A swivel-based 3G handset with semi-automatic opening mechanism, the Sony Ericsson W900i has two cameras with the front camera dedicated for video-calling. It is both 2G and 3G compatible. The display is a large 2.2 inch TFT screen supporting an impressive 262K colours. Sony Ericsson have made this handset as a dedicated Walkman™-based multimedia device. To this end, there is a huge 470 Mb internal memory, expandable to a massive 2Gb via Memory stick. This should quench the thirst of the die-hardest music aficionados. The music player is equipped with Mega bass audio equaliser. Controls are intuitive via one-touch buttons and there is an off-line mode support for media player especially useful in-flight. The inbuilt stereo FM radio comes bundled with the necessary remote control headset.
Cons:
Whilst it is undoubtedly an impressive piece of technology, the W900 has a few niggles: At 148g, the phone is not light and, frankly, it is a wee-bit bulky by current cut-throat standards.
It is also tempting to say you can get the W900i in any colour provided it is white but that is a rather cheap shot so we won’t.
Sony Ericsson have not included a camera lens cover on this one and other later models. Experience shows that this is probably not an important omission. Battery life is also poor, lasting no more than a day on average use. In fairness, this is probably still an issue with practically all 3G phones at present. Also, initially there were a number of firmware bugs but these have now been sorted by Sony Ericsson.
Having said that, the W900i is overall impressive and deservedly high-end.
Features in summary
Triband: GSM 900, 1800, 1900)
Display: 262K colours (240x320px)
2MP digital camera with autofocus lens, 8x digi-zoom and photo-light.
Video calling (3G), recording and streaming
Music player (MP3) with remote control
FM Radio
Polyphonic and music ringtones
Networking: SMS, MMS, instant messaging (IMPS), push email
Bluetooth, infrared and USB port
WAP 2.0 and high speed GPRS
Huge 470Mb memory (expandable to 2Gb via memory stick)
PIM: Calendar, Calculator, Phone-book with photo-ID support, alarm
Local and remote synchronisation (SyncML)
Speakerphone
Voice dialling
Vibration alert
Java games
Weight: 148g
Dimensions: 109 x 49 x 24 mm (closed)
Talktime: Up to 8.5 hours
Standby: Up to 370 hours (15 days)
