Sony Ericsson W580 review
Network and connections
An absolutely attractive phone, both from a functional and an economic point of view, offered by Sony Ericsson for the entertainment segment. Starting from the technical features, we can say that the W580 is a GSM Quadband, capable of working on the frequencies of 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz. Although it does not support the UMTS network, it still guarantees good signal coverage. Internet browsing is guaranteed by the presence of the WAP/HTML browser, with data traffic management in GPRS, although an internal modem is not provided. To exchange data with other devices, you can use the USB 2.0 data cable, or Bluetooth connectivity wirelessly.
Design and features
The exterior look of this phone is really interesting. The design is high tech, with contrasting colors and glossy, shiny surfaces. The upper part integrates the display, a TFT with a resolution of 240x320 pixels, with a maximum display of 256 thousand colors. "Urban style" colors are provided, in Boulevard Black, Urban Grey and Style White. The structure can be opened with a Slider movement, to free up the standard alphanumeric keyboard inside. The dimensions are in line with the main competitors: 14 mm thick for 94 grams of weight.
Main features
Navigating through the menus is easy and intuitive, although you need to get a minimum of familiarity with the Sony Ericsson menus. Clearly, the most common utilities are not missing, such as an agenda for appointments, contacts list, alarm clock and calculator. The voice sector instead offers an integrated hands-free with good sound quality, as well as the voice recorder and support for multiconferencing. The T9 predictive text support helps with composing SMS, multimedia messages and E-mails. Java support allows you to install compatible software, so as to customize your device.
Entertainment and multimedia
The W580 is created specifically to offer entertainment tools. In fact, it is part of the Walkman series, a guarantee of sound quality in music playback. Its player is in fact able to faithfully reproduce music in various formats, with adjustments via equalizer. Everything can be managed through dedicated keys, easily identifiable on the upper part of the phone. The W580 is also equipped with a receiver for FM radio frequencies, so you can listen to your favorite stations, also relying on the RDS function. There is also a camera with a resolution of 2 megapixels, handy for taking photographs at any moment, thanks to the integrated 4x Zoom and Flash. The memory available for various data is only 12 MB, expandable with Memory Stick Micro cards. Portability is quite good, with a battery life of 370 hours in Stand-by.