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Sony Ericsson Walkman Announcement
Today is the three years' anniversary of the Sony Ericsson Walkman product family. Back in 2005, the pioneer W800i model established a new market trend. The things were going fine all the way. Music phone sported surprisingly high sales, the audio quality was above the average standards of those days, - in fact, it was just excellent, - the player interface was just as good as the rest of the features, let alone the rich bundling. Hardly anything has changed since in Walkman products. Meanwhile, the other influential manufacturers made their way to making music phones no worse (and, on multiple occasions, apparently better) than Sony Ericsson offers; competition is always beneficial for the consumer, so the prices didn't exceed Sony Ericsson's either. Nokia found their specialty in adding dedicated media control buttons and widely adopting the 3.5 mm standard audio socket. Samsung and LG took the path of equipping their handsets with dedicated audio processing units (Nokia also makes use of the technology, yet they never wasted so much breath on promoting it publicly). Sony Ericsson still sticks to the goodwill accumulated by their Walkman brand in the best days, backed up by the continuity of tradition and maximized comfort of the player interface. This may or may not sound convincing, - yet facts are facts, - and Sony Ericsson's seemingly modest (or, as some would say, even outdated) heritage invested into the new models still gives them an immense impact, for player is just as much of an important matter in a music phone as anything else. The lack of a 3.5 mm standard socket isn't a drawback too serious to scrape down the 'music' label from a phone; vice versa, Samsung i450 comes with the 3.5 mm and a quality audio, but the player is nowhere near to being handy. You can't even create user profiles for the equalizer. Nokia N82 offers the 3.5 mm and a decent player, but the sound quality is drastic. The same, in some way or another, is applicable to various Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and, in general, any imaginable brand; for everything at a time is nothing ever.
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Son Ericsson have always been credited with the best player interface on the market. So far it remains such. Extra features are always pleasant, and these come in plenty. Even if a single person will hardly ever make use of all of them, these features combined make a fine bait for the target audience. The much mentioned SenseMe is a good example, being in essence a unique plugin sorting the tracks by their mood and tempo. The review of W910i published on our site has covered much ground in this direction; SenseMe debuted in this very model, but now makes an essential part of the standard set of features found in the 3.0 revision of Sony Ericsson's Walkman player application.
Another characteristic feature of Sony Ericsson's music phones it the effective joint operation of the motion sensor and the music player – a subtle sway of the phone in a wanted direction can be used to switch tracks, tweak the sound volume, etc. The three basic actions are Next Track, Previous Track and Random Track – even this is just enough to make your music experience comfortable not only in the aesthetical sense, but as well in the sense of ergonomics – an aspect often neglected by other companies (not out of short-sightedness, of course, but due to objective reasons like the natural impossibility to stick every possible feature inside a single model). The required gestures are sway forward, sway back and shake chaotically, respectively. To restrict unwanted switching, it is obligatory to hold pressed the Walkman button when making a control gesture, otherwise the phone (just as you would naturally want) will not react. The Shake Control has hardly ever committed a wrong action over the whole period of time that we spent experimenting with various Sony Ericsson phones sporting this functionality. The two new models announced today (W595 and W902) go even further in this field, allowing to adjust the audio volume merely by tilting the phone at different angles.
Well for now; after having an experience with each of the new models, I've made up a priority list of my own. Some of the features appear essential while others are only minor or just aren't to my liking. The thing is that my personal opinion obviously is not going to affect the sales of these devices, so let me pour out a bit of personal emotion.
Sony Ericsson W595
Sony Ericsson W595 (Linda). This slider is a direct sequel to the W580i model, the new version having done away with everything which failed with the public in the preceding model. The keypad now works as it should, - that is, you won't be getting any problems with it, - contrary to a (mis)information which had previously surfaced on a certain site, most likely due to an occasional failure in an early pre-sale sample which wasn't left unattended by the picky expert wannabes. Well, the little bit of scandal helped to win extra attention, but the misunderstanding was shortly settled, so we wouldn't be expecting any future claims of the sort.
