Quick W810 review and my ideal phone



OK, so after a couple of weeks with my Sony Ericsson W810 the verdict is: It's a nice phone, but not all that I hoped for. Some things I should have checked out more (headphone adaptor) and Alan also highlighted that it didn't have a cover for the camera lens and while I haven't scratched my previous camera phone much, I really like the security of the Nokia 6680 I use, with a sliding cover over the camera lens.

Things I like:
- The UI is fast and responsive, especially relative to my T630
- There are improvement in the UI design and interaction flow of SMS creation, calendar and alarms which work better for me.
- I am happy with the camera, though the tactile feedback in pressing the shutter isn't good and sometimes it's hard to press it properly and get the photo when you expect.
- Satin Black look with orange iridium-like accents (ahhh fashion...)

Things I don't like:
- No Albumn listing within the Walkman functionality??? WTF!?
- Unfortunately the iTunes My Walkman script doesn't seem to carry through playlist info :-( I don't hold much hope that Apple will support the Walkman phone ;-)
- Battery seems not that impressive, but I put mine through a fair bit. It's usually connected to my laptop via bluetooth for SMS and incoming call control. Plus I try and sync over bluetooth at least once a day. Battery lasts about 3-4 days.
- The battery indicator sometimes can't make up it's mind, going from red back up to green etc. It also seems to sit for a long while in the red zone, which just stresses me out.. ;-)

So if I could have my perfect phone:
- iTunes functionality
- Has a standard headphone jack
- Have Sony Ericsson's sexy UI
- Be a Series 60 phone for breadth of applications
- have a 2MP+ camera (w/autofocus)
- have the dual lens of the Kodak V570
- Cover over the camera lens(s)
- Internal flash memory of 2GB
- Takes a Memory Stick Pro Duo (well that's what I've built my digital life around... bloody Sony)
- Form factor of the or the Moto Razr L7 with a V3 version for flip phone people
- Standard USB mini plug for syncing/charging (like the Moto L7)
- Bluetooth
- sync with Apple iSync and download photos to iPhoto (why hasn't Apple built this into iSync for phones yet? They have iPhoto sync for the Photo iPods...)
- shoot video at VGA :-)
- Softkey would be configurable (I would set to Opera Mini)
- great battery with accurate battery indicator :-)

BTW I have been thinking of getting a Moto L7 to play with/fashion phone and came across an overview of the hackability of Motos which makes it a bit more tempting...
I also like the idea of the Sony Ericsson K800 with the 3.2MP camera).
Though I should get another Series 60 phone and the Nokia N73 looks good - out later in the year though...

So, (as someone else said recently) hurry up Apple, build me a phone!

Posted: Fri - April 28, 2006 at 04:11 PM        

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