Review of GSM/UMTS-handset Sony Ericsson W980i

Mobile-review have posted their review of the Sony Ericsson W980. Here is their final impression.

Impressions
The W980i’s reception quality was never an issue, nor was its ring tone volume – it got through in most situations. The vibro alert is a tad above average strength-wise.

The W980 has already arrived and retails for around 420 Euro. It’s not a music-minded solution per se – much like most other Walkman-branded phones these days, it’s a fashion-savvy phone with a very unconventional design and a pretty decent feature pack. As far as drawbacks of the W980 go, the only serious thing I can think of is its camera location, but that’s about it. As for the rest, this handset is so likable, that I don’t what else I can add it to this verdict – it’s one unique phone. Its materials, quirky outer display, good-looking themes and bundled pedometer add up to one solid offering. Plus the W logo on the external display rotates as you turn the W980 around, which is another undocumented way of using the pedometer in this phone. All in all, the Sony Ericsson W980 is the epitome of “Sony Style”: sophisticated and well-designed. But there is one thing I didn’t do all that often with it – I almost never used the W980’s music player. Well, maybe for some podcasts, but that’s about it. However, those who have never seen or used top-notch dedicated music players will be quite content with what this phone has to offer. Even its radio application has the Clear Sound mode literally tacked on it – I just wish there was some way to disable it.

To say that the W980 will be a mass-market device would be a daring prediction. It’s not even about its music player or audio quality. The real reason is that Sony Ericsson’s music-savvy flagships have never been particularly popular, bar this line-up’s first member. On top of that the W980 is not the cheapest phone around, which leads us to believe it will follow in the footsteps of the Sony Ericsson W900i. Basically, the latter was merely a likable handset that people-in-the-know used to buzz about. And while the W980 targets a slightly different niche (fashion-conscious youth, that is), it won’t fare much better than the W900i, but to Sony Ericsson’s credit be it said, as far as this audience goes, they are spot on with this handset.