Sony Ericsson W660i

The W660i from Sony Ericsson with 3G, bluetooth, videophone and Walkman® music player is a cool phone to have. The classic black & gold phone looks great on men and they also have a red colour version for the ladies.

The phone is rich with features though not over-rich. It does well as a communication device and is capable of providing sufficient entertainment on the move.

The phone is equipped with a bright 176 x 220px TFT colour screen, 2MP camera for pictures on the back plus a camera in front for video calls. It has 3G connectivity and an inbuilt powerful internet browser, POP email client, messenger and RSS reader giving you access to mobile internet over 3G. The phone is tri-band (GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900 & UMTS 2100) and so will work worldwide. The phone is equipped with Bluetooth technology and allows A2DP for bluetooth headsets, FTP for sending/receiving files over bluetooth, DUN for using the phone as a wireless modem, PAN for bluetooth networking and HID for controlling a computer mouse or projector using bluetooth. Of course the W in the phone name means it has sonys Walkman® music player and comes complete with Mp3 and AAC file support and MegaBass™ technology for the ultimate listening experience (much better than the iPods). It also allows you to browse your music by track, artist, album or play list.

Additional features include support for Java, video playback, speaker phone, FM radio, vibrating alert, T9, MMS, animated wallpapers, profiles, calendar, alarm clock and a host of other useful bits. The phone can be connected and synchronized to a PC over USB and there is a micro SD card slot for expanding available memory.

Out of the box the phone comes with a Li-ion rechargeable battery which gives about 6 hours of talk time, a 512KB M2 memory card, and a hands free kit with Walkman® earphones.

The phone is pretty sleek, 14.5 mm thick (though the later model W890i 9.9mm beats this for the same set of features).

The phone body is plastic and well finished giving it an elegant look. The phone has volume, camera and Walkman® buttons on the side. The external port (for charger/USB/hands free is at the bottom) and the power button is on top. The front of the phone has the standard numeric keypad, a central circular set of navigation keys, plus extra keys for select, more, back, cancel and Walkman®. The extra keys are also arranged in a circular looking effect to match the central circular keys. The circular key sets have gold borders to make them stand out. In Walkman® mode the keys change function and can be used to control the music player. The phone feels solid and can be dropped a few times without consequences. The keys are soft, well spaced and ideal for fast texters. The phone is illuminated with a white backlight in phone mode and turns to orange in Walkman® mode. The backlight fades in and out giving it a nice feel. The phones body is not user-changeable and so you are stuck with the colour you buy.

The phone software will feel familiar to sony ericsson users. The software runs smoothly without hanging or restarting or shutting down. The interface is well done and colours can be customized using themes. Basic settings are remembered between shut-downs and do not have to be re-done, contacts can be backed up on to the memory stick and there is also support for flight mode, speed dialling and voice control.

Overall the phone is a great buy and though not the latest in the Walkman® range, it offers very good value for money and has features most users will find both useful and pleasing.

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