Sony Ericsson W950i Review
Phone rating: 
In a nutshell: The flagship Walkman™ phone! The W950i is
a Symbian 3G smartphone with an enormous touchscreen that supports handwriting
recognition. It has a fabulous music player with 4 Gbytes of flash memory
- that's enough for around 1,000 songs! There's also a built-in FM radio,
plus support for office applications including email, attachment viewing,
third party Symbian apps and full web browsing. The one thing missing
is a camera. Also, be aware that like all smartphones, the user interface
is sometimes slow and may occasionally freeze.
Review: November 2006.
The W950i is Sony Ericsson's flagship Walkman™ phone, and is one
of the most unusual phones to be released in 2006.
This phone has been designed as a music player & business phone - an
interesting concept - and the W950i meets the needs of its target market
well. What the designers at Sony Ericsson have realised is that even
the best camera phone on the market today (the Sony
Ericsson K800i or Nokia N93) is still
not a patch on a dedicated digital camera, so why include one? By scrapping
the camera they have produced a feature-packed phone that doubles as
a full-spec music player and really can replace your iPod, without compromise.
Apart from having no camera, the W950i is unusual in other respects.
It's also the slimmest smartphone on the market, at just 15mm thick,
and is also a 3G phone. It's compact and lightweight and feels just
right in the hand. The W950i has a flat keypad, that is actually very
easy to use, together with a jog dial and dedicated music player keys
on the sides of the keypad for easy access to your music collection.
In addition the W950i has a touchscreen and stylus that makes navigation
a breeze. It also supports handwriting recognition. The screen is very
large (2.6 inches across), is bright and sharp, and is brilliant for
navigating, managing playlists, and viewing graphics. In fact this is
one of the most ergonomic and user-friendly phones around, and is a
real pleasure to use. Nevertheless you should still expect to have to
spend some time learning to use all of the features on this device,
simply because it has so many of them!
This is the flagship Walkman™ phone, and it's music player doesn't
disappoint. The player supports a wide range of formats, and delivers
top audio quality. There's also a built-in FM radio. All of the features
that you'd expect are here - a graphic equaliser, Mega Bass™, user-friendly
playlist management, and support for USB drag-and-drop for easy transfer
of songs from PC to phone. You can also download songs quickly with
3G. In addition, the Walkman player features support for album art,
displaying the album covers on the screen while the track is playing.
The Album covers can be used to select songs from the library of music
stored on the phone. Just touch the image of the album cover to select.
The W950i also includes the TrackID™ feature for recognising songs
from external music sources - hold the phone close to the music, and
the phone will try to match the song with its database, showing you
the name of the song, the artist and the album.
With 4 Gbytes of built-in flash memory, you can store up to 1,000 songs,
putting the W950i on a par with the iPod Nano - no need to buy external
memory cards. The sales package includes a stereo headset, a USB cable
and software for ripping audio CDs. There is also support for a separately
available Bluetooth stereo headset.
As well as the music player functions, there is full support for business
users too. Being a Symbian-based phone, you can download a wealth of
third-party applications for the phone. Push email is supported, together
with a viewer for common Office attachments. 3G provides fast download
speeds, and full web browsing is available with the Opera 8.0 web browser.
The large screen makes it possible to view web pages pretty closely
to how they are intended to be viewed, and you can use the stylus to
click on links, or to scroll. This is one of the best implementations
of a web browser we've ever seen on a mobile.
In some ways, the W950i is the phone that the P990i should have been!
It's really got everything that you could want except a camera. The
touchscreen is a delight to use, the music player is pure quality, and
the phone is very well featured in other respects too. If you won't
miss the camera and don't want to make video calls, this phone is highly
recommended. The only thing that prevents us from awarding a full 5
stars is the fact that, like all Symbian phones, the user interface
can sometimes be slow, and the phone does have a tendency to occasionally
freeze or shut itself down.
Features of the Sony Ericsson W950i include:
- 3G Symbian smartphone
- Touchscreen user interface & handwriting recognition
- Display: TFT, 262,144 colours, 240 x 320 pixels
- Media player
- FM radio
- Mega Bass™
- Music DJ™ (polyphonic ringtone composer)
- PlayNow™
- TrackID™
- MP3/AAC ringtones / 40-voice polyphonic ringtones
- Sound recorder
- Speakerphone
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, Push Email
- 3D Java games
- Flight mode
- Opera web browser, RSS feeds
- Personal organiser functions, file manager
- Vibration alert
- GPRS, modem
- Memory: 4 GBytes
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB mass storage, Fast Port, Infrared
- Triband plus 3G
- Size: 106 x 54 x 15 mm
- Weight: 112g
- Talktime: 2.5 hours (3G) - 7.5 hours (2G)
- Battery standby: up to 340 hours
Sony Ericsson W950i User Reviews
Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this
phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so
please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive
language, and please, no advertising!
Average rating from 100 reviews:
Reviewed by Tommy from UK on 15th May 2007
Anyone considering a new phone should seriously consider the W950i!
Its the ultimate professional phone! Looks sleek, got style and got
features till the cows come home. If this phone had a camera it would
spoil it and anyway why do you need a camera on a phone? They are never
going to be a match for the real digital cameras out there. Anyone who
gets this phone then moans it doesn't have a camera either didn't do
their homework on the phone, if you had you would have known the phone
had no camera, or havn't acutally owned this phone! For me the phone
is a must have!
Rating: 
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Reviewed by Steve from UK on 15th May 2007
I've had mine since Nov 06 and it's the worst phone ever! It's got so
many bugs it's untrue. I got mine at the same time as my mate and his
has all the same issues so it's not a one off. It doesn't hold the time
properly and has to be changed every few weeks as it goes out by 10
mins or so. It crashes sometimes when looking at the preferences of
video clips and it takes about 4 months to start when you turn it on!
The 4BG is brilliant but the more stuff you put on it (music & video)
the more it slows the phone down. The most annoying part is that it
simply wasn't tested properly before it was released cos if it was it
would never have left the factory! Unless there is an update for the
software I really wouldn't get this phone, get the W880i.
