Sony Ericsson W980i Review
Phone rating: 
In a nutshell: Sony Ericsson's flagship Walkman phone offers
a best in class audio experience, with premium quality headphones, 8GB
of built-in memory, FM radio with RDS and touch-sensitive music controls.
But it's let down by a poor camera, battery life and software glitches.
Review: October 2008. Updated May 2009.
The Sony Ericsson W980i is Sony Ericsson's latest flagship Walkman
phone, and is the upgrade to the W960i.
The guys at Sony obviously read our review of the W960i, because they
took our suggestions on board and added HSDPA and quadband!
The W980i looks completely different to its predecessor, because its
a clamshell phone - an unusual choice for a music phone, perhaps - but
SE have made the best of the design by placing touch-sensitive controls
on the front for accessing the music player when the phone is closed.
When you tap the touch-sensitive controls, orange lights appear and
the controls become active. The largest circle in the centre works a
little like an iPod's click wheel, and is used to select artists, songs,
etc. Very groovy, and it works fine. You can also use the shake control
to change tracks if you're really hip. A slide control is used to lock
the controls, for when you put the phone in your pocket. Personally,
we'd have preferred something a little less cool, and more practical.
Open up the flip, and you'll find a large display and a retro-looking
keypad with rather spaced-out keys. Again, we wondered why SE were determined
to do things differently "just for the sake of it", but on
balance the keypad is a lot better than many that the company has inflicted
on their users recently. We did find the phone rather bulky when opened,
and we have to say that having to open the clamshell to use the camera
was a bit of a pain too. Overall, we feel that the clamshell design
isn't really working - it looks like the head honcho at SE's design
team walked into the office one morning and said, "Make it a clamshell!"
and then the rest of the team scurried around trying to make the best
of a bad job.
Alright, let's move onto the strengths of this phone. It's SE's flagship
music phone, so it's brilliant at music right? Well, yeah, it's pretty
damn good actually. Once you've got used to the touch-sensitive controls,
you'll find that it's as user-friendly as a dedicated MP3 player, and
the audio quality is simply outstanding. Sony have brought together
two new technologies called Clear Stereo and Clear Bass, together with
a premium quality headset to make this the ultimate Walkman phone, at
least in terms of audio quality. You might complain that there's no
3.5mm audio jack, so you can't use your own headset, but really the
one that Sony provides is a real beauty, and we're quite happy to live
with it. In addition to the music player, the phone also has an FM radio
with RDS.
There's plenty of memory built into the W980i - 8GB to be exact, which
is enough to store 2,000 songs. That's a lot of memory, and is as much
as most rival phones can offer even with memory cards added.
Now, this phone is a Walkman phone, so we shouldn't expect it to have
the best camera. And it doesn't. In fact its pants. And the clumsy way
of accessing it doesn't help either. So don't buy this phone if you
really want a good camera. It does do video calling though, but again
you have to open the clamshell to do it.
Good features include HSDPA and quadband, plus the large LCD display.
The battery life figures that SE provide look really impressive too,
but don't believe them. In reality we found the battery life to be rather
poor. Also, like far too many SE phones these days, the W980i is subject
to software glitches including random freezing and shutting down.
So, the W980i is a bit of a mixed bag. Brilliant audio quality (phrases
like "best in class" really are appropriate here), but a cumbersome
design, rubbish camera, sub-standard battery life and occasional software
errors. You pays your money, you makes your choice ...
Features of the Sony Ericsson W980i include:
- 3.2 megapixel camera with 3.2x digital zoom
- Video capture & video calling
- Display: 262,144 colours, 240 x 320 pixels
- Music player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, WAV formats)
- FM radio with RDS
- PlayNow™, TrackID™
- Polyphonic ringtones, MP3/AAC ringtones
- Speakerphone
- Sound recorder
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
- 3D Java games
- Picture wallpaper
- Organiser functions: Alarm, Calculator, Calendar, Contacts, Stopwatch,
Notes, Tasks, Timer
- Internet: Access NetFront web browser, RSS feeds
- Memory: 8 Gbytes
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, Modem
- Vibration alert
- Flight mode
- Quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) plus 3G HSDPA
- Size: 92 x 46 x 17 mm
- Weight: 100g
- Talktime: 4.5 hours (3G) - 9 hours (2G)
- Battery standby: 360 hours (2G) - 370 hours (3G)
- Video calling: 3.5 hours
Sony Ericsson W980i 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 102 reviews: 
Reviewed by h.s. from uk on 20th Mar 2013
had this phone since late december 2012 stopped working 1 month ago
going round in circles trying to get a fix but sony ericsson advice
although they do try to be helpful am having no joy battery life when
working was abysmal so onwards and backwords.
