Sony Ericsson W580i Walkman (AT&T)

I personally own the pink W580i AT&T edition.

The Good:

It's great! It automatically locks when you slide it shut, which is a huge problem on other slider phones because if you have it in your purse or pocket, you end up accidentally dialing people. The call clarity is crystal clear, the display is fabulous and the colors are a perfect accessory to anyone's personality...or outfit! There are plenty of add-ons you can purchase such as a wide assortment of games, wallpapers, themes and applications (including Gmail and eBay!). It runs very efficiently and I haven't had it lock up on me yet. Also pictures are absolutely beautiful on it's 2 MB camera! Very professional looking and not as washed out looking as most phones you see on the market.

Here is some of the bad...or not so bad but could be improved:

The number keys are very small (it's fine for me because I have small fingers, but for those of you that don't I can definitely see it being a problem); the internet is not 3G so it's not as fast as it could be (though definitely not what I'd call slow); the back battery case is very hard to get on and off; the phone only lasts for about a day and a half on a full charge, even if you don't talk on it; it also doesn't come with a memory card (unless you buy the white one) and the memory card is not the usual mini-SD which is relatively cheap and you can buy almost anywhere, instead it's an M2 which is more expensive and harder to find.

Overall:

This is an absolutely perfect multimedia phone. It handles everything from e-mail (including SMTP and Pop3 accounts), IMs, messaging, radio, mp3s, games and more. The camera is great for just about anything on the run and it fits perfectly in your pocket or purse. Plus it's absolutely adorable (if you have the pink one) and/or is a great little phone (if you have the other colors). Don't let it's smallness fool you, it's really powerful and well put together!

I absolutely love this phone! I like it because it is thin and small. There is so much that I can do on it. I decided to buy it because my other phone was too bulky. This one is perfect, I can go on the web, dowload songs, and everything.

Good phone with a great assortment of features. I would recommend this phone. This phone has way more features then I have or will ever use. I like the Bluetooth, speaker phone, battery life, and screen. The earpiece is good enough and is clear in a quite room; a little hard to hear with loud background (I don’t have the best hearing so that might have something to do with it). Your can be heard loud and clear on the other end. (After 4 months of use)

The great:
• The battery life is good however not as good as they advertise.
• The reception is better than others I have tried.
• Nice loud ringer
• Great if you are looking for a phone with a good assortment of features

Not so great:
• Sony Ericsson memory card
• Phone locking feature is not good (have made too many pocket calls)
• Takes longer than usual to get use to how the menus & features are set up

I loved the phone at first but it has quite a few flaws [that probably only I would notice, but just in case]. It glitches every now and then, completely freezing up. Two of the number buttons have cracked, NOT from being dropped, they just cracked from use and Ive only had it a month. It only plays like 5 seconds of ringtones, no matter what kind of ringtones or what its being used for, it only plays a few seconds. Make sure you have the most updated computer to use it with because it doesnt work entirely with all computers. (I got my comp in 2006 and it doesnt work with the windows). Other than those flaws that like I said only I would notice, its an okay phone.. Not worth what I paid [200].

I like the phone alot but the battery life doesnt last too long if you have the step counter on. Also my number 4 key just cracked and I only had this phone for two months. But other than that i am happy with this phone!

Overall this is a very good device. It does what it is supposed to do quite well and with very few problems. The issues I have with it will come later. Here are the good points:

~ Fast User Interface. I list this first because everything you do on a device is done throug the UI. If it is slow then the device is going to be wasting your time.

~ Feels quite nice in the hand. It fits my hands well and doesn't feel like it is going to be falling out of my palm every time I try to do something with it.

~ The slide works well in both directions. It has a very smooth operation without much side to side play. When new these are really quite nice. I've seen examples with 200 talk hours on them and they are still good, not as smooth, but not balky nor loose.

~ Speakerphone, earpiece and microphone all are the quality you would expect from a top mobile device manufacturer. No problems here.

~ Extras like the Bluetooth, the camera, pedometer all function well. The camera could be a bit more sensitive inside and it is sometimes unclear about what type of light is being used, even when told, but overall it is okay for a camera that is sitting on a telephone. It's not going to replace your D-SLR.

~ Game play is excellent on this phone. Dilbert Cubicle Choas is one of my favorites. Q*bert, Ms. PacMan, and sports games all play well. Excellent implementation of the Java.

~ Walkman works great. Sound quality with good headphones is good, with better headphones, it is better.

Of course when something comes from AT&T they have their fingrprints all over it.

~ AT&T logo where the cool looking Walkman logo ought to be. I do not need to be reminded quite so bluntly where I send my mobile phone money. They could have taken a more subtle approach.

~ Of course why bother with subtle when you have a third of the main menu icons dedicated to taking the user directly to places where you can sell them stuff at anywhere from $1.99 to $6.99 a pop plus a penny a kilobyte to download it. CHA-CHING! Note to AT&T: Run a more generic firmware or nest your money grubbing menus under a single icon.

Now let's talk about some of the weaknesses of the device.

