Customer Reviews

Sony Ericsson W800 Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera, MP3/Video Player, Memory Stick Pro Duo Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Orange/White)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

If you are spending nearly $500 for a phone then you should be getting the best. If you are business oriented and need a smart phone, then get something from Nokia.

But if you are looking for an entertainment unit, then my friends this is a no brainer.

I used to own the k750i and sold it to purchase this. The k750i and the w800i are the EXACT same phones except for cosmetic changes, a huge memory stick for the w800i, and brilliant headphones that come with this.

The reason I sold my k750i was that I was having constant issues with the software. It kept shutting down and gave me headaches because of it. It also had an unfortunately flimsy case. Most k750i sets have squeaking issues. So I got the w800i and man it is sweet. The case feels solid and sturdy. It actually feels like a $500 phone. Aside from that, I just love the Walkman brand. (I know how stupid that sounds)

Pros:

1. It has half a gig of memory for your music and sports the walkman brand -- nostalgia city for 25 year olds like myself. Plus the headphones are sweet as sin. They even come with three separate ear bud sizes. And when you put them on, without even turning on the music you can hear your heart beat... yes they are that snug. Plus they are extremely easy to put around your neck with the attachment that comes with them. The equalizer is also quite good, and with mega bass on, there is nothing short of an ipod that rivals this.

2. Like the k750i, java games of all sorts for this set can be found on the net, though download with care in case something corrupts your software. You are better off downloading games made for/or by well known brands. [...]

3. Superb camera and outstanding FM radio reception. The camera is different only cosmetically to the k750i, in that the shutter in this is handled via switch while in the k750i it is opened/closed by hand. I actually prefer the camera shutter system in the w800i.

Semi Con:

When turned off, I definitely think that the k750i looks sexier than the w800i. It has a beautiful black/silver look etc. The w800i looks odd when turned off, since it is basically white with orange colors. However when the w800i is turned on, there is NO competition. The orange screen and the orange back light go deliciously well with the case and it looks quite brilliant.

Bottom line is that this phone rocks!

EDIT:

I just wanted to add a couple more comments. Firstly I still haven't had any of the issues I had had with the k750i. I also wanted to note that taking pictures has been faster with this phone. It could very well be because the k750i had come with older firmware (which can be updated from the official website though can be risky if you don't know what you are doing).

But whatever the reason may be, every time I took a photo with the k750i I had to wait a few more seconds for it to be processed than I have had to with the w800i.

One last advantage I have noticed is that with the w800i, the music library is superbly organized. Whenever I hit the 'walkman' button, I am quickly taken to a screen where music is organized by, "Artists", "Tracks", "Playlists", and "Videos".

As previous reviewers have mentioned, it gets to be a chore to carry around a PDA, iPod, cell phone, camera, etc. Especially when travelling and you want to pack lightly. The W800i does not replace any of the other devices, but it does enough of them to go comfortably with just this for some time.

PROS:
---
* Great bass reproductions from the walkman/included headset
* No limit on # of songs like ROKR's 100-song cap.
* Can play music in walkman mode on airplanes/hospital and places where cell phones are not permitted
* Plays AAC and MP3 files
* Good battery life. Longer than my 3rd Gen iPod.
* Camera quality is great for impromptu shots. Doesn't replace a good digicam, but is the best phone camera I've seen so far.
* Comes with a strong light that you can use to light up your camera shots, and even flash SOS signals (seriously! it's on the menu)
* Radio player has great quality sound and will show song title and artist text (for stations that support it)
* Syncs with OS X/iCal/iSync via Bluetooth
* Good Screen quality
* Charges through USB cable
* Menu/OS has decent UI compared to my Motorola V600. The joystick toggle in the center helps tremendously.
* Voice quality from phone/speaker phone is strong and clear

CONS:
---
* Does not play iTunes m4p files (purchased from iTunes music store)
* The auto-typing/completion is a bit finicky and takes some getting used to
* NO FLASH. There are some misleading descriptions out there saying the W800i has a flash. it does not. It has a light, but you will need to buy a seperate flash module.
* All the plug-ins/add-ons such as the jack, the charger, the USB cable, the headphones use the jack on the bottom of the phone. This means you cannot charge it while listening to the headphones.
* No AM on the radio. Just FM. In order to use the radio you must use the included headphones because the antenna is built-in to the headphones.
* The battery charge meter is a bit finicky. Sometimes it doesn't rise past 83% even though it has been charging all night.
* While transfering multiple files via Bluetooth, you have to verify each file by pressing a key, and there's a loud beep/noise for each confirmation. Better to just transfer through USB onto the memory stick duo.

Overall I am very pleased with the W800i.

