Sony Ericsson's 8.1MP C905a and W518a Walkman on sale at AT&T

Don't act surprised -- AT&T already told you that these two would go on sale this fine Sunday in July, and lo and behold, the carrier looks to have kept its promise. Starting today (officially, anyway), customers looking for a camera that doubles as a cellphone or a Walkman that occasionally makes calls can bring home the C905a or W518a, respectively. As expected, the C905a (which is available in silver only) will run you $179.99 after rebate and two-year agreement, while the W518a (which arrives in any color you like, so long as it's black) goes for $49.99 under the same conditions. Any takers? Or are all you SE fanboys waiting to court Rachael?

[Thanks, Jazzdoc]

[zephxiii @ Jul 19th 2009 1:27PM]

Nice, is the w760a EOL now?

[aksyusha.s @ Jul 19th 2009 1:42PM]

me !

[Ioden @ Jul 19th 2009 1:50PM]

Is that W518a's external screen so big because it's a Walkman, or do fancy flip phones nowadays have outer screens that are half as big as the inner ones?

[picconiv @ Jul 19th 2009 2:02PM]

Mmmmmmmmm... Rachael :)

[donniemgohmann @ Jul 19th 2009 2:09PM]

The silver version feels like plastic junk. The black c905 is much better.

[Zak @ Jul 19th 2009 8:11PM]

The C905's camera is terrible! My Blackberry 8900's camera takes pictures with superior colour and sharpness. I'll go even further to say the iphone's camera probably takes better pictures than this phone.

[Break @ Jul 19th 2009 10:46PM]

I wanna see your proof Zak, i've had the C905 for almost a year now and i love it's pictures and xenon flash

[Erik @ Jul 19th 2009 2:26PM]

just bought the c905a like an hour ago.....so far it's pretty awesome.

[kastonie @ Jul 19th 2009 3:01PM]

Debrand your c905a...it will be even more awesome. It has wifi, but att disabled it. They also crippled the java support to ask every 3 seconds if its ok for an app to access the internet. Opera mini works awesome on it once you debrand it. Its like a regular internet browser.... also after debranding you get real gps with google maps and wayfinder, and pop/imap email client, not that BS java email client.....

[derX @ Jul 19th 2009 4:26PM]

Kastonie, I'm glad you mentioned AT&T's crippling of WiFi with their firmware. I commented on that on Engadget Mobile's version of this article. I honestly find it ridiculous that any company removes access to features the manufacturer had intended and that the phone's hardware supports.

[Erik @ Jul 19th 2009 5:18PM]

how do you debrand it?

[Danno @ Jul 19th 2009 6:43PM]

I would recommend this website for debranding Sony phones, http://davinciteam.us/index.html. Never had a problem with them and its a pretty cheap price they offer. There are other ways to do it for free (A2) but davinci is pretty fool proof. Just make sure you get the network settings from Sony Ericssons website after you debrand.

[pika2000 @ Jul 19th 2009 8:17PM]

It is sad that consumers have to "debrand" the devices they already pay just to get the full functionality intended by the manufacture. US wireless carriers sux.

[wudini @ Jul 19th 2009 2:48PM]

mmmmmmm Satio


@donniemgohmann - is the black one not plastic? seems a little silly to think a color would feel different.

[Daniel @ Jul 19th 2009 4:39PM]

I agree, can't wait to hear some (any) news on Satio, or hell I'd even take Aino

[donniemgohmann @ Jul 19th 2009 10:56PM]

The black one is in fact plastic but is coated in the soft touch rubber giving it a more quality feel. I've owned both and the silver one feels like total junk compared to the plastic. It feels really cheap. The black one has a total quality feel look to it. My only guess as to why AT&T went with the black is because it is cheaper to manufacture.

[pika2000 @ Jul 19th 2009 3:01PM]

So far, meny people are saying that the C905a is very slow thanks to AT&T's firmware. Oh well, that's last year's phone anyway. Sony, where's the C903a?

[dsteve303 @ Jul 19th 2009 4:52PM]

DARREN MURPH! say something to me!

[Ugolino @ Jul 19th 2009 5:13PM]

got one, reformatting it as I write. Wotan server has your back if you don't want to be under at&t's marketing department's heel!
I adore my little Shiho.

[Fuuma @ Jul 20th 2009 1:48PM]

Did de-branding open up the wifi?

[Mike P. @ Jul 19th 2009 5:28PM]

Wow, how the tables have turned... we've had the C905a on Rogers here in Canada for a while now (at least a couple months).

...except we're still paying $249.99 on a three-year term. Damn.

[NICK @ Jul 19th 2009 5:37PM]

no wifi...then no thanks

[Dave @ Jul 19th 2009 6:13PM]

The C905 Has been available in the UK since october if i recall correctly and is available for free on most £30 contracts, i find it incredible that the US gets Ripped off on contracts so much

Looking at the new Racheal UI i think it could be a contender to the iPhone

[darkmax @ Jul 19th 2009 9:32PM]

Do I sense a tingle of jealousy or sarcasm in the tone of the article from the author?

[LDH @ Jul 20th 2009 12:06AM]

Black c905 looks much better..........

[John Doe @ Jul 20th 2009 12:39AM]

Waiting for Rachael? Really??? Looking at how things work at SE, Rachael is not gonna come out by Q2 2010. And, it will never come to AT&T until at least Q1 2011. So, if you are in the market for a phone, this is a good choice rather than even thinking about waiting on another phone from SE.

[Daniel @ Jul 20th 2009 9:12AM]

Isn't Rachael Android based? If so, it won't come to AT&T at all

[Jane Doe @ Jul 20th 2009 2:35AM]

$179 for a dumb phone? No wonder they are losing their shirt quarter after quarter! :)

[chacowie @ Jul 21st 2009 12:12AM]

Does anyone know if AT&T will carry this in black? If so, when?

[David @ Sep 23rd 2009 10:37AM]

Supposedly the W518a supports Exchange Activesync, and ATT allows it with one of their ridiculously expensive smartphone data plans. Anyone tried it? It would be a sweet way to have the very useable calendar/contacts kept up to date at least, although I'm sure I wouldn't be responding to email!!