Cell Phone Reviews by Cellphonedia

Sony Ericsson W850 A lot of us may already be familiar with the Sony Ericsson W850 when it was used in the movie "Da Vinci Code" for its web browsing capabilities. That was before the phone was released and created quite a stir for those who love cell phones and was surprised to see an “unknown” model in a movie. That being said, the W850 does borrow a lot of its appearance from the Sony Ericsson W800.

The W850 has since been released and comes in two choices: matt black and pearl white. And may very well be a worthy option for consumers looking for multi-functional handsets. Depending on the country of purchase, the retail package should include the W850 handset, a Sony Ericsson stereo headset (the HPM-70), a USB cable for connecting the unit to a computer, and a whopping one gigabyte of Memory Stick Duo Pro. Albeit much like the aforementioned W800, the W850 is a bit on the expensive side.

However the W850 is loaded with features a lot of modern phone users look for in a cell phone. First of all, the W850 is a 3G capable phone and supports video calls utilizing the GPRS / UNTS networks. You can also take photos and videos with its 2 mega pixel camera, browse the web with the integrated Google search, download and play music with its digital music player – the new and improved Walkman 2.0. With the factory supplied 1 gigabyte of Memory Stick PRO, the user may store as many as 1,000 songs. And if that should prove to still be not enough for your tracks, photos and videos, you can always opt to purchase a memory card with a larger capacity and slide it in the expansion slot at the top of the W850, next to the on / off key. With all these features, it is nice to note that the Sony Ericsson W850 can run up to three Java applications at any given time.

This means that the user can now browse the internet while chatting with friends through the instant messenger client, play downloadable Java games, and listen to his / her tunes with the Walkman 2.0 music player. This is far better than their previous model, the W800, which can only run one Java application and regular application at the same time. That is good news for purchasers looking for great cell phone flexibility and functionality without having to buy overly expensive smart phones.

Sony Ericsson W850 Camera and Display

The Sony Ericsson W850, like many modern phones, is equipped with a camera. It boasts of high quality 2.0 mega pixels and is able to capture your great moments and display them in 262K glorious colors in a QVGA resolution through the W850's large 2 inch TFT display. What very well may be a great source of disappointment to many though is the W850's lack of auto focus. Although it offers a lot of the standard features of a camera phone like self-timer, night mode, frames, panorama, white balance correlation, several color effects and burst shooting mode, the lack of auto focus is quite a surprise. Maybe as a direct result, the camera of the W850 performs rather below what is expected. It does its purpose satisfactorily but without eliciting much excitement with its output.

That being said, the Sony Ericsson W850 does redeem itself when it comes to its screen display. With the handset's slider panel closed, the screen takes up almost the entire facade of the phone and it does so to great effect. Images on the screen come out vividly with a very nice and pleasant contrast. All this is due to the strategically placed light sensor at the top of the W850. It works by varying the display brightness of the screen display according to the lighting environment or available ambient light. So when the W850 is used in a dark environment, the light sensor dims the screen as not to overwhelm the user. Likewise, the screen is brightened more by the light sensor when the W850 is used in broad day light, as to greatly improve the readability of the display. But it would be wrong to expect too much in this situation though, as the display still didn't give the satisfying result as other handsets like Nokia's sun-proof displays.

Sony Ericsson W850 Design and Accessories

If you are looking for stylishly slim phones then the Sony Ericsson W850 is not for you. As it is a slider type phone and although lightweight, it tends to be on the bulky side but this is not a disadvantage. In fact, holding the handset, it gives that sturdy feeling in your hands. Plus the matt finish works to its advantage as it does not easily attract fingerprints. Except of course for the big screen display, but that is always a given with any phone. One thing you'll probably notice while holding it though is that the phone tends to squeak probably due to the assembly of the top (screen) and bottom (keypad) panels. That being said though, the W850's front panel slides open and shut quite easily and can be managed to be done so with one hand without much effort. This is particularly good for the busy-handed professionals who seem to be always holding documents or a briefcase when answering calls.

A great addition to the W850's package is the one gigabyte Memory Stick Duo which is a lot more than what most handsets have to offer, if indeed they offer any memory card at all. This is of utmost importance to say the least for cell phones offering multi-functionalities such as video and music playback. And being adorned with the now familiar "W" Walkman logo, the developers might have anticipated the probable market filling their units with tracks, hence the inclusion of not only the one gigabyte memory, but also the expansion slot at the top portion of the unit.

A source of frustration though is the navigation pad at the bottom of the screen of the W850. The buttons do require a bit more effort to push and one would almost always accidentally push the Walkman launch button which is situated atop the "up" button of the navigation pad.

Summary of Sony Ericsson W850 Features

• Weight: 116 g
• Width: 47 mm
• Height: 98 mm
• Thickness: 21 mm
• Network: 2G Network (GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900), 3G Network (UMTS 2100)
• Screen Resolution: TFT, 256K colors, 240 x 320 pixels, 30 mm x 40 mm
• Data: GPRS - Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, 3G - 384 kbps, Bluetooth - v2.0 with A2DP
• Connectivity: Bluetooth v2.0, Infrared, USB
• Web Browser: WAP 2.0/HTML(NetFront), RSS feeds
• Music: Walkman 2.0 music player with TrackID music recognition, FM radio with RDS
• Camera: 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), flash; secondary video call camera
• Messaging: Email, MMS, SMS long
• Expansion Slot: Memory Stick Duo Pro, 16 MB shared memory
• Tones: Polyphonic ringtones, Vibrating alert
• Software Features: 3D Games, Java MIDP 2.0
• Other Features: T9, Organiser, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree, Flight mode
• Battery: Standard battery, Li-Po 950 mAh (BST-33), Stand by time – Up to 350 hours, Talk time – Up to 7 h hours

PROS: The Sony Ericsson W850, to say the least has a lot of advantages over other units of its kind both in form and function. The Walkman 2.0 player is especially a treat to use. Of course the one gigabyte memory should please just about anyone, professional or otherwise.

CONS: The navigation pad on the W850 would take more than just getting used to and would especially be hard for those with big fingers. The lack of auto focus with the camera is also an unpleasant surprise. Also, support for the EDGE network is suspiciously missing especially for an expensive phone boasting 3G functionality.

Overall: The Sony Ericsson W850 does provide a lot of functions and presents itself very well with regards to its appearance. The hefty price tag might put off a lot of its target market though, especially with the absence of EDGE support. But truth be told, the Walkman feature alone is enough for almost everyone when deciding on a purchase.