the w600i, which would often crash unexpectedly.
Onto the phone. I was astonished when I saw just how small and cute the w810 is. It's size and width is about comparable to an ipod mini, and certainly lives up to it's "ipod killer" nickname since it has dedicated music buttons and can store up to 2gb(4gb in the future) of music(the w810i comes with a 512mb memory stick pro duo, NOT micro, which is what a lot of other mp3 phones have.)The camera is absolutely pristine at 2mp's and has a lot of cool effects. The radio is also extremely well done and lets you select preset stations and has RDS, which not only displays the station's name, but also the artist information and tracklisting for the current song(when available, as it's up to the station to provide that info.)
You can use mp3's as ringtones, message alerts, and even as your alarm clock sound. Another neat little feature is that the keypad has a light sensor that automaticly brightens or dims it's light, depending on the amount of light in the room. As expected, the internet connection is flawless and lightning quick, and the bluetooth capabilities are all present and work beautifully. Plus, when you connect the phone to your PC, the phone and memory card are recognized as mass storage drives that are listed as "Phone" and "Memory Card," so you don't have to go out of your way to try to locate the devices on your PC. Special software is included but you don't even really need it, as I simply drag the files and drop them into the appropriate spot and it copies itself automaticly. I have no problems with midi, wav, or windows media files being put onto the phone, and as for itunes, you can also drag and drop them too, but I've noticed that some of the files are recognized and playable on the phone, and some are not; it's somewhat spotty with files in that format, but afterall, this isn't an itunes phone and what doesn't work in itunes format, I'll simply convert back to wma. Obviously, the 20mb of storage on the phone is mainly for use when adding themes, images or games, while larger files can be stored on the memory card. Of course, there are so many other little tricks and features that I haven't even discovered yet.
Gripes? Not many! Afterall, this is a Sony Ericsson phone, which has every feature imaginable and cutting edge technology. My only disappointment from coming from the w600i is that the phone is a candybar, so it can't make cute little sounds when opened, and it doesn't have three speakers like the w600i(only one speaker,) so there is no stereo widening on this one(although I suspect this was a deliberate move in order to get us to buy the portable mini speakers{MPS-60} separately. Mine are on their way as we speak.) Of course, these are nitpicky little things...
So, put down those Razrs and Chocolates and buy yourself a phone that really is a "toy," because you'll be playing with this one endlessly.
I have owned many phones, this is the best... July 2, 2006
M. Miles (moving)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
...and it should be for this price.
This is my first review; I just had to add my two cents after reading the previous review.
I have used my phone with Cingular all over NYC, Long Island and Colorado. All I can say is that the reception is better than it was for my two previous phones, a Nextel Blackberry 7510 and most recently, a Verizon Blackberry 7130e.
I bought this phone after using a friend's cheapo pay-as-you-go Sony phone. I am a harsh critic of poorly implemented technology, but very quickly recognized that Sony Ericsson makes great phones with lots of very thoughtful features and, most importantly, pairs those features with the most intuitive user interface I have ever seen.
I am an early adopter of new technologies going back to the very first CD players, the Apple Newton and First Generation 5gig Ipod. Believe me, Sony has a real winner here with the Walkman cell phone line. It sounds great (as good as your source material) and the software for loading songs was refreshingly simple to install and use.
And, oh, the camera is pretty good. If you are going to an important event, it is no replacement for a dedicated digital camera with a full fledged flash. But for impromptu moments, it takes very good pictures in daylight.
Love the phone, would recommend without hesitation.
A great all in one phone, mp3/video player, and camera. July 28, 2006
Optimus Prime (Canada)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
9/19/06 Update. Since my first review, I'm still enjoying this phone and have added some other fun things to do with it. Besides the obvious music and watching video, I hook up this phone to my big stereo's auxilliary RCA inputs via the 35mm earpone cable and voila!, the sound rocks and is very portable especialy at parties. Speaking of parties, I save some encoded karaoke video clips with scrolling song text and minus one music to my phone then plug to the stereo and BAM! instantly I have a portable karaoke machine in my hands. Friends view the song on the phone screen as it plays while they sing. Mic is separate though but boy the fun never stops. Just some ways to improvise to have fun and this phone lets me do that. Try it...
I'd been shopping for many months now for a good phone and a portable mp3 player. After careful research among carrier phones, reading tech reviews, and among other brands out there including the ipods, W810i wins highly because I love listening to portable music plus the phone/camera/FM radio/expandable memory integration and yes the unique MegaBass all in one just fits my kind of need. Truly an audiophile's phone. Of course there are many similar capable phones or dedicated units out there but not quite like the W810i. Ipods and RAZR pale in comparison...in my opinion. W810i is just SUPERB. Just reading on the specs alone makes you say WOW. I have this phone for more than a month now and NOT a drop call occured. I have T-Mobile service with T-Zone for internet access which is fast in my experience since the EDGE GPRS is supported mostly in my area of travel. Downloading files and viewing websites was a fast treat. I enjoy this phone so much that I decided to upgrade the included removable 512mb memory stick duo to a Sandisc 4GB Ultra II Pro Duo just so I can store more than enough of my favorite mp3, video clips, and one full length movie too for my entertainment. Here are my own observations of this phone:
PROS:
1. Mega Bass. Adds more thunderous punch to the low frequencies of music and boy I love this feature. Tip: invest on a good quality heaphone/earphone for it makes a big difference folks in sound quality preferably those that have bass tube or bass enhancement designs.
