Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)(Note: I am judging this phone against my previous long-term models, which include w200, z310, k550, w350, as well as some others I have poked at)I am extremely satisfied with this phone, but let me start with a couple things which might be deal-breakers for some people.
1. The number keys are a little on the stiff side. Not unusable, but a little stiffer than the w350 or k550.
2. This phone does have some creaks and wiggles. However, I found that much of the creaking in the open position was actually caused by the battery lid, which I fixed by sandwiching a sheet of toilet paper under it.On to the real features, most of them pretty good...>> Sound quality AND volume
The w595 has the clarity of the old k550, but both the earpiece and the ringer loudspeaker are louder. It's not as loud as the ringer on the w350, which is among SonyEricsson's loudest for some reason, but it's still louder than the k550, w200, and about as loud as the z310 (without the z310's poor quality).
It has loudspeakers on both the top and bottom of the phone.>> Display
This phone has a display with good brightness and color saturation, and SonyEricsson's new light sensor to adjust the display brightness based on ambient light (i.e., in a movie theater, the display automatically drops to low, but boosts to full in bright sunlight).
The viewing angle is not as wide as the w350 or k550. It is mainly for direct viewing, but there appears to be a tradeoff because viewing the display horizontally (for videos) is actually better than most other phones. Most phones look good in the "normal" position, but look bad when turned 90 degrees. This one is good both ways, as long as you look straight at it.
The 240x320 resolution is really good for mobile web browsing (especially with Opera Mini), Google maps, reading emails, and everything else.
It's more visible in sunlight than most phones.>> Camera
Pretty decent image quality, though it lacks auto-focus (SonyEricsson seems to be reserving this feature for their new Cybershot models, so I wouldn't expect it elsewhere any more). The shutter responds fairly fast, which is actually an advantage over the autofocus models as long as you don't need to take pictures less than a few feet from the subject.
If you like to take photos as a way of making a quick note of something (like a product package), you can still do this. Take the picture a few feet back so it isn't out of focus, and use the volume keys to zoom in on the image when you want to read it.>> Java applications
It runs games, Opera Mini, and Google Maps very well. Opera Mini starts up in just under 5 seconds. Much like the k550, the w595 will run almost any games.
***Upgrade: the new menu system lets you create a shortcut directly to a Java application (as long as it is in the Applications folder). I have the right-arrow shortcut set to load Opera Mini, so it can be accessed as quickly as the built-in browser.>> Video playback
In addition to playing 3gp video, the W595 is one of the few phones which will actually play MP4 videos. Some phones claim it, but actually require you to convert it to a 3gp. True MP4 videos are much higher quality than 3gp. I was able to play an hour-long science lecture I downloaded, which makes this cool phone "educational".
NOTE: do NOT play videos by finding them through the "Media" menu. This new media menu is a fancy-looking scrolling interface which is completely unnecessary and causes video playback to lose sync with the audio. A firmware update "fixed" this by forcing the audio to synchronize every few seconds, which still looks like crap. Use the File Manager like a civilized human, and all of this trouble goes away. It's located in the Organizer menu, and you can make a shortcut to it if desired.>> Email client
As I write this, my w595 is push-enabled by using the IMAP feature offered by GMail. As of last year, both Gmail and Yahoo have IMAP support for free. This sends you email to the phone without having to dial out manually to "check" it. I ignorantly declared that previous models did not support this without a carrier service, but it turns out some did (but no free email services offered it).
The email setup is also much easier. I just entered my GMail address/password, and SonyEricsson is clever enough to find all of the correct server/port settings for GMail. It was also smart enough to check if GMail supported IMAP, and asked me if I wanted to use it ("yes please!").
Regular POP3 is of course also supported, if you don't want a constant email connection.>> Accelerometer
This is the kind of thing the iPhone and Wii have, so the phone can sense movement. It's not an entirely practical feature, but it adds "coolness" if you want to impress your friends with a bubble level (available on the SonyEricsson website).>> RSS Reader
If you don't know what that is, skip this section and save hours of your life. If you are already using RSS and you want the Internet to be force-fed to you, this latest version offers improvements over the previous models:
- Set update times for any or all hours of the day, individually for each feed.
