Sony Ericsson W580i Black Phone (AT&T)

Editorial Review:

Sony Ericsson shakes things up with its new quad-band W580i Walkman phone, introducing an innovative "shake to shuffle" feature that randomly chooses another song stored on your phone with just a flick of the wrist. This thin, slider-style phone also features a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, fast Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR connectivity with music streaming, Memory Stick Micro expansion, Web browser for viewing full Internet sites, email access, an FM radio with RDS, and EDGE data support.

With AT&T's Mobile Music service, you can access your Napster subscription service for music downloads to keep you booming out the tunes for up to 20 hours.

AT&T Service
The W580i operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution"), with availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. This third-generation, high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.

The phone has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T's MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. It also features AT&T Mobile Music, which provides access to the Napster subscription music service in addition to Music ID song-recognition software, music videos and The Buzz music news portal. (A MEdia Max subscription bundle is recommended for accessing AT&T's Internet, video, and music services.)

Phone Features
The W580i Walkman phone offers a full-function digital audio player that's compatible with MP3 and AAC files. The front of this slider phone includes dedicated music control buttons, and it includes Sony Ericsson's innovative "shake to shuffle" feature. With Shake control activated, press and hold the Walkman key and flick your wrist. A vibration lets you know that the track has been changed--a new song from your current playlist is randomly selected and automatically played.

With the TrackID service, you can identify any song that you can hear by just recording a snippet of sound using the microphone. After sending the file for recognition, you'll have the name, artist and album sent to your phone. Other Walkman features include MegaBass enhancement for added depth of sound, a flight mode that lets you keep listening to tunes with the phone's network connectivity turned off, and Disc2Phone software for easy transfer of song files between phone and PC. It also includes a built-in FM radio with RDS, which displays the name of the currently playing song (when tuned to compatible radio stations).

This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity with EDR (enhanced data rate), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server.

The built-in 2.0 megapixel camera captures stills and video--and playback of video or still pictures is only limited to the memory card size. Picture effects and custom screensavers, backgrounds, and themes can be setup to fit your personality. It provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC (either using USB or Bluetooth). And the W580i makes it easy to send snapped photos directly to a blog or an online photo, complete with text. This phone is also compatible with RTSP/3GPP streaming video playback

You can even take your favorite tracks to the track with the W580i, which will count your steps, your calories and monitor your running speed/distance/time with the integrated motion sensor. Your workout results are stored in your phone so you can monitor your progress.

The phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3 and IMAP4 protocols, while the included Access NetFront Web Browser allows you to surf full HTML web sites. It also supports RSS feeds, allowing you to use your phone to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you. Support is built in for sending and receiving text, video, graphics and sound via messages.

The phone also supports the SyncML PC synchronization standard. This means the phone can be used with the included Sony Ericsson Sync Station software, which lets you synchronize your Microsoft Outlook calendar, contacts, notes and tasks on your PC with the phone.

Other features include:

• 2-inch LCD with a 240 x 320-pixel resolution and support for 262K colors
• Up to 1000 contact entries, each with five number fields
• Built-in pedometer and fitness applications
• Picture blogging with Google Blogger
• Mobile email and messaging via AOL/AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN
• Java support for online and offline 3D games (preloaded games include PacMan and Ms. PacMan)
• USB 2.0 wired connectivity with mass storage capability
• PIM functions including calendar, tasks, notes, alarm, calculator, stopwatch, and timer
• T9 text entry technology
• 72-chord polyphonic ringtones and MP3 ringtones
• Digital audio file formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+

Vital Statistics
The W580i weighs 3.32 ounces and measures 3.9 x 1.85 x 0.55 inches. Its 930 mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated at up to 9 hours of talk time, and up to 370 hours of digital standby time; the phone will also play for up to 20 hours when in Music Mode. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

Would be an awesome phone, BUT BREAKS EASILY:

My wife and I got matching phones (she got the white 580i) and we both loved them at first. They have awesome features, they look cool, and great call quality.
We text a lot and as most people know already, the buttons crack. Not only that, I've had other buttons stop working all together. It's not a fluke either.
In one years time, I've had to warranty replace my phone 4 times and my wife had to warranty replace hers 5 times. Don't bother with this phone.

it's no iPhone but it does play music:

It's not a smart phone but it does support Java games which is a nice extra. Expandable memory is nice and the 2 megapix camera actually does a pretty good job in sufficient light. Good standby life and extra batteries are cheap anyway.
Pros:
Small Form Factor
Slider is a nice design
Decent Camera
Loud Speaker
Cool Color Pulse Options
Easy to navigate interface
Shake to Shuffle is neat but you have to still hold the walkman button to use it.
Built in... more info

A very good phone with minor flaws:

I like the phone very much. Its sexy with great lights and the screen is bright. It is also my one & only mp3 player. I pair it with HBH-DS980 (bluetooth headset) or HPM-82 (wired headset). You have to buy both separately and I wish they put HPM-82 instead of the other headset in the box. I also use it to check the walking I do each day thanks to built-in pedometer. I also use it for my morning alarm and for occasionally used calender.
Now coming to the flaws (though they are minor)
1) The... more info

Far too fragile:

This is a pretty good phone with a lot of good features when it works. Unfortunately, I will soon be on my fourth of these phones in less than 8 months, and I take good care of them. (My first replacement was sent DOA.)
Add on the fact that AT&T cellular customer support is beyond dismal, and run away from this phone. The warranty is an absolute joke. If it's not a known issue, they assume you abused it and charge $100 or $150 (depending on who you talk to) and an extra $13 for priority shipping... more info

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