The phone is handsome in the very direct meaning of this word. The design, the feel, the materials are simply amazing. The blue color version comes with a soft-touch coating, the white and pink one uses a sort of plastic identical to W580i – firm and pearly. Different materials used for different colors is a very smart move. The assembly is pretty good: no part gives out a creak on pressing, all parts are tightly fitted to each other. The shiny pieces are all metal, so don't be expecting to see any paint which might peel off over time. The sliding mechanism is a bit tight, which on the other hand prevents wobbliness. The rounded casing angles create a very becoming harmony.
The stereo speaker reside at the top and bottom ends of the slider. The audio quality is very impressive – mind the deep basses rarely heard on miniature handheld gadgets. This is clearly better than Nokia N78, without any doubt. The distance between the speakers is enough to feel the stereo to the full. We have long been looking forward to a full-blown stereo in a SE phone.
W595 is only 14 mm thick, that is no larger or smaller than W580i, but the metal adds to the weight in a perceptible way. The interior surface of the slider is also plated with metal, each variant sporting its own etched texture. I have always been fond of SE's approach to details, which is apparent in this model as well. The first and primary color version to enter the market is blue; the white one will only start selling five or six weeks later.
The other features are a 2.2'' QVGA screen and a standardized set of control buttons… a few games come preinstalled, one of them requiring some skill with the Shake Control. A few interface themes are available, all sporting very original and appealing looks. The camera doesn't make miracles, the same old unit of W760i makes a reappearance; just as deprived of auto-focusing as before. The quality is passable for a music phone, so there's little reason in further complaints. The headset sound quality is pretty good, though W902 and W980 still sound better. W595 lacks the Clear Audio Experience settings tab, which is no petty deal as long as it goes to audio quality.
By the way, a few words about Clear audio. The high frequencies don't get muffled as the bass increases, the music sounds very natural, the equalizers have a pronounced impact on the sounding.
A 2 Gb memory card is included in the sales package, the handset will start selling in October at a price revolving around 320 euros. Whether the price is justified or not is up to you to decide. My personal opinion is that the image impact of the phone is enough to justify the price, the phone looks really exquisite. The most likely competitors are Nokia 5610 XpressMusic, but only in the music department, when it comes to design W595 easily defeats anything else from its class. Save probably for its senior sister W760i. The specifications are all the same, plus an onboard GPS receiver which is missing from W595 (yet the latter has Google Maps installed). W595 still has the advantage of the best looks and a better quality, augmented by the metal pieces and a pair of very good stereo speakers. The decision is up to you. I would hardly favor GPS in a music phone. In case someone keeps to an opposite opinion – they're the ones who will find W760i the best choice, the rest are advised to have a look at W595.
Sony Ericsson W302
Sony Ericsson W302 (Feng) is one of the most prominent Sony Ericsson's signature products with a market campaign covering the final months of the year. A mass-scale promotional campaign is in the works, aiming to push the product onto the mass market and stimulate interest in an all-embracing audience. We were surprised to discover an alternate opinion aired in a review published by a mobile expert site, attributing the handset with cheap materials and dubbing it a niche product – our best guess would be that our homologues were a bit in a hurry, choosing to compose the review without possession of actual product samples, rather using photos obtained from the web instead. We decided to keep from posting photos taken by a remote European tester, so this article only contains genuine pictures taken from an actual product sample in our photo lab. The photos reveal the posh face panel made from anodized aluminum, exactly of the same kind that the expensive Sony Ericsson W890i uses. The back panel is dotted plastic with a matte surface to conceal scratches.
The screen isn't quite up to the latest standards, being just a 2.0'', 176x220 piece. The image isn't as crisp as on a QVGA matrix. For a budget solution, that will do, nevertheless.