- New stuff shows up in a popup scroller on the home screen, with photos if available.>> Multi-tasking
It seems to handle running one application while one or two others are minimized. To minimize a Java application, press the END key ONCE, and select minimize (pressing it twice closes it).
It offers full menu access during phone calls, so you can do things like check your tasks/calendar while talking to someone. Java applications can be run during the call, but Internet access appears to be disabled and media files won't play.>> Organizer
As usual, SonyEricsson offers a good alarm clock which provides the only structure in my life. New and existing features:
- Multiple alarms
- Set any of them to either repeated (on whatever days you choose), or one time
- Use ANY sound on the phone as an alarm
- Adjust the volume for individual alarms (morning wakeup full volume, tea time a pleasant low)
- Add a picture to display
- Add a text description.
The organizer also include a lot of other good stuff, such as:
- Tasks, with instructions and reminders on set dates/times.
- Notes, so you can store notes without resorting to SMS drafts.
- Calendar, timer, stopwatch, etc.>> Shortcut/event menu
This is one of many models with a really handy button which brings up a custom shortcut menu. It's complex to explain, but really handy to use.
The shortcut menu has 4 "tabs":
- New events (usually a missed call, new message, or a task due)
- Running applications
- My Shortcuts
- Internet
Unless something special is happening, clicking the shortcut key will bring up your shortcuts. If something special is happening (new event or running application), that tab will automatically come up. You can use the left/right keys to switch tabs at any time.
This shortcut key works at all times (e.g., while on a phone call or while browsing the Internet). Thus, you can be browsing the Internet, and if you hear the message alert, you can click the shortcut key to bring up the message and close it again without closing the browser. Or if you minimized an application to do something else, you can click the shortcut key to bring up the list of running applications without navigating to it.>> Track ID
This is a really neat feature included with many of the Walkman phones (and a few non-walkman models). If a song is playing on the radio, in a store, etc, and you don't know what it is, Track ID will record some of it, and connect to some Internet server which will tell you the song/band. It's not perfect, but it works much better than you might expect.>> Battery life
So far, it's pretty good. I watched a 1-hour video, which is a pretty hefty task, and only lost about 15% battery capacity. I keep the email connecting running 24/7, and I use about 45 minutes of internet and/or games per day. It doesn't ever fall below 50%.The main reason I dropped one star from this phone's rating is because the housing just isn't well refined. Everything functions fine, but a 5-star phone just shouldn't have the creaks and wiggles.Yikes, that's an enormous review, and I don't feel like proofreading. No warranties implied.Tips and stuff:
1. Don't use the Media menu to play videos (see above).
2. If you are going to use IMAP for email access instead of POP3, make sure you are using GMail correctly or it will try to download every email you ever received (I will post a detailed explanation in the comments).
3. The battery lid sucks. Just pry it up from the obvious spot, as wrong as it feels. Careful, it may spring out and attack you. If it creaks when closed, see my ghetto fix (also in the comments section).
4. You can set the slider to end the call, or not end the call, via an option in the settings menu.
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Sony Ericsson W595 Walkman Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera--U.S. Version with Warranty (White)Perfect for those who want to share sounds with their friends, the Sony Ericsson W595a Walkman slider phone offers built-in stereo speakers that will help keep the party going. It also includes all the intuitive music features that you've come to expect from a Walkman phone, including a digital audio player with intuitive navigation interface, Bluetooth stereo music streaming that connects to optional headphones or speakers, and the innovative "shake to shuffle" feature that randomly chooses another song stored on your phone with just a flick of the wrist.
The W595A also includes a 3.2-megapixel camera (with video capture capabilities), Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion ( up to 8 GB), an FM radio with RDS, Web browser for viewing full Internet sites and RSS feeds, access to personal email, and up to 9 hours of talk time.