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by Jason from South Africa on 14th May
2007
its a perfect phone for me
Rating:
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Reviewed by Greg from UK on 11th May 2007
I have had this phone for four months it has been replaced due to losing
time it continues to do this. Anyone have a fix for this?
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Tudor Morgan from UK on 11th May 2007
Great phone, except I cn't delete any alarms that have been set......hence
for the first few hours of the day it continues to alarm.
Rating:
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Reviewed by d'z dot dizzle produkttion from UNiTeD Kdom
on 10th May 2007
dis fone bree gud buh da ting iz no camra i no i no its a business fone
buh a little 1 even a 1.3 mpixel wud b nyc uva dan dat daaammnnn dis
1 of da best fonez n da market
Rating:
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Reviewed by sheay from uk on 9th May 2007
its good
Rating:
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Reviewed by .::$$**L3Th@l H**$$::. from ENGLAND on
6th May 2007
dis fne is chuung tik big tym ppl is sikk 1 ders 1 prob nd dis da sme
to all sony erricson fne u av 2 charge it evryday
Rating:
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Reviewed by herbert from U.K. on 5th May 2007
I'm 17 and got this on contract a few weeks ago. i don't understand
all this about the phone being for older people. i find it perfectly
eas to use and so would anyone if they sat with it and used it for a
while. I admit that at first i was very confused but after a while you
get used to it and its so much easier than other phones(when your used
to it). Also, yes the screen freezes from time to time but if you just
took the effort to exit all of the open programs(takes between 2-5 seconds)
then this problem would be swiftly avoided. The music is amazing and
all this bull about external speakers is stupid. Are there any external
speakers on an ipod? This phone is perfect. Only the camera but if you
search through your phone you will find that you very rarely take pictures
and if you have any they have all been when someone is with you who
will probably have a camera phone anyway. so use that and then send
it to yourself. 5*
Rating:
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Reviewed by Ben from Plymouth on 25th Apr 2007
I got this phone for £180 courtesy of Vodafone's big sale, and frankly
I just don't get where the detractors are coming from. The keyboard
is simple to get used to, and frankly coming from a Nokia N73 with my
big hands I actually find the W950i easier to use. The phone has been
rock solid and reliable so far with not so much as a squeak. It's a
real head-turner too and the touchscreen makes it an absolute cinch
to navigate around. Yeah, it doesn't have a camera. But so what? How
many people honestly use their mobile camera? Having had a K800i and
an N73 with their top-of-the-line jobs, I have to admit I'm not missing
the cameras in the slightest. And the reason for that is the simply
phenomenal music player. The W950i sounds awesome and as good as any
MP3 player you care to name. The wired remote is extraordinarily useful
and so is having 4GB of non-breakable flash memory. It's quick to access,
and quick to receive files through both USB cables and Bluetooth connections.
The basics work really well too. It makes calls of brilliant clarity,
Sony's precognitive texting works well, email support is excellent and
so is the application of the contacts and scheduling applications. In
all this is a cracking phone and fully deserving of a five-star rating.
For £180 it's an absolute steal.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Neil from UK on 23rd Apr 2007
Have just upgraded from the W550i (which for me started to get a bit
kiddie!), I wanted a phone that would look more professional but still
provide me with all the music and features under the sun. This phone
certainly provides that! So far I have not had one lockup, yes a bit
slow to load first time (what phone isn't), but me like many others
out there, I never turn my phone off so that doesn't bother me. No camera
- fantastic, less bulk, more phone, as at the end of the day that is
what it is, a phone! I have a perfectly decent digital camera that has
8 megapixels, why would I want a bad camera with 2 megapixels. The music
function on this phone is fantastic and with 4GB of memory it has just
saved me £100 on an ipod... Altogether this is a great phone for people
who like their music and want to look professional, would recommend
this phone to anyone!
Rating:
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Reviewed by mohamed from egypt on 22nd Apr 2007
if it had a camera ,it would be the best phne i have ever seen ,i wish
sony ericsson make a phone by these features but by a 3.2 megapixel
camera,in this way there isnot any important for touch screen....
Rating:
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Reviewed by Matt from Uk on 20th Apr 2007
This phone is really good. the walkman player looks so amazing and the
memory is more than enough for the usual trip to work. some people are
complaining thast it doesn't have a camera, they should have known this
instead of complaining later.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Smudger from UK on 20th Apr 2007
Great handset, battery life lets it down on 3G. Need to charge it over
night everynight. Apart from that its great. Many reports of it crashing,
this may be due to the operators software. I have had a few handsets
on Orange and they are apualing. My W950i is on the THREE network and
works really well.
Rating:
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Reviewed by AJ from UK on 16th Apr 2007
this is easily the worst phone i have ever had. it has lots of great
features but does non of them well. it very often fails to cope with
more than one function at a time shutting itself down whilst assuring
you that it did this to improve performance. great technology in a tidy
package but poor performance.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Superazza from !England! on 16th Apr
2007
just got the phone very pleased with it does exactly what its ment to
suppurb stuff anyone with doubts about the phone is mental from what
i can tell anyways. the only rpoblem i can see at the minute with it
is that it has a slow start up but to be honest think about how many
features it has to load up. and if you complain that it has no camera
which many of you idiots have its your own fault because you should
have read the description,(normally it tells you about the camera first
and what mega pixel it is)the description is exactly what it does and
has. so my advise is READ IT before buying and i no i choose this phone
because im all about music and barly used the camera on previous phone's.
over all great phone yes doesnt have a camera but its a walkman do ipods
have cameras ? think before buying, but i would definatly go for this
one amazing buy ;)
Rating:
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Reviewed by Superazza from !England! on 16th Apr
2007
just got the phone very pleased with it does exactly what its ment to
suppurb stuff anyone with doubts about the phone is mental from what
i can tell anyways. the only rpoblem i can see at the minute with it
is that it has a slow start up but to be honest think about how many
features it has to load up. and if you complain that it has no camera
which many of you idiots have its your own fault because you should
have read the description,(normally it tells you about the camera first
and what mega pixel it is)the description is exactly what it does and
has. so my advise is READ IT before buying and i no i choose this phone
because im all about music and barly used the camera on previous phone's.
over all great phone yes doesnt have a camera but its a walkman do ipods
have cameras ? think before buying, but i would definatly go for this
one amazing buy ;)
Rating:
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Reviewed by Joshua Prentice from England on 15th
Apr 2007
one thing lets it down, no camera, otherwise all good.
