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Media Playback on the Sony Ericsson W995
14 Nov 2009
Sony Ericsson may seem to churn out Walkman phones at an almost unseemly pace, but with the W995 it may well have created the best of the recent bunch. Unlike the other phones in the W range, the W995 packs a whole host of features that make it a true multimedia phone that verges on becoming a fully fledged smartphone. Since the Sony Ericsson W995 media playback is still its strong point, let us take a quick peek at what makes this the new king of the music phones.
The first observation relates to the design of the W995. Whilst other Walkman phones have featured great music software, they have been let down somewhat by careless design, namely the exclusion of a proper, dedicated headphone socket. The W995 comes to the rescue with a 3.5mm socket that will happily accept whatever headphones you throw at it. Since the Sony Ericsson W995 media playback is excellent and the audio quality is hard to beat it really deserves a good set of headphones to make the most of this new socket. The W995 is also far more in tune with the multimedia environment than previous offerings. This is highlighted by the inclusion of a kick stand which allows you to rest the device on a flat surface and angle the screen towards you without having to cradle it in your hands. If you are on a long journey and do not feel like keeping your palms nice and clammy with the phone in your grasp then this is a neat, low-tech feature that will impress for its ingenuity.
Rather than placing all of the Walkman controls on the front, Sony Ericsson has instead relegated them to the side. Whilst this does give the phone a clean look, the buttons are now often difficult to press and until you get used to their positions you will find yourself groping around and squinting at your phone to find the right key.
If you are looking to share your W995 media playback with more than one person then there are two options at your disposal. The first is in the form of built in stereo speakers which, as you might expect from a high-end music phone, can belt out a decent tune despite their comparatively small size. The second is the included docking station which has stereo speakers as well as an antennae for picking up radio stations whilst the phone is docked. The speakers themselves are impressive considering their relatively small size and though the dock is slightly flimsy it is perfect if you want to watch a movie with a friend or create a mini party atmosphere when you are on the move.
The Sony Ericsson W995 media playback software is just as simple to get to grips with as it has been on previous generations of Walkman phones, but there are a couple of additions which, while not earth-shattering, are at least partially practical. The first, TrackID, is a nifty little program that you can use if you hear a song playing and you cannot pinpoint the artist or track name. Something similar already exists on many other phones, but usually as a downloadable app rather than a pre-installed program. The second innovation is essentially an overgrown visualise which lets you know whether a song is happy or sad and which portions are fast and slow. Whilst you do not really need this information relayed to you unless you cannot hear, it is at least a unique addition to the stable of media playback features available.
Sony Ericsson may seem to churn out Walkman phones at an almost unseemly pace, but with the W995 it may well have created the best of the recent bunch. Unlike the other phones in the W range, the W995 packs a whole host of features that make it a true multimedia phone that verges on becoming a fully fledged smartphone. Since the Sony Ericsson W995 media playback is still its strong point, let us take a quick peek at what makes this the new king of the music phones.
The first observation relates to the design of the W995. Whilst other Walkman phones have featured great music software, they have been let down somewhat by careless design, namely the exclusion of a proper, dedicated headphone socket. The W995 comes to the rescue with a 3.5mm socket that will happily accept whatever headphones you throw at it. Since the Sony Ericsson W995 media playback is excellent and the audio quality is hard to beat it really deserves a good set of headphones to make the most of this new socket. The W995 is also far more in tune with the multimedia environment than previous offerings. This is highlighted by the inclusion of a kick stand which allows you to rest the device on a flat surface and angle the screen towards you without having to cradle it in your hands. If you are on a long journey and do not feel like keeping your palms nice and clammy with the phone in your grasp then this is a neat, low-tech feature that will impress for its ingenuity.
Rather than placing all of the Walkman controls on the front, Sony Ericsson has instead relegated them to the side. Whilst this does give the phone a clean look, the buttons are now often difficult to press and until you get used to their positions you will find yourself groping around and squinting at your phone to find the right key.
If you are looking to share your W995 media playback with more than one person then there are two options at your disposal. The first is in the form of built in stereo speakers which, as you might expect from a high-end music phone, can belt out a decent tune despite their comparatively small size. The second is the included docking station which has stereo speakers as well as an antennae for picking up radio stations whilst the phone is docked. The speakers themselves are impressive considering their relatively small size and though the dock is slightly flimsy it is perfect if you want to watch a movie with a friend or create a mini party atmosphere when you are on the move.
The Sony Ericsson W995 media playback software is just as simple to get to grips with as it has been on previous generations of Walkman phones, but there are a couple of additions which, while not earth-shattering, are at least partially practical. The first, TrackID, is a nifty little program that you can use if you hear a song playing and you cannot pinpoint the artist or track name. Something similar already exists on many other phones, but usually as a downloadable app rather than a pre-installed program. The second innovation is essentially an overgrown visualise which lets you know whether a song is happy or sad and which portions are fast and slow. Whilst you do not really need this information relayed to you unless you cannot hear, it is at least a unique addition to the stable of media playback features available.