The W800i is the first "Walkman" branded phone by Sony, which I really don't care too much about. The K750 plays MP3's as well, but the difference is that this phone comes with an adapter with a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the K750 you were stuck with the crummy proprietary headphones. Still, I wish Sony just put a 3.5mm jack directly on the phone so I didn't need that adapter cable.

Sound quality is excellent - the supplied 512MB memory stick is plenty for now, but if I really wanted I can put in up to 2GB of space using the MemoryStick DUO PRO. I haven't used the supplied Sony software for the PC sync yet, since I have a MemoryStick reader built-in to my Sony TR3A.

What I really love about the phone besides the 2 megapixel camera is the speakerphone function. The built-in speaker on the phone is not shabby at all, even for just casual music listening. It is perfectly suited for conference calls using the speakerphone. The mic picks up the voice clearly, and I haven't had any complaints from the other side (they rarely even notice that they are on speakerphone).

The FM tuner is a nice little perk, although you need the headset connected since it acts as the antenna.

The user interface is, surprisingly, very good. It's intuitive and responsive, and although officially you are "required" to use Sony's proprietary software to sync via cable, there is an update you can download that allows you to use iTunes to transfer songs to your W800i.

The W800i, for now, comes unlocked and ready to go on most GSM networks, which luckily includes T-Mobile. I just pulled my SIM card out of my now-gone T610, popped it in to the W800i and it was on the T-Mobile network as soon as it powered on. Reception has been good, the sound on the phone itself has been a little on the low side, but I don't think it's a huge problem since I'll be using my Bluetooth Jabra and speakerphone 95% of the time.

So in all, yes, the phone is $500. But it's worth every penny in my opinion. I'm not obliged to a contract that requires to me to give up my first-born, and it replaces THREE devices that would have taken up room in my pocket (phone, camera, mp3 player).

Convergence devices like this are the wave of the future, and I think Sony Ericsson is heading it the right direction.

thought i would update my review. it's my 2nd year of ownership: i don't baby my stuff, but this phone is more or less holding up, though a bit cracked and aged. the little orange jewel thing in the joystick fell out. the joystick itself no longer functions properly - this apparently is a common problem with w800's, if you research online. probably why sony replaced the joystick in the next model. the mp3 player is great, although this phone is limited to 2gb memory. stupid, proprietary, expensive memory! another annoyance: i have accidentally answered the phone, declined calls, and even gotten music playing, all while the phone is locked. be careful. the w800 is treacherous and will find a way to turn itself on and play white zombie right in the middle of church, even if locked and in vibrate mode. the camera shutter won't stay shut, so the lens is usually dusty and takes poor pics (like all cell phones; why do they insist on putting cameras on these things?). finally, sony seems to keep the volume purposely low - i have very good hearing, and have to leave it on maximum. it usually isn't enough in a loud city environment.

other than these observations, however: a good phone (in terms of connectivity and clarity), great music player. people are always impressed whenever they see it. excellent for long airplane trips, as opposed to carrying around an expensive, delicate, power-sucking, begging-to-be-stolen ipod. you could do way worse.

I got this phone around 2 weeks ago and I am very pleased with my purchase. I am using it on T-mobile. Note to T-mobile customers - be prepared for a 30 minute phone call to get the Internet features configured. Customer service was patient and efficient but they do not yet have the settings preconfigured to send an "over-the-air" (OTA) Configuration to this phone.

If you're looking for light, multi function global phone with an excellent camera (for a phone), I don't think there's a better one out at this point.
Pros:
- Excellent battery life
- 2 MP camera - intuitive use, takes video clips, good 4X6 print quality
- Great, bright screen and intuitive controls overall. This is one of my favorite aspects of the phone
- A lot of functionality music wise - mp3 playback, radio playback with RDS
- 512MB card - usually Sony's cheap when it comes to bundling memory media (they currently have a 7.2MP camera with a 32MB stick!) so this is nice. I will likely upgrade to a 2GB card.
- Tri-band world phone. You can take it pretty much anywhere around the world.
- Unlike the editorial review - I actually like the keys: they're a stiff enough to feel substantial and give good feedback when they are pressed.
- Touches which show that maybe a little too much thought has gone into the design: the light actually has an SOS mode. Pretty useless, but one of those geeky, cool features (that may one day save your life! :-) ).