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by nilesh dutt from fiji island (679 on
7th Jan 2012
its vry gud 2 use w980
Rating: 
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Reviewed by D from England on 16th Apr 2010
I'm surprised to how reliable this phone has been ever since I got it,
which was 18 months ago. I've never had to replace it or anything, also,
I have to admit, it has been through a lot, hence the scratches, which
is obviously totally my fault. Overall, I've over 700 songs in it and
also loads of pictures despite the crappy camera. The sound quality
of the original headphones is AMAZING!! Although I lost my first pair,
I got a new pair off Amazon and they look identical + the sound quality
still remains superb! I've really enjoyed having this phone and do strongly
recommend to anyone - the 8GB allows to store lots of music and one
does not have to worry about getting rid of txt msgs as there is enough
space for them!
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Reviewed by Beth from Uk on 14th Apr 2010
i didnt have any choice when it came to my phone breaking but to get
this phone, all i can say is i have had it for 2 years now and it has
been a great phone, the phone has great advantages to it for instance
the memory is brilliant cause i had over 1000 picures and 500 songs
on my phone and it still had a hell of a lot memory left considering
it doesnt use a memory card! i will admit i had some probelms with the
phone but nothing that a bit of patience what fix, i dropped mine in
the bath and got water in it so sadly had to get a new phone and i miss
the qualitys of this phone :) So ignore the crapp people say and buy
it if you want it cause like i ahve said i have had it for 2 years now
and hardly any problems wiht it :)
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Reviewed by Alison from England on 27th Mar 2010
I've had this phone almost 18 months now and I still love it! Im coming
to the end of my contract and I am due an upgrade but I think im going
to keep this phone and pay less on my contract instead. :) Havent had
any problems with it, very occasionally shuts itself off and resets
but im ok with that. The camera isnt that great but I have a proper
camera to take proper photos! The best thing is the walkman and the
space, ive got almost 1000 songs on it and the sound quality is outstanding,
especially with the SE headphones. And it still looks stunning, my friends
say is the best looking phone they've ever seen!
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Reviewed by mark ford from england on 26th Feb
2010
I bought the phone so i didn't have to carry a phone and mp3 player
at work. I have to say it's the best phone i've had. the 8gb internal
memory is brilliant and the sound is superb. the camera is rubbish though
which is a bit of a disappointment. the keys are good for me as i have
fat fingers/thumbs which makes it easier for texting. the people who
have had p[roblems with freezing are just unlucky i think because mine's
been perfect. had mine a year got six months to go no problems. The
only reason i'm on my second is because i lost the first and was quite
happ to pay for a replacement. On my experience i would recommend to
anyone who wants a phone and mp3 player in one it's brilliant good for
internet too.
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Reviewed by asante akwasi wiafe from Ghana on
12th Jan 2010
on my part i think it is the best among other ericsson phones becos
of its storage capacity and the walkman attached to it
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Reviewed by Becky from England on 11th Jan 2010
I love this phone. I haven't loved a phone since my Pink Razr in 2005.
I went to many shops asking for a flip phone with big buttons (my nails
are too long for the cramped up buttons you get) that looked good. I
was told there was no such thing these days, however I found this at
Carphone Warehouse. It was sold as soon as I looked at it, I do not
care what it can do as long as I can phone and text. So if you are old
school like me and resisting the touch screen generation, liking flip
phones but still want your moby to look nice, this is for you. I have
been assured by my other half that I have an amazing MP3 player but
I have never got round to downloading. The camera is pretty poor (no
flash) so you probably wouldn't buy this if you like taking pics on
your phone. I have had it for about 6 months now and it has started
turning itself off occassionally, but it always comes back on fine straight
away. I would be most disappointed if I can't get the exact same phone
if it does ever break down and if it doesn't I will keep this phone
for as long as possible.