Rating: 
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Reviewed by James from UK on 11th Apr 2007
I am sorry - this review is totally misleading. This phone is terrible.
The keypad is entirely unusable. Texting is virtually impossible due
to the strange nature of the 'planed-off' keypad material that robs
the user of a satisfying 'click' opportunity. The thing that really
frustrates is that (by iPod definition) the sound and volume of the
Walkman player is very poor. Do not buy this phone before you have road-tested
it!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by error from error on 9th Apr 2007
this is theworst phone iv ever had iv sent it back 4 times now iv only
had it 2 months
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by phone lover from England on 1st Apr
2007
This phone is Outstanding the memory it holds all the songs and videos
i need with 1.5 Gigs spare for pics and others i would reccomend this
phone or any other decent sony ericson or the motorola e550 GET THIS
PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Coral from UK on 27th Mar 2007
Had the phone for 3 months, - its gone back for repair 4 times (replaced
for new twice!). Looks great but by the sound of things the design is
faulted. Reoccuring problem, same everytime - screen freeze rendering
the handset useless.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Tamilyn from South Africa on 26th
Mar 2007
This is the best phone i've ever seen. Don't even want to go to the
features the phone has. All i can say I LOVE IT. Good job guys!
Rating:
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Reviewed by David from UK on 22nd Mar 2007
I have had this phone for a month now and on the plus side: It looks
and feels great, just the right size; the touch screen works perfectly
and is very large; music and sound quality is excellent; transfers music
from pc fast; 4Gb memory. On the minus side: Occasionally crashes on
heavy use; the programs don't automatically close which causes the phone
to get more sluggish when many programmes are still running in the background;
the onscreen keyboard is very small and it's easy to press wrong key.
I upgraded from the Samsung E900 and this is a far better phone. I don't
miss the camera at all as the quality on the best phones is very poor.
This phone does exactly what it says on the tin.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Beth from England on 20th Mar 2007
This is the worst phone i've ever had. I've never had a problem with
any phone before i had this one. I've had to send it back three times
and i'm still not happy with it.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Tristan from England on 19th Mar 2007
Quality for music and just general style. Amazing good looking!! Quality
phone
Rating:
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Reviewed by jamie from scotland on 11th Mar 2007
The W950i looks the part and has a fantastic amount of memory but ive
never had the chance to use even half it due to problems. Im now on
my third W950 due to freezing up and software problems this is the worst
phone ive ever had and will be going back to good old nokias. this is
all in the space of three months. DONT BUY IT.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by tom south from england on 7th Mar
2007
this phone is really good it is very smart and easy to use
Rating:
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Reviewed by ABZ from England on 2nd Mar 2007
The W950i is a good looking handset but don't let the looks decieve
you. There are various software problems with the phone. I keep taking
the battery out due to the fact it keeps on freezing. Please think carefully
before purchaseing.I'm getting rid of mine very soon!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Matt from England on 25th Feb 2007
this phone looks nice but it sure cost a lot! gr8 memory but it could
use a camera even if it's only a vga? get the n73 insted i am giving
it 2 stars only because its soo expensize and no camera
Rating: 
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Reviewed by S.A from GB on 25th Feb 2007
It's great phone and perfect music player
Rating:
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Reviewed by agit from england on 24th Feb 2007
i think the w950i is a silk phone and it is a lovely walkmen player
Rating:
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Reviewed by Jo from Cambridgeshire on 22nd Feb
2007
Got this phone yesterday on Pay Monthly with vodaphone, 1000 text a
month 500mins for £35. Not bad Ey. The phone works superbly, not had
any trouble with it as of yet. If you love your Camera phones then I
don’t see a problem with you not getting this phone and I shall
tell you why. You get a USB Connecter with it, so if you have pictures
on your computer you can easily transfer them to your phone, plus Bluetooth
on this phone is outstanding, I transferred all my old pictured from
my other phone to this one and the quality is excellent, you will be
Very surprised. The music is also outstanding, I think the best thing
for me is, no more buying ring tones for ridicules prices, if you have
lots of music on your computer, just transfer them with the CD Disc
that you get with the phone, on to your phone and now you can use the
music on your phone as your ring tone and you can send them via Bluetooth,
so now you can send them to your mates for nothing. I always expect
the worse from anything and I did with this phone, I though it was too
good to be true. It is a wonderful phone and the graphics are quite
good too. I have nothing but praise for this phone. 10/10
Rating:
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Reviewed by adeel from england on 22nd Feb 2007
i think it the best phone out
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Reviewed by dick from uk on 21st Feb 2007
alright but get W850i because music is same and screen quality same
but w850i has camera so it betta so get it
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Reviewed by tosine from nigeria on 16th Feb 2007
I love this phone so much and i cab't use any other from apart from
sony ericsson
Rating:
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Reviewed by maxi n danny from wales on 13th Feb
2007
this is a pile of bull it looks the biss but it really sucks DONT buy
it! stick to the relugar 3310 thanksand goodbye ps DONT EVER BUY IT
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by raj from uk on 12th Feb 2007
i was using 6280,and some one nicked mine at work so bought this.i ahve
been using this for few weeks now..to be honest best phone this world
has seen..quite unbelivable phone and anyone can use from a kid to a
90 yr old...well done sony erickson.