Cons (not biggies though):
- The volume when wearing the headset is comfortable. However, in louder environments, even when maxed out, it's quieter than any Nokia I've owned.
- There is a single outlet for the headphones, USB and power cord. Now the USB can be used to charge the phone which is cool. It would've been nice to be able to charge the phone whilst listening to music or browsing the net since these are usually (in non-flight mode), battery intensive operations.
- Long term I wish there were options to go with other memory media than the memory stick. Sony's doing this on some of their laptops. I don't know how feasible it would be on their phones but other media are just plain cheaper with similar performance.

p.s. T-mobile customers - here are my settings if you want to avoid the 30 minute call to T-mobile. Use at your own risk:

Go to Menu->Settings->Connectivity tab->Internet Settings->Internet Profiles->Select
New Profile->Select
Name: T-Zones
Connect Using: T-Zones GPRS
Exit out - the profile named T-Zones should now be available. Highlight it (don't hit select)
More->Settings
Enter the following:
Connect Using: T-zones GPRS
Internet Mode: WAP
Gateway Address: 216.155.165.050
Security: Off
Username: leave blank
Password: leave blank
Exit out one level -> T-zones profile highlighted
More ->Advanced Settings
Change Homepage:
Name: T-Zones Address: http://wap.myvoicestream.com
P.S. if you have problems with MP3 uploads please check out the following thread: http://www.expansys.com/forumthread.asp?code=125173&thread=60

Others have done a great service of noting the pros of this phone: great mp3 handling, excellent 2mp camera, etc.
I would rate this phone 5 except for these cons:
1) Volume while using it as a handset is very low. This is not a problem if you use a bluetooth or corded headset. The speakerphone feature is excellent.
2) The camera shutter button is on the side of the phone and turns on the camera even if the phone's keys are locked. Sony informed me there is no way to disable this switch. If you carry your phone in a pocket it may switch on without your knowledge.

It is a beautiful looking phone and if you can live with the above you will be very happy. A great blend of 2mp digital camera, good sized mp3 player, great radio & an excellent phone. Contacts can be synched nicely with outlook. File transferring is similar to a flash drive. The phone also attracts attention with it's bright orange case & Walkman logo. This phone beats out the other mp3 capable phones.

I have a w800i cellphone. It's branded by cnet as the best mp3 phone. I have no qualms about it. It has built-in radio, a voice recorder, a 2-MP camera, a video recorder, games, schedulers, a stopwatch to play around with to gage my commute time, a timer to remind me that my ebay auction will end in 5 mminutes, a daily wakeup call, mp3-true -to-sound music ring tome (which means I can use my mp3 tunes as my ring tone so it sounds way better), the flashlight I use when i feel like reading in the bus, attaching photos with my contacts in the address book---etc. there is way so much more. Its just one cool cellphone. I know its rather a hefty price to pay, but my husbunny got it for me on my birthday---can I complain?

What the downside? I guess its the games. I should download better games.

I shopped around for a long time. In fact, I kept my old phone for almost three years, before finally deciding on this one. Why did I wait? I was waiting for a camera phone that had better than a 1MP camera.

This one succeeds admirably! In fact, I didn't even buy it for the Walkman/MP3 player aspects of the phone at all. I just wanted a great camera!

Several key points that I love about this product.

1. Comes with a great memory stick. That thing alone might cost 100 bucks.

2. Because it doubles as an MP3 player, it pretty much hands down beats the battery life of any other phone on the market, that I've seen. Easily lasts a good 6+ hours of straight talking. I usually recharge my phone about twice a week.

3. The headset that comes with the phone is amazing. You can plug any earphones you want on it, and it'll still work as a headset for the phone. (The connecting cord has call answering button on it, as well as the microphone for talking.)

4. Something neat about the phone is the USB cable that you use to transfer music and pictures with will actually charge your phone while it's sitting at your computer. Very handy, by effectively having two charge cables shipped with the camera.

5. Very easy to transfer files. Once it's plugged in, basically works as another disk drive on your computer.

6. Held sideways, (when taking pictures) people honestly can't tell it's a phone. Oh, and the flash doubles as a turn on/turn off mini-flashlight. Quite bright too!

7. Durable! I've dropped the thing multiple times and nary a scratch. Literally. That orange band around this thing must be some type of metal or alloy.

8. The MP3 functionality/menu system is actually pretty good. Definitely better than simply a "phone that plays music". Also, you can set any MP3 as a ringtone for your phone. LOVE THAT.(Can also specify a tone/mp3 for each person in your phonebook.) Took me a bit to figure out though. You essentially have to have a second copy of the MP3 in a certain directory on the phone. Oh, and you can play music through the phone's speaker - w/out headphones! One button on the side, and you're listening to tunes.

9. Internal memory is large as well. Also, I love the speed dial functionality. Enormously easy to set up.

10. Finally, the screen is fantastic. Large, vivid, clear. One touch to turn on camera functionality (esentially opening the lens cover.)

The thing is just a well-built phone. Sony has a knack for compressing a lot of functionality into a little space. (I had a Sony Vaio computer about six years ago. Amazing.) All of their products are trendsetting, ever since the original Walkman, and all the way through Playstation, PS2, PSP, their cameras, etc etc.

Just get the thing, you won't regret it.

Original review: Dec. 13 '05.

Update on 7/20/06.