Rating:
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Reviewed by stevie whitton from scotland on 10th
Jan 2010
ive been reading some of the reviews here and felt i had better let
everyone know of my experiance with this phone,ive had 3 replacements
so far and my latest one has just frozen and wont come back on whatever
i do.i loved the look of the phone but thats the only good thing i can
say about it,all my sonny w980 were in exellent condition,not even a
scratch on screen,i take good care of my phones but after having 4 of
these crashing in 6 months i think its time to get a replacement,a diffrent
phone or a refund which wont make up for the music and time lost each
time these models pack in,take my advice stay away from this model it
will end in tears
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Julian from Sweden on 8th Jan 2010
It freezses all the time. Rubish!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Luca from England on 26th Dec 2009
This phone is effortlessly goood. The display is extremely clear and
its vivid colours make it fenomenal. Great for music and video and with
an internal storage of 8GB its a great deal. I was lucky to grab mine
for £110 but even for £200 I would have bought it. The internet surfing
and general navigation on the phone is also extremely clear and the
motion sensitivity comes into play on a few games and applications.
Overall, an outstanding piece of technology! would reccomend to anyone!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Sarah from UK on 22nd Dec 2009
I had this phone for a year contract and i am now due an upgrade thank
god! A week before my upgrade is due my front screen broke, and now
it's just white. However, i have never had one problem with it in the
year.It's a good phone for music of course, but not for photos and such.
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Reviewed by Emily from England on 11th Dec 2009
I adored this phone when i purchased it, however now i am slighly regreting
it! the glass top of the phone is completely scratched it turns its
self off all the time, i am on a 24 month contract, still another year
and 2 months to go! i would seriously advise to anyone wanting this
phone to get a short contract! the camera isnt as good as i expected,
i have the phone in red, which is the only thing i like at the moment
aout it. its a very unique phone. The music player is very good, and
has a very high memory. overall ok phone. the features are what is making
me give this phone 4 stars. cannot wait to upgrade in 2011!!! :)
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Reviewed by bob from japan on 8th Dec 2009
it's a really good phone, but it does not let it self (music and video)
with a mac :( ALso it is an mp4 player so you add movies etc.
Rating:
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Reviewed by shuevo from england on 22nd Nov 2009
this is the best phone for music ever it has the clearest phone speaker
ever i will rate it 10/10
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Reviewed by Richard from England on 16th Nov 2009
DONT BUY THIS PHONE. had it 9 weeks buttons started to come off. took
it back to shop said it was wear and tear. dont buy going to get a nokia
xpress music fone now. built alot better
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by E Taylor from UK on 16th Nov 2009
Love everything about the W980i BUT after 9 months it has died! The
connection point for the charger and earphones will not work, a battery
change has resulted in it not recognising anything. The only way it
will charge is to clamp it with pliers but that is starting to not work
The supplier will only replace with an inferior non walkman phone -
NOT HAPPY my contract is 18 months so have another miserable 9 to go!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Katie Smith from UK on 24th Oct 2009
Do not buy this phone!!!! I had it on contract and am now on my 3rd
replacement, unfortunately my contractor will not give me another handset,
so I am having to deal with the constant shut down, freezing and various
other issues! DO NOT BUY!!!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by stevie from scotland uk on 17th Oct
2009
battery life very poor ,camera poor, audio brilliant. i have had no
problems with glitches eg. shutting down.better than the nokia n95 and
the samsung tocco although the nokia had very good camera
Rating:
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Reviewed by muthu from india on 15th Oct 2009
fantasic
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Reviewed by Ricky from Philippines on 14th Oct
2009
Pretty sleek phone. Don't argue with the camera because this IS a walkman
phone. But... Design, performance, audio quality... the best!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Billy Boy from England on 9th Oct
2009
The features on this phone are good as is the design, however it has
broken 3 times every time it goes in for repair it breaks within a few
weeks, this is clearly not an isolated case reading the other reviews.
I have always bought sony ericsson phones in the past but will reconsider
next time Should you buy it? Probably not!