W302 is just 10,5 mm thick – by a small margin thicker than the senior models as W890i. The gadget bases off the A200 platform, though the player version is 2.0, which stands for a lack of SenseMe functionality. Neither you will find Google Maps, which is simply too much for a budget product. The model will begin selling in October, available in two color versions – silver and black. Because of the company's intention to make W302 a mass product, extra color versions are well expected. This handset will likely act as a replacement for W200, the first mass produced and affordable Walkman. W302 will sell for about 200 euros, though the price will shortly be cut to a more tempting value.
Sony Ericsson W902
Sony Ericsson W902 (Patty) is the best Walkman around. Its strong sides are compact size, handsome design and goods specs combined in a balanced and all-sufficient solution. A rich bundling includes a 8 Gb M2 Micro flash card! Such an offer has long been missing from the product family. Of late, many Walkman models tended to share pronounced fashion traits (W890i, W910i, W980i), while W902 carries a 5 Mp camera with auto-focusing and flash. Plus a usable interface just like in a Cyber-shot device.
The design and materials are another serious advantage of W902. The handset has a slightly asymmetrical shape, the ribbed piece spanning along the right side of the screen, all of the player control buttons shifted to the side. The advantages of dedicated controls are obvious. It is unclear why the company which first introduced a specialized music phone has so long been ignoring the idea. At last we have a set of dedicated player controls in a music phone by Sony Ericsson. The buttons are made from transparent plastic without a coating, so they will never grow worn spots. You can make equal use of these buttons and Shake Control to switch tracks.
The screen is 2.2'' large, the picture is very vivid-colored and natural. For a number of times I pointed out that Sony Ericsson had a good tradition of supplying their phones with some of the best screens available. The protective glass is mineralized, highly resistant to scratching. The face panel features a glossy plastic piece which easily accumulates fingerprints, though the rest of the surface sports a soft-touch coating, including the keypad buttons and the casing edges.
The battery bay cover looks and feels like carbon, though in reality it's plastic plated with etched metal. The camera lens resides at the bottom end of the casing; it is protected with a mineralized glass as well. Apparently not being a camera phone, W902 lacks a lens guard. The camera is of the same kind with Sony Ericsson C902. Only one speaker is installed on board, yet it's one of the best currently available mono speakers, providing sufficient quality and volume. The Walkman button sits on the top edge of the phone; there's no separate on/off button. The left edge hosts a Fast-Port slot intended for phone-to-PC synchronization, charging and plugging the bundled HPM-77 handset. The latter is probably the best miniature headset to ever appear in a sales package. Their initial appearance is expected in the sales box of W980i right in this month, though by autumn they will become available as an independent item at retail stores.
The headset combines elegant design and high quality – the sound is good indeed, provided that you use the headset in a bundle with W980i or W902. These two models have a Clear Audio Experience settings menu, providing serious sounding advantages.
The sales package also includes a USB adapter for M2 Micro cards; the design was slightly changed since W910i. It's a handy little device facilitating photo and music transfers, eliminating the necessity of a card reader. The supplied 8 Gb card is a very generous gift fully justifying the relatively high price of the solution. W902 will start selling by late October at a price of 350 euros. You get a highly functional music phone with the latest player version on board, a motion sensor, a camera not too bad for a music phone, a variety of audio enhancing settings, a nice quality of assembly and materials after all. The handset is accompanied by a 8 Gb memory card and a high-quality headset available from the sales box. Following the New Year, the price will be corrected, eventually making the product a very balanced solution.
Each of the three new SE phones is remarkable for its own strong sides. The prices may look a bit above a reasonable estimation, though it's all right for the latest and hottest market entries. Sony Ericsson pay a great attention to design and assembly quality, considering the slightest details with great care, especially when it comes down to their hi-end products. We will be publishing detailed reviews of each of the three new handsets shortly. Feel free to address us with questions, if any, on our smape.com forums.
Author: Anton Spiridonov SMAPE.com
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