2. A built in 5 channel Equalizer and other audio settings to suit your music taste.
3. A dedicated Walkman button for easy acces to music. Walkman menu and the overall phone menu is very easy to use and navigate around your music and other phone folders.
4. 2 Megapixel Camera with autofocus is a big plus compared to none.
5. Camera features includes:
- selectable white balance
- select between video mode(realtime action) and normal camera
- self-timer, effects(sepia, b&w, negative, solarize)
- shoot Mode has normal, panorama, frames, macro, night
mode and burst
- self-portrait mirror on back
6. Easy to use tactile keypad buttons, center navigation D-pad, and has T9 text assist for messaging.
7. Speakerphone is loud, Quadband GSM, bluetooth, infrared, FM stereo with channel save presets for your favorite stations.
8. Video clips/movies in 3gp/mp4 format can be viewed verticaly or widescreen. Some games can be played also in widescreen.
9. A decent LED that acts like a penlight is helpful in finding lost keys in the dark. This light is helpful also to brigthen up your subject at night when taking pictures but it does not seem to function like a flash when you hit the shutter button.
10. Phone call quality so far for me is great. Clear crisp voice exchange reception from the other end with no static noise.
11. Battery life overall is very good even in long minutes of music listening and watching a few video clips.
12. EDGE GSM gives you fast internet access if supported by your carrier.
13. Operating software is fast and makes navigation between menus or retrieving content very responsive.
14. Expandable Memory slot. A BIG BIG plus folks especially if you want to add more memory. I have 4GB and it works.
15. While playing music, it will stop during an incoming call then resumes once you hang up. Nice feature.
16. Has music mode where phone functions are turned off. A plus when traveling in air or inside a hospital.
17. Basic amenities like notepad, calculator, calendar, clock, alarm, SMS/MMS, text, email, voicedial, phonebook, contact....and the rest you can read on the specs.
18. Some notables:
- Video DJ - create video sequences
- Melody Composer/Music DJ - create your own ringtones
- Has some imbedded games/ringtones/themes already
- Disc2phone software included for music transfer from PC
- During music transfer or while plugged via the USB cable
to the PC, phone is charging.
- Downloadable ringtones, games, themes, and wallpaper are
available from SonyEricsson.com of which some are free.
- A dedicated shortcut key directs you to a menu of your
commonly used features on the phone.
- Supports Opera Mini web browser which I think is much
better than the default Access NetFront Web Browser.
- gives you option where to save files between phone memory
or the memory stick.
- phone status setting gives you up front information on the
remaining memory capacity, battery life, and profiles.
CONS:
1. Ear speaker volume may be too low in crowded noisy place.
2. Carrier dependent features like downloading ringtones or games may not be supported yet by this phone as expected but there is always a work around if you know how.
3. Pixelation is more noticeable on my video clips if I switch to widescreen. Understandably expected but sad nonetheless.
4. Automatic standby offscreen is a good feature to conserve power but can be very annoying at times when you're still viewing the screen. I'm still trying to figure out if it can be adjusted at all. Sony are you listening?
5. No camera lens cover. No biggie for me since I have a Krusell Leather Case around the phone however its still a minus. I've seen people mod this phone and put a K750 back plate as lens cover.
6. No dedicated earphone slot. Must use first the supplied cable adapter to hook up.
Overall the phone is great and user friendly. It meets most of my expectations in ease of use, common useful features, and of good quality. Just know that if you are tech savy, you can do many things on this phone that may seem limiting to others on average. You may hear complaints from early users a month or two ago about drop calls but this had been fix already or can be fix by updating the software easily from the manufacturer's website. It is also rumored that Cingular might carry this phone later this year. If I may brag a little, some online reviews give W810i as one of the Editor's top choice for cellphone. It is also one of the popular cellphones in asia and still continues to grab attention worldwide. So far W810i can be found on online retailers and third party dealer stores. Getting it unlocked by itself with no carrier plan is very expensive. Dont' do that unless money is not an issue. Get it cheaper with a plan or wait for Cingular..if ever. I know the wait is such a drag. Better yet if you can't wait, grab this phone and avail of Cingular or T-Mobile services now...it still works.
Finally, if you love music or listening to tunes on the go, or better yet be able to watch video clips, watch movie(I do), browse the internet, play 3D games, take pictures, and most importantly make and received phone calls, then you're going to love this phone. Its simply loaded with fun stuff at your disposal. Goodluck and I hope this review was helpful.
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