Alright! Did it ever come in your mind to accuse Sony Ericsson of not updating and upgrading its Walkman series? Well, it should not, for it has brought you a fantastic phone wrapped up with really cool features!
Pros:
Stylish brushed aluminium design
Wi-Fi connectivity
HSPA 3G
Walkman music player
4GB Memory Stick Micro card supplied
Decent earphones in-box
User-friendly interface
Quality sliderphone feel
BBC iPlayer and YouTube supported
Google Maps software
Cons:
No GPS
Average quality 3.2-megapixel camera
Average video capture
No smartphone OS
No 3.5mm headphone socket on casing
Design and handling
W705 somewhere resembles W880 if we closely look at its edges and sides, sharply styled with brushed aluminium, a subtle gold trim, plus a rubber-feel back panel. A 2.4-inch QVGA display dominates the front, giving a bright, clear and reasonably large platform for its multimedia spin-overs. Its dimensions are an acceptable 95(h) x 48(w) x 14.3(d)mm, and its weight which is 98g echoes the solid feel of the bodywork.
Buttons
A conventional Sony Ericsson touch has been provided at the buttons galore, with the navigation D-pad and control keys laid out in an attractive circular array that’s grooved and raised in the right places for finger-tapping accuracy. The main menu view can be changed if you prefer a more carousel or scrolling style of function selection.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi can be switched on or off quickly by accessing the Activity Menu shortcuts using a hotkey on the control panel. It’s useful for fast-tracking to other useful functions too, like Bluetooth, Google Maps, TrackID or the phone’s browser. Wi-Fi is a real no-hassle experience, activating without fuss, and able to auto connect seamlessly when you’re in range of your selected hotspot.
Slider
The slider mechanism is smooth and feels robust, while the numberpad is neatly engineered – with a contoured surface and marker dots helping to differentiate numbers on the panel.
Music player
This Walkman phone leaves main music player control duties to the navigation pad – although there’s also a tiny Walkman key on the top of the phone, for activating the player and initiating its Shake Control operation. This motion-operated gadgetry utilises the built in accelerometer that also auto-rotates the display in certain functions.
The Walkman player user interface is very intuitive, with a familiar collection of track categories – including the SensMe option that can be used to select tracks by mood and tempo data (provided they’ve had this added via Sony Ericsson’s Media Manager PC software before copying to the phone).
Sound
That there’s no 3.5mm headphone socket on a specialist music mobile is a regular source of irritation when we’re looking at Walkman phones, particularly when the alternative is a lumpy proprietary multi-connector awkwardly positioned on the side (for maximum in-pocket snagging).
Stereo Bluetooth wireless headphones are also supported. Through the loudspeaker, tunes sound OK but not exceptionally good.
Memory
Although the onboard memory totals 120MB, the 4GB in-box memory card is a decent enough amount of in-box storage for loading tunes. This can be done in the usual ways, using the USB cable and Media Manager software, drag-and-dropping in Mass Storage mode, or Bluetooth transferring is over.
Over the air downloads – using Wi-Fi or 3G – are speedy
UNFORTUNATELY
Camera
The camera on the W705 takes a back seat to the music player, in typical Walkman phone fashion. It has a similar, if less sophisticated, user interface as its Cyber-shot brethren, and automatically switches to landscape camera mode, but the 3.2-megapixel camera here lacks the all-round shooting ability of Sony Ericsson’s photo-centric handsets.It has a fixed focus lens rather than using an autofocus system, and results are average for this sort of shooter. Image detail is limited, and although shots can look reasonable in good lighting conditions, images can look soft with lower light. In darker environments, there’s plenty of grain apparent, and the LED flash has limited effect over more than a short distance.
Standard settings adjustments are included, plus image tweaking options. Uploading images and video online is also possible, with Sony Ericsson supplementing its standard Blogger upload option with others for MySpace and Picasa, plus a further option to tap in settings for any other services you prefer.
Others(Surfing, Games and Mail)
The online activity includes a typical NetFront browser that’s speedy and serviceable to use. There are plenty of other useful, fun and frivolous features under the W705′s bonnet, from a Walk Mate motion-activated pedometer for tracking your daily steps and an AccuWeather.com weather updater to a Music Quiz based on your tracks and an odd Rock Bobblehead motion controlled animation.
Among the five games included are motion-activated bowling and 3D driving games. The usual solid toolbox of organiser apps and functions are present and correct too, including calendar, calculator, tasks and notes, world clocks, timer, stopwatch, voice recorder, and code memo apps.
Email, IM and other phone messaging facilities are available, while Sony Ericsson has implemented a Conversations facility to view threads of messages from your phonebook contacts(a good interactive approach!)
But it won’t have any GPS
Battery
Battery performance is adequate, with the W705 delivering over two days of action with normal usage levels and Wi-Fi active.
Finally, to quote: “Its typically decent set of mid-range features are bolstered by a terrific music player performance and Wi-Fi connectivity”
Regards,
SE-LifeStyle News Team
