Sony Ericsson's Walkman W880 reviewed

Sony Ericsson's venerable Walkman line just received a good dose of cool with the announcement and (pending?) release of the W880. Sony Ericsson has joined the thin-is-in crowd with this one, as the W880 comes in at a skinny and svelte 9.4mm thick -- pretty dainty for a candybar unit. This is one of the newest Sony Ericsson handsets we've been pleased to view and gawk at. Slim, trim, and comes in fightin' with such features like 2 cams (a VGA one for front-facing video calls), Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP and Memory Stick M2 support (alas, Sony's proprietary format) and...we'll say it again -- an ultra-slim shape that's more Samsung-ian than from the SE boys. A few things that stood out in the GSM Arena review was the inclusion of "multitasking" support (we can guess at the meaning there), EDGE being absent and the inclusion of a standard 3.5mm audio adapter for using your own high-end headphones with the W880. We wish all handset makers would do this -- since using those sweet Shure earphones are, well, worth it. GSM Arena's verdict with the in-depth review? This is one sweet candybar.

[Thanks, Simon]

[Kev50027 @ Feb 7th 2007 4:03PM]

That is a nice phone, but it needs a bigger,higher resolution screen, better keypad, and wifi before I'd get it. I'm pretty content with my Nokia N80 now. I tried out the K790a, and found it was too quiet and had too many buttons all over the casing to be of any use to me. Also, it lacked wifi and the screen on my Nokia N80 beats out every cell phone screen i've ever seen in resolution and brightness.

[Galicki @ Feb 7th 2007 4:54PM]

Who needs the iPhone for $600 when this will be available for $50 soon enough? Do I really need to SSH from my phone? I have the w810($50) and its a damn good phone that is a year old.

[Jeff @ Feb 7th 2007 4:57PM]

"This is one sweet candybar."

But still, it's a candybar. Which means it'll go nowhere in the market.

I don't know why companies continue to bother with this form factor. I mean yeah, there's a niche there that needs to be filled, but at best, you release your phones as clamshells and sliders first, *then* come in with a similar candybar. SE seems particularly stuck on this format lately; I guess they see themselves as its lone remaining champion, and hope to fill that niche all by themselves.

But I kinda doubt they're going to get very far. As another commenter has already pointed out, the screen on this phone is too small - a side effect of forcing the phone's buttons on the same plane as the screen. Candybar phones can only be so big, because they can't get any smaller by folding or sliding them up. The buttons themselves also look really small and hard to use for the same reason.

I think this phone looks nice, but it just doesn't seem like it's what the market wants right now. Especially not in a high-end phone.

[xbit @ Feb 7th 2007 5:02PM]

"I don't know why companies continue to bother with this form factor. I mean yeah, there's a niche there that needs to be filled, but at best, you release your phones as clamshells and sliders first, *then* come in with a similar candybar. SE seems particularly stuck on this format lately; I guess they see themselves as its lone remaining champion, and hope to fill that niche all by themselves."

They continue because 90% of phone buyers live outside the US. Europe alone makes up 30% of the market and Europeans generally prefer the candybar form-factor. It's far from a niche. :)

It's also a UMTS 2100Mhz device, so I doubt it'll even see a US release.

[Simon @ Feb 7th 2007 7:13PM]

Actually the past 6 phones i have owned 4/6 have been candybar and the old Nokia 6230 i'm using is of candybar form factor. I personally cbf flipping the phone when i c a call. I'd rather push a button which requires less effort ^_^.
I owned an SE flip, but i never liked it because it was bulky and slow. I guess SE found the correct form factor. The Candybar, cos there hasn't been many flip phones more candybar from them.
If you look around Nokia has become a slide form factor company. Samsung has moved from flip to sliders.

Otherwise, its just a personal choice.I can't wait for this phone. Something to carry a small selection of my music collection, my phone and a handy camera for those unexpected shots. Rather than carrying my phone, ipod and digital camera though my phone has a camera. But this phone will make my load easier going between uni each day (1 hour trip) =)

You never know, Sony might be busting out 4 and 8 GB M2 sticks as we speak which would definitely kill the iPhone

But i still think the iPhone is D(ead) O(n) A(rrival).

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Feb 7th 2007 5:32PM]

I like the candy bar form factor. In fact, that is the same as my next phone, the iPhone. The keypad on this Sony looks horrendous, at least to me. I like keys that are flat and larger and do not destroy your fingers (thus, I will probably love the iPhone's touch screen). Of course, YMMV. I still have the original white and orange Sony Ericsson W800, and it is been a good phone to me so far, though, so I guess this one will not disappoint too much, especially for the price. But, well, it's sorta yawn compared to the iPhone... And I apologize for having uttered "iPhone" three times already... no, make that four!

[Chris @ Feb 7th 2007 5:38PM]

You should keep wishing that handset makers included a 3.5mm jack--Sony's w880 does not have one on it's body. It merely includes Sony's charger port -> headphone jack connector and earbuds, just like it is on the w810. The pictures in the linked review clearly show the absence of that sweet physical jack, right?

[riggs @ Feb 7th 2007 6:21PM]

if it comes out in all black, im sold.

[dave @ Feb 7th 2007 6:22PM]

"It's sorta yawn compared to the iPhone."

to be honest, this looks to be an iPhone killer, and is probably the best GSM candybar out there, except for the buttons. and to be honest, for people out there dissing candybars, i've given up on sliders (but anyone should after owning a PM-325 for a year and a half) and i'm thinking of trading in my current clamshell (Samsung A900) in for a candybar (when and only when sprint gets their version of the Samsung Ultra Music phone, and only if the software kicks face and there's a hold switch, but i'm still planning on it.).

[ASTROBOT @ Feb 7th 2007 6:41PM]

No FM radio?? What a same. My W800i worth every pennies.

[Yeos @ Feb 7th 2007 8:50PM]

it's ugly. the buttons are done badly. i think there's big problem with their proportion. The nicest thing there is the remote control.

[Sheryll @ Feb 8th 2007 2:03AM]

"if it comes out in all black, im sold."

According to GSM Arena, it comes 2 colors: Flame Black & Steel Silver.

The key's look small, but they look similar to the N91's keys, which turned out to be pretty easy to use for SMS, even with fat fingers.

[David @ Feb 8th 2007 5:11AM]

LOL @ Jeff who clearly has zero idea about the mobile market :)

[Walkman @ Feb 8th 2007 8:42AM]

To all you guys complaining about the buttons:
THESE ARE THE BEST EVER!! You will know what I mean when you use the phone.