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Reviewed by Sanjog from UK on 12th Feb 2007
This phone rocks, the touch screen is really awesome, It's frozen once,
but I removed the battery and it worked fine after that and I've had
the phone for 3 months now. The speaker volume is great if you're in
a fairly quite room but if you want to impress frineds over their loude
music, you've got no chance.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Tummy from Uk on 8th Feb 2007
I have to say that this phone has been a big disappointment. I'm on
my second after the touch screen function stopped working. It's painfully
slow to load applications (Quadrapop anyone?!) and constantly freezes
- worst of all it stops receiving calls even tho it shows that I have
good signal. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of things wrong with
this phone but I wont bore you with the detail - all you need to know
is that I’ve popped the W950i in my draw and am using an old skool
Nokia 3400 (now that's a phone). It really is that bad In summary DON'T
BUY THIS PHONE - wait for the IPhone and you'll be a lot happier.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by FA from UK on 8th Feb 2007
A quick Correction: "Reviewed by inaleems from maldives on 28th Jan
2007" The Nokia N91 has 4GB memory NOT 8GB - So in that respect this
w950i is the same in terms of memory [Editor's comment: true, the N91
and W950i both have 4 Gbytes] The N91 is NOT a smart phone - This is
- Both are fine for their target markets [Editor's comment: not true,
both are smartphones running Symbian operating systems] If you want
a camera so much get an N91 If you want a phone for business and musical
pleasure get this This phone gives a CHOICE to those who dont wish to
have a camera!!! Improvements on battery life would be most welcome
though....
Rating:
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Reviewed by Annette from England UK on 8th Feb
2007
I have had my W950i for nearly 3 months now and am on my second phone.
Both phones have a problem keeping the correct time and over a few days
seems to get up to 15 minutes behind! Does anyone else have the same
issue or is it just me? Apart from that small issue I like the phone.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Ryan from UK on 6th Feb 2007
Awful. I have had this phone for a month and restored it three time;
two of which did not work ('the backup was stopped by the device').
The alarm goes off at times when it is not set (search the internet
for 'ghost alarm sony ericsson 950'). Keys are very difficult to use
(I am an agile texter!) - you invaribly press the wrong buttons. The
alarm doesn't go off when the phone is silent. Debateable, but stupid
behaviour. A 'synch' managed to remove ALL contacts from Outlook (this
was the FINAL straw). I can't help but wonder: either I got a very dodgy
unit or the people that are 'delighted' are bowled over by the features
and are prepared to look over all the rough edges. So bad, I'm going
back to my Nokia 6230
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Ian Wright from UK on 5th Feb 2007
A cool phone not 4 da kidz. More for those that can spell. Really, if
you can't use a Mac then you will have problems whatever. Sniping the
children aside, for userbility, put this between windows and a Mac...
as good as an adult phone will get untill the iPhone. Hopefully anyway...
Rating:
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Reviewed by Labeeb from UK on 4th Feb 2007
This is a message for EMM who rated the phone, as it MAY help to resolve
the sending email issue. On my previous phone, this was an issue and
it was resolved by using different servers for incoming and outgoing
emails, but the solution only works for pop3 emails. Basically, when
you set up your email account, use your normal pop3 server for incoming
emails, but the smtp server is o2.co.uk. Worked for me. Good luck.
Rating:
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Reviewed by kazman from england on 3rd Feb 2007
Pants! dont bother
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by AA from UK on 2nd Feb 2007
Great phone... The lack of a camera is one thing, but the battery life
is quite poor. I have to charge it everyday with increasing frequency
and i've had the phone for only a few weeks. I don't even use the walkman
function that much.
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Reviewed by george from kenya on 2nd Feb 2007
usless phone freezes alltimes
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by tarek from uk on 31st Jan 2007
great phone
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Reviewed by Jim Higgins from UK on 30th Jan 2007
Fantastic Phone, Takes a bit of getting use to with the touch screen
but once you have mastered it you wont look back. Who needs a camera,
I mean when was the last time you printed a pic from your camera to
add it to a family album, most people just leave them on there old phone
when they upgrade or delete them. Like the other comments i agree this
is a serious phone for people who have a serious use for most of its
features. It now comes free on contract but doesnt include under phone
neons or a big bore charger socket sorry :-)....
Rating:
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Reviewed by inaleems from maldives on 28th Jan
2007
Its excellent in a narrow range. the 4GB is good for music lovers but
not as good as the 8GB music phone nokia N91. when talking about the
music the speaker is not that good but when using the headset its excellent.
the bright large touch screen is enough for surfing the web on your
way. I hade the phone as soon as it arrives to the Maldives in October
2006. the bluetooth function is not as good as the K800i coz it does
not support the HID function although, it supports to bluetooth headset.
I miss the Camara a lot... But no compromise for a music phone... nice
the phone seems coooooooool...
Rating:
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Reviewed by Emm from UK on 27th Jan 2007
This (and, I'm guessing, the M600) is the best phone I've ever owned.
In-call sound clarity is excellent as is the Walkman quality. The touch
screen is very bright, the resolution is the same as a regular PDA,
which is impressive for a phone, and it responds to the touch instantly.
The Symbian OS means that you can install third party applications,
completely replacing your PDA. I am in the process of installing TomTom
Navigator... I only came across two problems but are not related to
the phone; they are related to o2: the RSS Feeds application is not
there and I can only send e-mails. For some reason I am getting an error
when I am trying to send and the lack of knowledge within o2 makes it
impossible to resolve this issue. If you want a PDA, Walkman and phone
in one attractive device, this is one of the best. Now if o2 could pull
the finger out and sort the RSS Feeds and e-mail servers...
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Reviewed by ashok from india on 26th Jan 2007
good but increase the ringtone sound like w550i
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Reviewed by tony from england on 24th Jan 2007
i have to tell the truth this phone is a pain in the butt its slow to
turn on is slow to select menu options and is really difficult to use
it has a 4gb memory WHOOPIE DOOPIE
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Reviewed by Abz from England, Birmingham on 20th
Jan 2007
Excellent phone overall in terms of look and features.Sony are the most
experienced when it comes to music which reflects in the sound quality
of the phone. If you need a camera phone buy a Sony Ericsson K800i.
