Sony Ericsson W900i review

The Sony Ericsson not only has top grades in all of the usual subjects - it also has its own particular speciality in which it excels. Its full name gives it away; the W900i Walkman is designed as one of the few mobile phones that can really come close to challenging standalone digital music players at their own game.

You only need to see the amount of memory provided out of the box to know that this device is serious about wanting to offer a multitalented performance. There is a staggering 470MB of internal storage, and it is usually supplied with a 512MB card for its Memory Stick PRO Duo slot.

The sound from the speakerphone is sweet and distinct, though not particularly loud. Plug in the two-part headset (the first part acts as an aerial for the FM tuner, but also gives you the advantage of a standard 3.5mm socket for plugging in your own choice of headphones) and the sound become hypnotic. This is portable music at its hair-tingling best. And if you don't like the preset balance, you get full equaliser controls - including a thumpingly-good MegaBass facility.

The sound quality is a distinct advantage when listening to the TV. The screen is a 320x240-pixel affair, and although video clips only occupy a small area of the screen in normal mode, you do get the option of blowing them up to fill the full screen area. This is a hefty phone but its all-white casing and orange detailing do give it some visual charm. It also uses a swivel mechanism, with the screen swinging through 180° to reveal the numberpad.

The camera is a 2-megapixel affair and benefits enormously by the provision of autofocus and macro mode. Pictures taken with the camera are not quite up to the quality of those from the Nokia 903, but this device is much quicker at processing the information. Like the Nokia, the Sony Ericsson is also provided with a full HTML web browser, allowing you to visit your own favourite websites. Costing very slightly less than the Samsung Z540v on a Vodafone contract, this 3G Walkman phone is something of a bargain. Total Mobile Staff