Internet - The default browser in W950 is Opera 8, this web browser is considered by many as the best browser for Symbian based smartphones, perhaps even Windows Mobile based phones. Normally this application would cost 20-30 dollars if purchased separately. The browser can adjust web pages to fit nicely on the 2.6″ screen. Additionally, landscape mode is also supported, which I’m quite fond of. I wasn’t able to fully test the Opera Browser since I am located in the US, the speeds were much slower, since I was on a GPRS connection, so I can’t really say much in terms of how quickly Opera 8 can render web pages. RSS feeds are a great way to save time and money when mobile web browsing, especially if using a limited data plan, this keeps data cost low by allowing users to see what each site is offering before actually visiting.

Connectivity - Sony Ericsson handsets have always been very flexible in terms of connectivity and the W950 is no exception. Supported connections, Bluetooth, Infrared, email, mms, sms and USB. The Bluetooth is version 2.0 and also supports A2DP, which allows users to stream audio to stereo Bluetooth headsets, the lack of normal headphone jacks doesn’t seem so bad with A2DP support, it would be nice though… Yes, I’m talking to you Sony Ericsson. I was rather annoyed by the fact that the previous model, SE W810, had Bluetooth 2.0 yet lacked A2DP, I’m glad to see the W950 didn’t suffer the same fault.

Supported E-mail Types

• POP3
• IMAP
• SMTP
• MIME
• MHTML
• Push mail

The touch screen keyboard is definitely a welcomed feature for easier text input, although T9 text prediction is great, I’d rather use the touch screen keyboard, too bad this model doesn’t have a QWERTY thumb keyboard, but that’s just my personal gripe. There is other Symbian based offerings from SE that does have QWERTY thumb keyboards, such as P990 and M600. There is also handwriting recognition as the third method of text input, for the most part it works well, but some letters are somewhat tricky, for example, trying to write “i” requires one to lose contact momentarily with the display to make the dot on the “i”, if not done fast enough the program assumes you wrote a lower case “L”.

Call Quality - The W950 uses GSM 900/1800/1900(MHz) frequencies, these frequency bands are geared towards world wide use rather than in the US. The only band that is US friendly out of the 3 bands is 1900Mhz. For T-Mobile USA users this won’t be much of an issue, due to the fact that the majority of T-Mobile’s GSM networks operate on 1900Mhz band. As for Cingular customers things get a little tricky, it really depends on your location in the US, for the most part Cingular is prodominately a 850Mhz networks, which is the missing band in W950. I’d definitely recommend researching what frequencies are used in your area if you live in the US and wish to purchase this handset. In my case I was lucky enough to have decent 1900Mhz coverage, it was spotty at best, but I was still able to test and make calls.

The call quality was clear, I didn’t notice any distortions in the sound, I didn’t get any dropped calls except on the bus, but I suspect it was a coverage gap on the network’s behalf, since Cingular uses a mix of both 850Mhz and 1900Mhz depending on location. The speaker phone and call volume is adequate, I’d like the volume to be increased, it was little difficult to hear in plubic areas such as crowded restaurants, where there is a lot of people talking. I guess I’m a little spoiled by past Motorola handsets, I’ve found those handsets to be excellent in terms of volume.

Video

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed using the W950, the ergonomics were right on and the GUI was pleasant to navigate. I didn’t run into any problems with the web browser and the W950 played music as well as any other dedicated MP3 player, which raises the question, why pay $700 dollars, when I could just spend $100-$200 on a device that will do the same thing? The thought has crossed my mind, I think this device is only suitable for consumers that wish to reduce the number of devices they carry in their pocket by joining their PDA, cell phone and musical player, into one. Most high end PDA’s cost around $400-$500, so we can’t forget the value of the PDA aspect of the W950. I wasn’t too surprised by the lack of camera since this device is aimed at music lovers, besides Sony Ericsson already has a camera centric line of handsets under the brand name of Cybershot. For people that wish to utilize all 3 aspects (PDA/Phone/Music) of the W950, I think it would be a worthwhile investment, you’d be hard pressed to find another convergence device that does what the W950 is capable of.

Table of Contents:

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

Filed under: Sony Ericsson, W950