The W950i is made strictly for professionals. (Another success for Sony
Ericsson, well done!)
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Reviewed by mark austin from scotland on 20th
Jan 2007
who needs a camera when u hav great memory. why buy an mp3 player because
this phone is top of the market. JUST LOOK AT THE RATING THAT'LL TELL
U.
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Reviewed by TINA from ENGLAND on 18th Jan 2007
THIS PHONE IS REALLY IMPRESSIVE IF YOU LOVE YOUR MUSIC AS MUCH AS ME
AND DONT WANT TO CARRY A MOBILE AND AN MP3 PLAYER IN YOUR PURSE THIS
PHONE IS FOR YOU IT IS A BEAUTIFULL PIECE OF TECNOLOGY AND WONT LOOK
CHAV IN FRONT OF YOUR WORK MATES AND FRIENDS MY ADVICE WOULD BE GET
ONE QUICK YOU WONT BE DISSAPOINTED .T
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Reviewed by Simon from UK on 18th Jan 2007
When I bought my W950i it was my first smartphone and also the first
time away from Nokia. I was worried that I had become too familiar with
Nokias interface but that was unfounded, this phone is easy to use while
having enough customisation to keep more technical people interested.
I have been using the phone for about a month now and my overall impression
is that it is a great bit of kit. Its a nice sized device with a screen
that is both large enough for the job and also has a very high resolution,
the touch screen is also very accurate. The 4gig memory meant I could
sell my Ipod nano, and, as its a symbian 60, I bought and loaded TomTom6
which meant I could sell off my old satnav. There are plenty of 3rd
part applications out there on the web that would benefit professionals
and travellers and for fun I can recommend Skyforce, a fine arcade style
game with great 3D visuals. If you're seriously looking at this phone
then you wont care about the lack of a ropey camera, maybe in a few
years phone cameras will catch up with the real thing, but for now I
am happier to have a decent phone with lots of features and a huge memory
instead. Ignore the low scoring reviews written in Chav, this is 4+1/2
star handset that I am going to score 5 to counteract the spoiler scores
below.
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Reviewed by Andy from UK on 18th Jan 2007
Firstly: why have some retards reviewed this phone went they don't even
own it?? Secondly: if you have a skateboard and think day-glo pink alcohol
is really cool, then this isn't the phone for you. This includes all
those who rate a camera as important. This phone is aimed at the adult
market (over 30's), who like music a lot, but are also career orientated
and value computing power over leopard skin handset covers. The manual
provided is pretty poor, and yes this phone requires a lot of work to
get to grips with the vast number of functions. However, if you need
these functions and the music ability as I do, then there is no better
phone out there. The stylus and touch screen are great, and I can't
image going back to the old method. The sound quality of the walkman
is superb. I don't understand comments about the external speaker being
poor: who uses a walkman without headphones?? If you are a grown up
who loves gadgets, then you'll probably love this phone. It will never
be a hit in the school playground, which is no bad thing.
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Reviewed by Tom from Scotland on 17th Jan 2007
The phone looks awesome. I love the touchscreen and the interface is
intuitive. However there is sometimes a little lag while waiting for
it to open up different functions, something I hadn't expected. My only
other complaint would be the irritating accompanying software, which
seems to infest my pc, and refuses to see my bluetooth connection. Overall
a great phone, not fantastic, but great.
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Reviewed by GHAL from AMERICA on 14th Jan 2007
All YOU GUYS JUST NEED TO LOOK AT THE RATING.
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Reviewed by MELL' from UK on 14th Jan 2007
This phone, is really good. The sad part is it hasn't got a camera!
and thats what phones are mostly for to take pictures i think sony ericsson
are going to lose a lot of money by not having a camera it put me right
off of getting the phone but hey! if you not into camera i think this
is your phone. so bobs ya uncle :]
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Reviewed by moe from uk on 12th Jan 2007
Beutiful phone buetiful features bu apart from that almost as hard to
use as an apple mac n da worst n quietest external speaker ive ever
heard on a walkman brand phone. didnt botha me that it didnt av a camera
bu if i new it was dis bad, a camera wudnt hurt 2 lift its reputation
a lil. get it if ur rich and dont lyk ipods apart from that wait for
sony to get there act togetha.
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Reviewed by pbo_y from England on 12th Jan 2007
This phone is amazing. I don't actually own one, but I tamper around
with my friend's ALL the time. It's definitely one of the best smart
phones/ mp3 phones. It's also just 0.6 inches thick like the razr. I
dont actually get why everyone likes razr. Its only thin. Anyways, this
phone can definitely make buisness fun.
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Reviewed by Thejan from Sri Lanka on 12th Jan
2007
I used diz 4n fo one week frm one of my friends. Amazing................!
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Reviewed by pj from uk on 10th Jan 2007
I've had dozens of phones & this is probably the best one so far by
a long way. Knocks spots off my old n70
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Reviewed by allan jones from uk on 8th Jan 2007
had the w950i.nothing but trouble,screen freezes.the features didnt
work ,had 3 replacment phones then got shot of it ,ive had many phones
ont the market ,i like sony very much the k800i is very very good but
can not reccomend this phone,
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Reviewed by Anthony Pearson from UK on 6th Jan
2007
This is simply the best phone I have ever purchased. Simple as that.
If you want a camera, buy one like I did!! This phone is crammed with
features & anyone who likes their toys,as I do there is absolutely no
way you'll be disappointed.
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Reviewed by jess from uk on 5th Jan 2007
this phone would be the best only if it had a camera, that is its only
let down but dnt get me wrong it is a very good phone.
