1 Jul 2008
As a music-focused handset, the W850i is packed with impressive features that are sure to bring excitement for every music-loving fan. The Sony Ericsson W850i is the first Walkman phone that comes with a slider construction. It offers new improvements and advanced features to make it highly appealing.

The appearance for W850i doesn't follow the latest trends for high-end music phones. It is neither slim nor lightweight. However, the fact that it weighs 116g and measures 98mm tall by 47mm wide and 21mm thick makes it perfectly balanced. It is said that the stylish design has similarities with K800 and its features are said to be the successor of W900i.

The front panel of W850i is occupied by a screen which is identical to that with the K800. The TFT screen measures 42mm in height and 32mm in width which gives impressive definition and brightness. This simply means that, the screen is highly readable even in direct sunlight. It provides a QVGA high resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and supports 262k colours. Located on both sides are speaker grills which also serve as photo keys for various camera functions.

Located on the bottom part of the phone are the infrared port, neck strip eyelet and the fast port. On the right portion are the camera shutter key and volume controls. The memory card slot, on/off key and light sensor can be found on the top portion of the handset. Situated on the back panel are the camera lens, self-portrait mirror and LED flashlight. The surface of the mobile phone is covered in matt finish which provides easy grip and conceals fingerprints.

Its sliding mechanism isn't as impressive as other sliders but it definitely is responsive enough. Notice the orange button just below the screen; it serves as the easy access key for the Walkman player. Aside from that, is also produces an orange glow every time the music player starts. Located down below the orange button are the four-directional navigation key and context keys. An interesting addition to the keypad is the Backlight effects, which blinks in accordance with the current beat of the music playing. In addition, the keypad produces a white glow when used.

The back side of the handset is well equipped with a 2 megapixel camera and a loud speaker. The performance of the loudspeaker is really impressive. It even lets the user hear an incoming call or text in noisy places. The camera on the other hand is excellent. It is evident that the camera does not come with an auto focus function, but it still offers other camera features enough to produce a satisfactory quality. It comes with a second VGA camera, 4x digital zoom, frames, photo light, viewfinder display, self-timer, panorama, burst shooting modes and night mode. Aside from its white balance correction feature and photo frames, it also offers a selection of color effects.

Other camera functions include, Video recording and streaming. In addition, Sony Ericsson has added several enhancements like the Macromedia Flash Lite, SVG Tiny 1.1, and VideoDJ to support and control video quality.

Moreover, it offers 3G and GPRS features for video call support, streaming content and high speed data transfers. It also comes with the usual connectivity options like the Bluetooth wireless technology, Infrared port and USB support. Aside from that it also supports OMA DRM 2.0 for online music.

The W850i houses an advanced Walkman media player. It supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, M4A, MIDI, WAV and WMA file formats. It comes with an improved user interface which is highly intuitive for user convenience. The player can run in background which allows users to access other functions while listening to their favourite tracks. When in background mode, the top portion of the screen displays the artist and song title of the current track. Walkman functions also include equalizer presets which can be set according to user preference. Furthermore, it also comes with an integrated FM radio which supports RDS. The FM radio features a memory of 20 preset stations and TrackID option which provides music identification for the track currently playing.

The Sony Ericsson W850i also comes with personal organizer functions. There are also interesting organizer features such as the PIM sync, Style Up Covers, and the Flight Mode. It also comes with a sound recorder.

The battery life of the W850i can last up to 9 hours of talk time and 400 hours of standby time. It comes with a 64MB internal memory. For memory expansion, a Memory Stick Pro Duo, which carries 1GB, is also provided.

Find out more about the Sony Ericsson W850i at sonyericsson.com
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