Sony Ericsson W8 review:

Walkman has been lying low, the Sony Ericsson Yendo the closest they've been lately to a headline-grabber. Compared to the Yendo dumbphone, the W8 is a Swiss army knife. It’s a smartphone and will see to it that you're connected, be it your precious social network or the entire web. It has access to the Android Market and a good simple music player with storage for thousands of songs.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE, HSDPA 900/2100 / HSDPA 850/1900/2100
• 3.0" capacitive TFT touchscreen of HVGA resolution, 16M colors
• Scratch-resistant screen coating
• Android OS v2.1 Eclair with custom Sony Ericsson UI, featuring Timescape
• Qualcomm MSM7227 600 MHz processor, 168 MB RAM
• 128 MB onboard storage, microSD card slot (up to 16GB), 2GB card included
• 3 megapixel fixed-focus camera with geotagging, VGA video @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• Built-in GPS receiver, digital compass
• microUSB port, charging enabled
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Excellent audio quality
• FM radio with RDS
• Accelerometer for UI auto-rotate
• Social networking integration

Main disadvantages

• Limited storage for installing third-party apps
• Outdated Android version
• No multi-touch support
• Camera has no autofocus
• No DivX video support out of the box
• microSD slot under the battery cover
• No secondary video-call camera
• Fingerprint-prone glossy finish

There are some compromises, but they're inherited. The W8 owes them to its Xperia sibling. The lack of multi-touch and the outdated Android version immediately come to mind. In the camera department, the deal-breakers are the lack of autofocus and flash. There are almost no settings available either. The list goes on but no phone is perfect.

Posted in: sony ericson,touch