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Reviewed by Art from England on 5th Jan 2007
Well, I've seen a lot of bitching about not having a camera, get over,
if you want to take pictures so bad, get a proper camera, at least you'll
have a half descent picture then. It aimed at the music market, why
not having a camera on the phone creates such a big problem, it's just
a damn gimmick! Well lets get to the phone now. I do agree about the
gap between the case and the touch screen to be a dust magnet, but if
it stops working, just phone your contract dealer and they should fix
it/send you a refurbished one if the touchscreen stops working, can't
see it being such a big problem. The major let down is the software
which come to transfer your music, god it so awkward and not the fastest
to transfer the songs either. So far only had to restart the phone once,
due to not playing the music, no problems after that. There are minor
glitches after playing a game, where for example the top panel is not
displayed, to fix it just go on to the text messages or a phone book
and it comes back. As expected all symbian software on the phones are
a bit "laggy", this is not an exception. If you turn off the transitions,
it speeds up the user interface. It might take a bit to get use to the
keypad, but after that it's really easy to use. Walkman interface is
a bit slow to respond, but nothing dramatic, no need kill your self
over it. Overall the phone is nice, with nice and crispy screen. The
Walkman music player is a nice "add on", I would give it 3.5* out of
5*. On the other hand, Disk2Phone (software to transfer your music on
to a phone) could of been a lot better only worth 1* out of 5*. I think
Sony should borrow some ideas from iTunes :P p.s. ignore any spelling
mistakes/bad punctuation
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Reviewed by thelostgirl from - on 3rd Jan 2007
I am adding this review as I feel there are some important points that
people are leaving out (Ps please excuse the typos, I’m rushing
this at work ;). Design: It looks the business when you take it out
of the box. It’s slimmer and FAR lighter than my K800i. Problems…
-The back button on the side is wobbly. It actually feels like it may
just come off in your hands. -The touch screen appears flimsy, as if
there’s an accident waiting to happen. Also the top/ bottom of
the screen aren’t attached to the frame as such –there’s
a little gap that I’m guessing dust would get into? -The touch
screen is temperamental. It sometimes takes 3 touches before it responds.
- When I turned the phone on it was very slow. This became a pattern
and it often took up to 2 minutes to start up. Usability: The most pressing
issue is trying to use this phone for its intended purpose on the 3
network. This is a Walkman ® phone. My music tracks are almost all downloaded
from 3. Their music files are ‘3gp’ (and apparently have
consumable access keys). Neither of these things have been an issue
before. When trying to save the tracks (3 allows you to download tracks
3 more times after purchase), all seemed fine. Then… I tried to
play the tracks. At first they worked fine. But after about 4 plays
they suddenly stop working. The tracks say ‘error’, ‘sound
not supported’ and then get stop altogether. Heartbroken I tried
again… and again (pointlessly using up all my free re-downloads!).
Then, I though I’d cracked it. The tracks started working…
I got to work before the walkman decided to start skipping past the
downloads (again). Trying to be clever I thought better of it and decided
to email the tracks to myself (my 3mail account). This was a bust as
the downloads just kept re-starting once they got to 66% complete=(
I know- why didn’t I just use the software- USB provided? Because
I don’t have a decent PC at home. My work PC is the only decent
one I have access to and obviously I’m not gonna be downloading
software onto that! This essentially means that the Walkman ® can’t
be used as a Walkman!!??!! At least not on 3 anyway. Another small annoyance
was an irritating beeping every 10 minutes without fail when listening
to the walkman. Although, the earphones/ sound quality were otherwise
excellent. Other usability issues: -wouldn’t let me open messages
saying they were incomplete (they WEREN’T). -the phone initially
wouldn’t let me Bluetooth/ download videos? Had to turn the phone
off/on to get it to work -POOR battery life. The battery barely lasts
1 day with minimal use (web/ walkman and 2 phone calls!) -the phone
turned itself off/on several times as I was trying to change the settings
(in the control panel). Features: On first glance the phone is rather
lacking in features. The sub-menus look half empty. In all actuality
the phone is less impressive than the K800i. Speaking of which, I was
eager to get back to using my old phone after only ONE day of using
the W950i. The most noticeable absences were: -The RSS reader (maybe
just me?) -The screensaver having no clock -The screensaver not indicating
whether you have any messages -No dedicated OK button -No save picture
option (as with WAP) -No instant access to either ‘Play Now’
or the ‘3 Music Store’ -No camera -The auto key lock/ inactivity
lock kicks in FAR too early (a few seconds in both cases). In practice,
this means the keys will lock when you are typing/ reading messages
etc. I’ll try and balance the negative with some positives. The
phone does (mostly) what it says on the tin. It’s sleek and the
techies out there would love it. It’s far more similar to a palm
top than any mobile I’ve ever seen. Think of it as a cross between
an iPod and Blackberry. PS the onscreen QWERTY pad was a dream to use
(and yes, that was all I could think of, but it’s better than
nothing).
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Reply by Matt Grist from uk on 21st
Oct 2008
If anyone else is having the thelostgirl's "Sound Not Supported" problem
then here is my solution: 1. Download and install mp3tag v2.41 2. Load
offending MP3 files into the mp3tag 3. Highlight and right-click offending
files 4. Select "Extended Tags" 5. Highlight the "Length" tag (and no
other tags) 6. Click on the cross _nearest_the_length_tag_ to delete
this tag. There may be a second cross next to the album artwork, which
you should leave alone. PLEASE PLEASE test this out on one or two file
first, making sure this technique leaves you with files that not only
work on your phone but still play in iTunes, WinAmp, etc. Apart from
this, I think the W950i is excellent as a walkman, average as a phone
but with the worst keypad I've ever come across. If you dial numbers
a lot (as opposed to selecting numbers you've stored) then stay clear.
Reviewed by steve from UK on 3rd Jan 2007
This phone would qithout doubt be the best phone around if it had a
camera + possibly a bit smaller... still all in all a good phone so
4*
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Reviewed by Mark Booth from UK on 30th Dec 2006
My wife bought me this phone as an upgrade on Vodafone for christmas.
