28 May 2008
The Sony Ericsson S500i mobile phone is a slider handset that comes in its very own two colour schemes: spring yellow and mysterious green. The mobile phone is 99mm x 47mm x 14mm in size and weighs approximately 94 grams, which fits in its user's pocket or mini-bag. The inner part of the phone welcomes the user with number-pad surround and lime-coloured keys. The rest of Sony Ericsson S500i's casing is predominantly black, accented by edges in silver grey colour and silver-coloured icons and buttons.

While it possesses the features that other Sony Ericsson phones flaunt, the Sony Ericsson S500i is a stand-out with its automatically changing themes and sidelights that come in various colour schemes. The sidelights seemingly pulsate according to the user's selected scheme during incoming calls. Interestingly, the Sony Ericsson S500i allows its user to choose from a host of different colours for particular callers.

The Sony Ericsson S500i's three themes change on various durations. The handset enlivens with over 262,000 colours in its 320 x 240 pixels display, which, according to users, are sharp and clear. While the company is not the first to incorporate this eye-candy feature, Sony Ericsson aptly integrated the theme-and-sidelights element in its Sony Ericsson S500i, which gives it a pleasant touch.

Standards-wise, the phone allows multimedia messaging and text messaging. The user will be able to compose his or her messages conveniently using the clear-cut keypad of the handset and a predictive text feature input. Its large display screen is viewable whether the Sony Ericsson S500i is closed or open, which is offers continuous viewing at the user's convenience.

There are a gamut of other features that the Sony Ericsson S500i boasts, including RSS-to-mobile e-mail and Web browsing which can be done through Access Netfront capabilities. The mobile phone has a built-in, 2-megapixel camera with a 4x digital zoom that doesn't come with a flash. Though the camera seems downright basic and simple, users have been happy about its performance, and reviews have rated it average in terms of usability. The internal memory of the Sony Ericsson S500i allows storage of date of up to 12 Megabytes, which may be expanded, at the user's discretion, by purchasing a memory stick.

What's more, the Sony Ericsson S500i is capable of recording videos and allows its user to enjoy video streaming directly from the handset. It is also interesting to note that the Sony Ericsson S500i phone is not all work. It also has installed games to entertain its user.

True to its musically-inclined reputation, the Sony Ericsson S500i allows users to play and listen to favourite tracks through the handset's built-in music player, which works with Bluetooth Stereo A2DP. This feature allows downloading and storing of favourite music on the Sony Ericsson S500i, to be utilized like an MP3 player. Also, the S500i handset has a download service supported by PlayNow -- an easy and quick tool for users to download audio to their phones. The handset also features music playback. Moreover, the Sony Ericsson S500i supports polyphonic ringtones.

The battery provides roughly 372 of standby time or 9 hours of talk time when fully charged. As a quadband phone, using the Sony Ericsson S500i on international roaming mode is not a problem.

The Sony Ericsson S500i is popular with satisfied users who love the outdoors or want more than just the regular features of a handset. However, some users have commented that while the Sony Ericsson S500i is relatively slim for a quadband phone that works in a slider mechanism, it can be fairly thick when held by the hand. When closed, the phone measures 99 millimeter in height, but can be 130 millimeter tall when it is open. The Sony Ericsson S500i's slider does should have been springy, some users have complained. The number buttons are large enough; however, a certain a ridge near the bottom of the mobile phone makes it a little difficult to reach the bottom row.

Nevertheless, Sony Ericsson's lineup of mobile phones, including the S500i, has consistently put emphasis on modern design and the Walkman and Cybershot features. With the Sony Ericsson S500i, however, there is more to expect than just the basics.

Find out more about the Sony Ericsson S500i at sonyericsson.com
Read other reviews at ecoustics.com