Unlocked Phone This unlocked cell phone can be used with a GSM network service provider and it provides quad-band connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) as well as EDGE data connectivity. It does not come with a SIM card, and it requires that you provide a SIM card for usage with your selected service provider. This phone comes with a one-year warranty from a third party provider.
Phone Features The Sony Ericsson W595a has a bright 2.2-inch LCD screen (240 x 320 pixels, 262K colors) that sits atop a navigation area with five-way controller (with music playback controls as well as a dedicated camera button), send/end keys, and soft navigation keys. The face slides smoothly up to reveal the standard alpha-numeric keypad. Volume keys are included on the right side of the phone. The W595a has a 40 MB internal memory, which can be expanded via Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards up to 8 GB in size. The internal phonebook can store up to 1000 contact entries, with each one providing space for up to five phone numbers an email address, web address, two street addresses, birthday, and notes.
This Walkman phone offers a full-function digital audio player that's compatible with MP3 and AAC files, and it includes Sony Ericsson's innovative "shake to shuffle" feature. With Shake Control activated, just flick your wrist and a vibration lets you know that the track has been changed--a new song from your current playlist is randomly selected and automatically played. Playback settings also include an equalizer, playlists, stereo widening, and shuffle and loop modes. This Walkman phone features MegaBass enhancement for added depth of sound, a flight mode that lets you keep listening to tunes with the phone's network connectivity turned off, and the PlayNow feature that enables you to download new music tones directly to the phone.
With the TrackID service, you can identify any song that you can hear by just recording a snippet of sound using the microphone. After sending the file for recognition, you'll have the name, artist and album sent to your phone. It also includes a built-in FM radio with RDS, which displays the name of the currently playing song (when tuned to compatible radio stations).
Sony Ericsson's SensMe technology is used to incorporate mood analysis into the track details, which allows you to create playlists that suit your mood. Select SensMe in the downloadable Sony Ericsson Media Manager software, and it will mood-analyze all MP3 files on the computer. When you transfer music from a CD or a PC to your phone using Media Manager, the tracks will automatically be analysed. Instead of selecting tracks for your next playlist, just select your mood.
Handsfree communication is easy thanks to the integrated speakerphone. This phone also provides Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 2.0), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and file transfer. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server.
The built-in 3.2 megapixel camera captures stills and video--and playback of video or still pictures is only limited to the memory card size. Picture effects and custom screensavers, backgrounds, and themes can be setup to fit your personality. Select the Photo Fix function to improve pictures that you think can be better. In a one-click operation, brightness, light and contrast are adjusted to give you the best possible picture.
It provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC (either using USB or Bluetooth). And the W595a makes it easy to send snapped photos directly to a blog or an online photo, complete with text. This phone is also compatible with RTSP/3GPP streaming video playback
The phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3 and IMAP4 protocols, while the included Access NetFront Web Browser allows you to surf full HTML web sites. It also supports RSS feeds, allowing you to use your phone to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you. Support is built in for sending and receiving text, video, graphics and sound via messages.
Other features include:
Accelerometer auto-rotation--Enjoy your pictures in portrait or landscape mode. To move between modes, simply rotate the phone and the picture follows.
Photo feeds--Use Photo feeds to check your own and your friends' blogs. Access them all from one place: your phone's Media photo album.
Organizer tools: Calendar, alarm clock, calculator, notes, stopwatch, tasks, timer
Digital audio file formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+
USB 2.0 wired connectivity with mass storage capability
T9 text entry technology
Downloadable 3D games
Bluetooth version 2.0 with the following profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), BIP (for sending images to another device), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), HID (support for mice or joysticks), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures), PAN (personal area networking), SPP (serial port profile)
Vital Statistics The Sony Ericsson W595a weighs 3.7 ounces and measures 1.9 x 3.9 x 0.6 inches. Its 950 mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated at up to 9 hours of talk time, and up to 380 hours (15.8 days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.
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