I've been waiting for it to come out for a few months and was a bit
nervous when I opened it, because I hadn't even held one before let
alone known whether I like the interface and feel, etc. Well, I have
to say it was definitely worth it. I was worried about size but it doesn't
feel any bigger than other phones and it's a pefect size for 'man' hands
but still fits easily in the pocket. I have only given it 4 stars but
only because it could have been so much better. As it is, it's still
by far the best phone i've EVER used and has made my 4GB Nano redundant.....
it's that good! Good points: 1. It looks great and feels great in the
hand. 2. Hand writing recognition makes SMS a breeze. 3. 4GB Walkman
is great. And sounds MUCH better than my 4GB Nano! 4. Lets me use my
own expensive headphones. 5. Touch sensitive screen opens up a whole
new GUI on a consumer phone 6. Alarm clock is great and very flexible,
even abroad. 7. It's lighter than I expected. Just heavy enough to feel
substantial but not too heavy for a pocket. 8. Did I mention the 4GB
memory :) 9. It's a PDA in a cool consumer device. What more could you
want? Bad Points: 1. No camera. Would have been the icing on the cake
and instantly killed all other SE phone sales. I rarely used my last
camera so not really missing one. The missus takes pics and bluetooths
them to me :) 2. Takes AGES to boot. 30+ seconds! 3. Flat keypad feels
very fiddly in my man fingers. (But I rarely need to use the keys with
the touch screen being so good) 4. Occasional crash. Not sure why but
only ever crashes when I'm having a major fiddle. 5. Some applications
are slow to load and you forget to close them. 6. 4GB flash memory is
fixed and internal. No expansion possibilities but 4GB was plenty on
my Nano and is still plenty on my W950i. 7. Back cover was extremely
difficult to remove at first but has loosened up with extended use.
8. SIM card slot is very fiddly but not something you need to use much.
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Reviewed by Steph from UK on 17th Dec 2006
I have to be honest, this phone is pretty darn good my friends! Love
the touch screen and the fact that it is a really big screen. The sound
quality is phenomenal and the memory is really good. However, do have
a few downsides! The phone has NO camera! What were Sony Ericsson thinking?
What kind of phone nowadays does not have a camera? I know, you can
receive photos from other phones using BlueTooth, but I am usually out
and have a lot of photo-ops that I now can't enjoy! My friends are always
doing weird things that are unmissable, and I loved taking pictures,
but now I have to take my camera with me! Also, the buttons on the phone
are very fiddly. Yes, I know, they are hardly used with the touch screen
and handwriting recognition, but when the buttons are used they are
very fiddly. It's a very good phone, just those couple of things wrong!
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Reviewed by JIMMY BROWN from INDIA on 13th Dec
2006
REVIEW FROM JIMMY & TTILLU ON 13 DEC INDIA(POWAI) WE BOUGHT THIS FONE
2 WEEK BEFORE WHAT A PHONE, OUTSTANDING ITS JUST LIKE A DREAMGIRL FOR
US, WE FIRST MADE A SURVEY BEFORE BUYING THE FONE AND ATLAST OUR HUNT
CAME TO AN END ON SE-W950I ,TTILLU IS VERY MUCH HAPPY WITH THIS FONE
BECOZ HE GOT THE FONE OF HIS SIZE(SHORT & SLIM), WE ARE PROUD OF SONY
ERICSON FOR LAUNCHING SUCH A KIND OF FONE"A MEMORY LASTS FOREVER ,AND
NEVER DOES IT DIE.FEW THINGS STAY TOGETHER AND NEVER SAY GOOD BYE......THANK
U
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Reviewed by Amp from United Kingdom on 10th Dec
2006
Just got one of these and I have to say it's brilliant. I always wanted
a smart phone without a camera and this one does the business. The Walkman
player is better than a lot of dedicated music players and the sound
quality is far better than an iPod. I got my phone as a free upgrade
from orange so my unit has some of the standard features missing i.e.
Track ID. There are negatives with the operating system and these are
fairly obvious to me after using a Treo for over a year. I've always
had Ericsson phones but when they joined Sony the kind of lost their
way till now. I did check out the other phones using this platform-M600,P990
and this without doubt represents the best value.I carry over 60 Cds
in my pocket. I have over 1500 contacts at my finger tips and my phone
has not crashed yet. The only negative I'm getting is with the syncing.
On balance I feel this is the best smartphone currently available in
the UK- It just works! Did I say I can check all 3 of my email accoun
ts, RSS feeds, Blogs...
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Reviewed by Neil from England on 9th Dec 2006
An absolutley wicked phone! The only way you will not like this phone
is if you don't own a digital camera and use your phone instead. You
don't even notice not having a camera, i've only missed it once or twice,
when out on the town wanting to take stupid drunk camera phone fuzzie
pics. But lets face it, you leave those pics on your phone for like
a week, and then delete them anyway. However, you do notice the fact
that you don't have to carry an mp3 player around with you!!! I've got
893 tracks on there at the moment, and still have a gig left!!! BUY
THIS PHONE NOW!!
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Reviewed by Gary from Great Britain on 27th Nov
2006
I'm a student at school. Thsi phone is amazing and cool. All my friends
are jealous and try to insult it but they know the truth. Im the only
person in Essex who owns one. Great features the games are a bit bland
and annoying. The Music is fantatsic! (as expected). Only decent phone
with touch screen. Plays Mp4s but not for me it seems. Like A PC, you
can get MS Office, MSN and paint because you can draw on the screen.
Hefty Price £500. If you really want this phone get it, but if not dont
spend £500 just get a K750i u'll live!
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Reviewed by Ique from Brazil on 21st Nov 2006
pretty good!! the best phone ever..
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Reviewed by Matt from England on 17th Nov 2006
This is a great phone! its an Ipod, pc & phone in one! touch screen
makes navigating easy, internet is great its like your on your pc at
home, walkman (sounds awsome), this phone has so many functions, being
a smart phone you can download lots of applications, word excel etc,
a novice user may take some time getting used to the phone but is great
even if you just want to listen to music, you can add album covers to
the tracks, (just click on the album cover to open) throw away that
ipod and get this phone!
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Reviewed by ben from england on 16th Nov 2006
Fantastic. If sony made this exact fone jsut with a camera it would
be the worlds best fone!!