Still use the phone, still love it. I wanted to add a few things. My original Sony battery waned. In other words, it kept the phone powered for shorter and shorter periods of time, even though I wasn't doing anything differently. However, I bought a replacement generic battery, and it's working fine and has been for months.

The other thing is, the pictures are great! I still haven't found a better camera on a phone. Other people have mentioned the night pictures. Well, you have to turn the flash on manually, in order to take pictures at night. If you're close up, you can still get some credible pictures on, provided you turn on the flash. They're not great, and kind of grainy, but not horrible either.

I haven't seen the 810i up close, but I cannot believe Sony didn't put a 3mp camera in it! I would have looked at getting that one, except for that problem.

PROS:
1) The screen is very bright, vivid, and sharp.
The menu is not sluggish at all as seen with previous Sony Ericsson models.
2) The casing itself provides the clear screen protection. Therefore, if your screen gets scratched or cracked then you can easily interchange the casing/housing of your phone to get a brand new look and feel for your aging phone.
3) The background supports animated gifs files for cool and unique wallpapers and screensavers.
4) Their is a dedicated shortcut button for both the walkman and the camera.
5) In the camera mode the built in flash is easily turned on by pressing the '*' key.
6) The built-in camera is superior to all camera phones currently on the market. The camera provides features like frame shooting, burst shooting, self-timer, sepia, solarize, white balance, night mode, and macro shooting. The preview function is also similar to digital cameras with tiled preview and zoom capabilities.
7) File transfer is hassle free. The phone is equiped with blue tooth, infrared, USB transfer, and external memory stick.
8) Quick dedicated button for phone status, instantly provides memory status (phone memory and memory stick) and most importantly % battery charged to take the guess work out of battery meter icons.
9) Phone can charge via provided USB cable. Essential if you use a laptop all the time since you no longer have to find an outlet for your laptop and phone.
10) Headphone adapter provides the standard headphone jack, so you can use your favorite headphones for the Walkman and hand-free operation purposes
11) Provided headphones are excellent with great bass response and passive noise cancellation.
12) Man screen shows date and time.

CONS:
1) Camera shutter button sometimes is flipped accidentally
2) Camera is sensitive to camera jitter. So make sure you have a steady hand when taking photos or use the self-time function.
3) Alarm clock may not be loud enough to wake the heavy sleeper.

Excellent phone review at CNET.com, where it won editor's pick and user's pick awards.

If you are spending nearly $500 for a phone then you should be getting the best. If you are business oriented and need a smart phone, then get something from Nokia.

But if you are looking for an entertainment unit, then my friends this is a no brainer.

I used to own the k750i and sold it to purchase this. The k750i and the w800i are the EXACT same phones except for cosmetic changes, a huge memory stick for the w800i, and brilliant headphones that come with this.

The reason I sold my k750i was that I was having constant issues with the software. It kept shutting down and gave me headaches because of it. It also had an unfortunately flimsy case. Most k750i sets have squeaking issues. So I got the w800i and man it is sweet. The case feels solid and sturdy. It actually feels like a $500 phone. Aside from that, I just love the Walkman brand. (I know how stupid that sounds)

Pros:

1. It has half a gig of memory for your music and sports the walkman brand -- nostalgia city for 25 year olds like myself. Plus the headphones are sweet as sin. They even come with three separate ear bud sizes. And when you put them on, without even turning on the music you can hear your heart beat... yes they are that snug. Plus they are extremely easy to put around your neck with the attachment that comes with them. The equalizer is also quite good, and with mega bass on, there is nothing short of an ipod that rivals this.

2. Like the k750i, java games of all sorts for this set can be found on the net, though download with care in case something corrupts your software. You are better off downloading games made for/or by well known brands. [...]

3. Superb camera and outstanding FM radio reception. The camera is different only cosmetically to the k750i, in that the shutter in this is handled via switch while in the k750i it is opened/closed by hand. I actually prefer the camera shutter system in the w800i.

Semi Con:

When turned off, I definitely think that the k750i looks sexier than the w800i. It has a beautiful black/silver look etc. The w800i looks odd when turned off, since it is basically white with orange colors. However when the w800i is turned on, there is NO competition. The orange screen and the orange back light go deliciously well with the case and it looks quite brilliant.

Bottom line is that this phone rocks!

EDIT:

I just wanted to add a couple more comments. Firstly I still haven't had any of the issues I had had with the k750i. I also wanted to note that taking pictures has been faster with this phone. It could very well be because the k750i had come with older firmware (which can be updated from the official website though can be risky if you don't know what you are doing).

But whatever the reason may be, every time I took a photo with the k750i I had to wait a few more seconds for it to be processed than I have had to with the w800i.

One last advantage I have noticed is that with the w800i, the music library is superbly organized. Whenever I hit the 'walkman' button, I am quickly taken to a screen where music is organized by, "Artists", "Tracks", "Playlists", and "Videos".