Display - The touchscreen display is TFT QVGA (320×240) resolution and 2.6″ in size, which makes for comfortable use and viewing. The color range is 262K, I’m glad more and more handsets are opting to support 262K colors. There is a noticeable difference between 65K and 262K displays, in images where there is a gradual change in color, the tiling effect begins to appear, which happens when the display does not have enough colors to describe the gradual change. The TFT display is becoming more and more common, it’s easy to forget the benefits of using a TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) over the older display technology STN. STN displays are still in use today, so it’s good to keep in mind what type of display you want and how it will impact your device. TFT displays have a higher refreshrate, this is made possible by placing the transistors directly on the display itself, which STN does not. Alternatively, STN suffers from the ghosting effect, where the previous screen is still barely visible. STN displays still have their uses, TFT displays can drain your battery like no tomorrow, where as STN displays are more energy efficient. STN displays are mostly used on the outside of flip phones as status indicators, where visual quality isn’t important and can also be found on lower end cellular handsets. I was able to watch videos on the W950 for about 4 to 5 hours which isn’t bad for a 2.6″ TFT display.

Battery Life - The sim card is inserted in a different manner with this handset, instead of sliding it into place under the battery, the sim card is now inserted into a slot found in the top left compartment of the battery, removing the sim card can be tricky if you didn’t read the manual. To remove the sim card pull down the metal piece by the ridge to slide the sim card out.

The battery is lithium-polymeric based with a capacity of 900 mAh (BST-33). These numbers are jibberish to me too, don’t worry if those numbers mean nothing to you. What matters is the real world numbers, how long did it last doing this or that.

• Day-to-Day use battery life
• Stand-by Mode = 2.5 Days
• Talk Time = 6.6 Hours
• Music Playback = 12.9 Hours (Max Volume, Default Headphones)
• Recharge Time = 2-2.5 Hours

I wasn’t able to test the battery life with a UMTS network, since I’m located in the US. I was impressed with the battery life while playing music, it’s comparable to dedicated mp3 players. We should keep in mind the W950 is also using energy to stay connected to the GSM network, so if we were to set the W950 into airplane mode, we could expect a significant improvement in battery life.

Accessories - In previous SE handsets users were unable to listen to FM radio while charging the handset, since both require the multipurpose port, but this problem has been resolved thanks to the added port on the back of the power adaptor.

The headphone adapter wire has a remote on it for easy access to musical controls, on the end of the wire is the adapter for regular headphones, take note of the silver button, this is to accept incoming calls. The stock headphones are designed to block sound, by using a rubbery material that is inserted into your ear canal, effectively acting as an ear plug. I’ve used these headphones on a daily basis with my SE W810, I found the headphones to be an inconvenience during my workouts, frequently falling out during my runs on the treadmill.

The W950 comes with a cloth case, the material is very soft, but does not stretch. The stylus is secure when placed in the stylus holder, I shook it a few times to try to make it drop, but to no avail, another stylus has passed the Iron Cook’s Shake of Death test.

Table of Contents:

Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: AccessoriesPage 3: InterfacePage 4: Conclusion

Filed under: Sony Ericsson, W950