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Reviewed by Eva from UK on 15th Nov 2006
iPOD with a Phone - great !!!!!!!!!still finding my way around it but
am enjoying it so far.
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Reviewed by kieran from UK on 14th Nov 2006
although the phone has no camera can it still store pics from other
camera phones if sent via Bluetooth and what is the measurements please.
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Reviewed by Rajesh Reddy from INDIA on 14th Nov
2006
Its So nice to have this phone its Briliant and i am so happy to have
this phone and i my total family is using sony ericson mobile i really
thank full to sony ericson
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Reviewed by Andrew from England - London on 12th
Nov 2006
This phone doesn't deserve any less than 5 stars. I just want to say
now to everyone who isn't happy about the camera - This phone has been
brought out as purely a walkman/business phone, There is no need to
complain about it, if you are looking for a camera, get the K800i. To
date i have tried a number of smart phones, Eg, Xda IQ and Exec, Nokia
N series etc, trying to find in my opnion the perfect phone for me.
Then i tried the W950i. The main problem i had with the others was the
software never seemed very stable (prone to crashes), the phones just
didnt seem to be able to handle what you put on them, or their own phone
features, but it is not quite the case here. It works every time without
fail, handles extra software with no problem at all, No crashes! and
one of the main things compared is the size of it. It is in no way bulky,
no wierd shapes to it, and it fits perfect in your hand, pocket or where
ever you keep it. When it comes to screen and sound quality, it is nothing
short of outstanding. One of my concerns when i tried this phone was
how good the touch screen would be, that is no longer any concern, it's
great. Overal i am going to say, if you are looking for a camera get
the K800i, but if you are looking for a phone a class above the rest,
look no further, you won't be disapointed. Enjoy!
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Reviewed by sam fishwick from uk on 9th Nov 2006
outstanding cos its got the loudest speaker best media player and worth
it value
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Reviewed by Alisha from U.K on 8th Nov 2006
This fone is great it has all the features u need so go on buy it! :)
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Reviewed by Bobby from England Kent on 3rd Nov
2006
This phone is nothing but trouble. the phone keeps freezing on me. i
press the screen and it all freezes up on me. the screen quality isnt
even good and for da camera wat a load of rubbish. WISH I BAUGHT A K800i
its worth the money
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Reviewed by Fayek from Jordan (Middle East) on
3rd Nov 2006
Absolutly Brilliant
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Reviewed by Greg from South Africa on 27th Oct
2006
To put it simply this is a great fone. It has all the features you would
ever use on a daily basis in that ever so sleek and minimalist package.
Camera? On that subject, no phone has ever come close to matching the
quality of any of the numerous digital cameras I've owned. So If you
want (what I still consider a mediocre) a camera buy a k800i... it still
has the features but at the end of the day is just a pretender to your
dedicated digitals throne. I dont think I will ever use a phone if it
doesn't have a touch screen ever again... it really is just a joy to
use. If you like the pics get to a store NOW and try it! Simply amazing!
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Reviewed by olly from england on 25th Oct 2006
this phone is outstanding it has so much memory i have like 100 song
on it!! no camera though :( o well the rest of the phone makes up for
it. the touch screen is amazing.
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Reviewed by syed kabir from uk on 25th Oct 2006
i am a college student and there came a time where i had to choose between
the w850i and the w950i. i hardly use camera. only for special occasions.
i've played about with both phones and i was impressed with this one.
touchpad is brilliant. much better than that rubbish chocolate. this
is the ipod which u can communicate with. i know it doesnt have a camera
but this is a music phone. in the end i went for the 850 because i can
put a 4gb card on that and it has a camera. this one is still good tho.
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Reviewed by james lovell from England on 15th
Oct 2006
best phone ever
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Reviewed by tom from uk on 14th Oct 2006
This phone is absoloutly amazing! the touch screen is really really
good and the amount of memory, i had this AMAZING gadget for a week
and i have downloaded about 200 songs and there is lots more space left!
good keypad nice design but no camera.. but anyway i got a separate
camera to use.This is a very good phone you should get it anytime!
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Reviewed by Beau Peep from India on 14th Oct 2006
Love at first sight. Still, there are lots of people who feel disappointed
because of no camere. W950i is the phone for music lovers and with cool
functionality and looks. Just consider its AN iPOD, but reloaded with
mobile technology. When using iPod, do you think, it no camere, it cannot
use for browsing internet? NO. So you just enjoy the music. So this
W950i, just enjoy the music with mobile (so you also talk to some one.)
Rather than having iPod for music and Mobile just to talk, combine these
two. Here comes w950i.
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Reviewed by Del from Uk on 12th Oct 2006
Dis phone is da kingston massif! beleefs me i has owned many phones
and this one be da shizzle! i'm telling you blud it is off the hook!
blat! blat! serious me homeboy jamal ave the same phone and he say it
is cwalirty as well! The tunes it be pumping be proper selecta and me
be loving. Me wanna big up the Hambrook massive! blat blat!
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Reviewed by gda from uk on 10th Oct 2006
fantastic
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Reviewed by Rampant Rabbiter from UK on 3rd Oct
2006
I don't actually own this phone, but I have had a play with it in the
store and have to say that I'm very impressed...the only factor stopping
me from buying one is the lack of camera. It's primarily a music phone,
and is probably the only phone out there that can really give the iPod
a run for its money. I love my iPod, and I love my K800i, so I'll be
sticking with what I've got for the moment. But if a camera is of no
importance for you, and you're a music-lover, this phone is about as
good as it gets. The screen quality is amazing; much more capable of
displaying album covers than the iPod, due to the brightness and crispness.
Sound quality is on a par with the iPod...it does what it's supposed
to, fantastically. So I don't think people should criticise this phone
for its lack of camera (because I can just see that happening!) - if
you're going to get this phone, you should already be aware of what
it does and doesn't have. Therefore, just write about what is does do
and what it's supposed to do...it doesn't make the tea either, but we
can't criticise it for that!
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Reviewed by sarah from uk on 3rd Oct 2006
absolutely brilliant 10/10!
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