~ The keypad is one. I'm not talking about the early production run keypads with brittle keys that snapped in half. I've been spared running into one of those. The run of the mill post brittle production keypads wear quickly. The "Play-Pause" icon on the navigation key turns into a large open rectangle with use. The circumferential ridge on the softkeys wears very quickly. The lettering on the numeric keys also rubs off with only several months use. This isn't the first S-E phone to have keypad issues. The S710a also had a severe key rot problem with it's chrome keys. I thought perhaps they had figured out the solution but apparently they either don't care about key life or their engineers misinformed management.

~ FAST-Port. This is yet another engineering crime. Please give us MP3 phones we can listen to when we charge! Why piggy-back Data, charging and audio through a single unprotected connector?

~ The LCD washes out even in overcast daylight. If you plan on using this phone during the day and outside be prepared to voice dial. You won't be seeing anything on the screen that is of any value.


The Wrap Up

You are going to dropping about $150 - $200 for this one so you better know it has a few warts. You'll be happy with it but know that it has its quirks.

This phone does it all and all things well! The music player is the best with
great sound quality - better than any other phone currently available. The phone gets good reception even in poor areas near me. The fm radio is a nice addition -- my youngest daughter enjoys this feature. The phone is easy to use and all screens and features are user adjustable. Personally, my only complaint is that the buttons are a little small for me - But my family loves this phone. I now have 4 of these phones -- That says a lot!!

The buttons cracked and then some of the buttons came off. not to mention when I plugged the usb cable up, which I have done numerous times it died and never worked again.

The sound is great and it has a gargantuan amount of features. The screen is very crisp and the camera is only 2 mp but easily compares to a 4 mp.

This is the greatest phone. The Walkman and Radio makes it just that much better. The battery last days longer than any other phone that I have owned. I get great reception from just about anywhere in my area. It is easy to work and change the many options. Since I have bought this phone, I have has to purchase two more phones but different colors for my wife and daughter. My daughter does not even listen to her Ipod that much anymore. She has transfered all of her cd's over to the phone. I would recommend this phone to anyone that asks me.

i actually have the white one and couldn't be happier with it came with the memory chip and i love being able to download my favorite cd's on it to take were ever i go,i also love the pedometer that measures my steps and tells me how many miles i have walked,expecialy since i walk alot at work.
and the picture quality is amazing also.i would definetely recommend this phone,as a matter of fact three of my co-workers went down and got them one the next day.if you want a phone that is high quality for a reasonable price
i would recommend the walkman.

This phone is great. The functions work seamlessly. Has an FM radio that can tune into your local radio stations(Unfortunately, there's no AM dial.) With the walkman feature you can store all your favorite music and searching and playing music is an ease. The only music phone that can best this one is the Iphone.

My only problems with the phone is the fact that in order to use the FM radio feature you need to purchase special headphones that act as a an antenna. Mind you, these headphones are th only way to listen to your music without the speaker option because you can't simply plug in any headphones into the phone. There is no headphone jack.

The other problem is the memory. Buying a SD card is so utterly necessary that they should just pack it with the phone and raise the price slightly. Without the card you won't be able to store much if any music on the actual memory on the phone.

The price of these things can add up the phone to well over 200 dollars. But once you have them the phone is great! A well made phone by Sony!

No problems at all with the phone. If you drop it ,I heard your sol. Treat the phone nicely and it will do the same for you. I bought a 1GB memory card for it and there is a ton of storage on the phone. I love that I can plug it into my laptop for easy internet access, file transfers, pics, ringtones, videos, themes. The speaker is loud, I am a mechanic and I can hear it ring while it is 10ft. away inside my toolbox, and impact guns running all around me. The camera is sweet. The look feel and action of the phone and it's slide feature is awesome. Plenty of battery standby time, but if you are playing with it for a few hours, the battery goes fast. Overall, if this phone was a women,I would say," It is smokin hot"!!!

I love the mp3 player it's better than any other built-in's I've seen.
It is more than just a phone it has wonerful image resolution on the camera also. I give this phone a 10.

this was pure misleading and false advertisment this is no "mint condition" as the seller quoted in the discription the keys on the phone was cracked the paint was chipped and rubbed off on numerous places on the phone. this phone was used for a while.

i personally have the white sony ericson. it is a nice phone and very easy to use once you get used to it. i haven't had a problem with the size of the keys, but if you are a constant texter like i am the keys split fairly easy. i haven't had any other problems with it. the music player is good quality and the headphones are normally included with the purchase. i love the lock on it! it locks when you shut the phone except if you have a screen besides the main screen.!

I love the shape and size and functions BUT if you drop it the screen will not work anymore. I've pieced mine back together a few times so its easy to do just be carefull.

Many of its features make this Phone an excellent choice for any member of the family. The slider works great for hiding the keypad. The menue is very easy to navigate through. whatever your need is this may be the phone you.

Love the phone-- easy to use features, great sound, pretty good camera (although no flash).. my only complaint is that the keypad is a bit tiny and the buttons are very close together.. this makes text messaging a little difficult-- so if you're a big texter, I'd be wary of this model.

good price, great product. Me & my kids are using it every day. I use it while at work, restaurant. I love the features on it.

Quick and smooth tranactions. Great Seller. Phone was just as described and in great working order. Thanks Seller.

i like that it has a good camera, works as a walkman, sleek design, but just be careful with it, not as sturdy as others in resisting the elements

I bought this for my daughter. Her friends have the same phone & she liked the way it worked. I am sure she will like this one too when I give it to her.