By Damian Koh
21/03/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39051199,42213849p,00.htm

When the W880i was first available, it was received with mixed responses. Its ultraslim profile, solid build quality, attractive design matched with a decent feature set may have been a hit, but the phone was ultimately "killed" by its tiny keys. So when we saw the specifications of its successor, the W890i, and more importantly, the larger keys on the product stills, we knew we had to give the series a second chance.

Design

If you've used the W880i before, you would find it a pain to type with the grain-sized keys. That was one of the biggest letdowns on the W880i. Fortunately, its successor, the W890i, addresses that specific issue.

The buttons are now mini humps that provide a decent level of tactility. That said, after a quick poll with friends, we gathered two main types of responses--the first group was bowled over by the form factor (keys were a secondary issue to them); the second group thought the buttons could be better. We didn't have any issues with the keypad, on the contrary we found ourselves liking the snappy feel. Users with larger thumbs may want to try it for themselves before buying the phone, though.

The W890i checks in at 10mm thin and a featherweight 78g, which make it very attractive in terms of size. If you're worried the W890i may feel like a toy, don't. In fact, the handset has a right combination of footprint and load. Design-wise, the brushed metal gives the W890i a solid build quality and adds a nice finishing touch to the chassis. We had a Mocha Brown review unit though the phone is also available in Sparkling Silver.

Elsewhere, the W890i comes with a Walkman button on the left, and camera shutter and volume controls on the right. The connector port is found on the same side as the music key and, unless you have a pair of wireless earphones, you'll have to bear with the headset port jutting out when the phone is in your pocket.

Sony Ericsson ships the W890i with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro M2 card which is great, but getting to the flash media requires you to remove the battery cover. The latter is held in place by two manual clasps on the sides of the phone. That's an additional step, but it isn't as bad as having to restart the phone if the card is behind the Lithium-polymer cell.

Features

Although this Walkman is thin, it doesn't skim on features. The quad-band candy bar supports 3G/HSDPA in the 2100MHz spectrum and comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera--both features are marked improvements over its W880i predecessor. While we are fully in favor of the first point (more on this in the following paras), we reckon the camera module needs more than just a resolution bump.

During our review, the number of clear, focused shots we got was as plentiful as the number of blurred ones due to the lack of autofocus. In addition, without an onboard flash, it limits the camera's shooting capabilities to only daylight shots.

Version 2 of Google Maps is preinstalled on our review unit which is a mini surprise since the app wasn't available on our earlier prototype unit. While Nokia has been hawking its GPS-enabled mobiles for a while now, Sony Ericsson hasn't gone down that route, yet. Instead, it provides global positioning via an accessory. Take note that the HGE-100 GPS Enabler draws power from the phone's battery. But the good thing is, it doubles as a 3.5mm adapter.

Although the W890i isn't positioned as a Web handset, its HSDPA connection becomes important here because the maps are downloaded on the fly. My Location on the application provides an estimate of our current location using the information broadcast from cell phone towers. While this is less accurate compared with a GPS fix, it was in our tests able to provide a rough gauge of our locality. From there, we'll have to rely on our own judgment of our surroundings. Things will probably be more interesting in the future if Sony Ericsson decides to embed GPS chips directly into its phones.

One of the things Sony Ericsson has done really well is its media user interface, and the same can be expected of the W890i. We've talked about this in our previous reviews, so we won't go into that again. The only thing we'd really like to see is a 2.5/3.5mm audio jack on the Walkman series. Although the bundled earphones are great and there's a 3.5mm adapter provided, it doesn't beat the convenience of being able to plug your own headset directly into the phone.

Other multimedia features include SensMe which allows you to create playlists based on tempo and mood of the songs, and FM radio (requires headset to be plugged in as an aerial).

Performance

In terms of audio, we had no problems with the sound quality from the W890i; it's similar to what you'd get with the rest of the Walkman series, which is very good. The bass level could be better, though. The W890i carries a 950mAh Lithium-polymer battery that's rated for 9.5 hours of talktime and about 15 days on standby. Between listening to music via A2DP, making calls and sending text messages, the W890i managed about two days before the cell gave up.

Connection to the PC is via the proprietary port and there are various USB modes to choose from. Choosing the mass storage option will disable the phone functions. While the W890i has a snappy user interface, we noticed that the phone slowed to a drag whenever we wanted to browse through our contacts folder to add a text message recipient.

Final Thoughts

When Sony Ericsson first introduced its Walkman series, these were rather well-received. Now fast forward to the present. Manufacturers such as Nokia and Samsung have since caught up with their own music-focused lineups--XpressMusic for Nokia and Ultra Music for Samsung--with specific hardware solutions such as dedicated audio chips and better onboard speakers.

While Sony Ericsson continues to excel in the Walkman interface, it's hard to ignore competing models like the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic and Samsung SGH-i450. That said, the W890i is worth a close consideration. Even though the 3.2-megapixel camera is nothing to shout about and despite the company's stubborn reluctance to add a dedicated 2.5/3.5mm audio port, the W890i excels with a solid design and build quality in a chic form factor.