Rating: 
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Reviewed by Jerri from USA on 1st Oct 2009
I got this phone just before the summer.. I love it!!!! yes, it is not
that flashy of a phone, however, it is user friendly and works great
on-line.. It does what I want it to... Camera is great and video! Has
not let me down!!!
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Reviewed by Peter from Uk on 28th Sep 2009
Had this phone for 5 months and never had a problem with it, though
i admit its a pain if you recieve loads of texts (flipping it open every
5 minutes). Average camera but very good music player, and, as a phone
it works well. Just seems a bit out of date for a music phone.
Rating:
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Reviewed by chrissy from england on 26th Sep 2009
a thought it was a great phone at first then after 2 month it turned
itself and now when you turn it on the screen wont cum on......rubbish
phone dont buy it
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by AG from uk on 21st Sep 2009
HATE IT. its ugly and has a rubbish camera
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by George from england on 15th Sep 2009
GOOD PHONE ITS SOME TIMES SWICTH IS SELF OFF. IT DOSE GET ANOYING AFTER
A WHILE I WOULD RECAMEND A DIFFRENT SONY ERRICTON
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Reviewed by JohnMichael from UK on 13th Sep 2009
Great phone! Had it for 2 weeks now and cant put it down. I would defiantly
recommend this phone!
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Reviewed by meena from Newzealand on 8th Sep 2009
i have had this phone for more than 3 months now and it is the best
phone i have ever had .i haven't had any of the freezing or turning
its self off and the phone is real good i had problems with my other
phone that was a Sony ericssion k800i that turned off by its self and
the screen was blurred when it was turned back on.
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Reviewed by Dave from UK on 7th Sep 2009
Had this phone just over a month when it crashed & wouldn't start up
again, so sent it in for repair only for it to happen again a week later
losing all music and data in the process. fairly good phone aside from
software problems which seem to be quite common
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Reviewed by Tony from England on 2nd Sep 2009
1st one went back as it had awful signal reception on this one is'nt
much better. The battery life is appaling even with very light use.
Music through built in speaker is very quiet. I wished i'd stuck with
W300 although the keys are better spaced out.
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Reviewed by Richard from Wales on 1st Sep 2009
Ive had mine about 6 weeks now. Its nice looking and Im quite pleased
with it though I would have to say in wouldnt recommend it or any Sony
Ericsson phones as it does switch itself off. This seems to be quite
common. Its not as if it crashes when your doing something, you just
look at it and realise its not on! I'll persavere with it but i am a
bit dissapointed with it. I just dont understand why they cant make
a phone that doesnt switch itself off!
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Reviewed by Sufina from Uk on 29th Aug 2009
This phone is allright if you like what of looks like the camera is
rubbish it's a scratch nightmare the rubber back dents very easily it
crashes alot which is very bad if you have no patience it has a motion
sencore which is good for games the front part is really cool just a
cool when you play a song and you see the w press the down button many
times and just bubbles of colour it looks really fun every time you
get a different colour well it's a really cool device and you should
consider buying it
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Reviewed by Chris from England on 24th Aug 2009
Great for music and very simple to use. Looks great, love the orange
light that beats to the bass. 8GB memory is extremly good. Camera not
bad unless you plan on taking good quality pictures alot (which i dont).
only let down is that after about a month it looks like my cat has clawed
the hell out of the front, even though 90% of the time its sitting in
a empty pocket!!!!! Apart from that its worth the money and im glad
i have it.
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Reviewed by hayley from england on 16th Aug 2009
i have had this phone for more than 3 months now and it is the best
phone i have ever had .i havent had any of the freezing or turning its
self off. but there is one tiny thing that happens sometimes when i
am listening to my music through the head phones ,sometimes the music
goes quite then loud again but this might be because i hadnt plugged
them in properly but nothing else has gone wrong. i find the camera
good quality even though it is a music phone . overall really impressed
with this phone, battery life is also very good . anyone who is looking
for a music phone should go for this one .
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Reviewed by Mike Dusitalai from BKK,Thailand on
16th Aug 2009
Good phone!!!
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Reviewed by SAM from England on 13th Aug 2009
I think this phone is good but i would recommed it to teenagers beacuse
oof the accersory and that.
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Reviewed by Luke Littler from England on 13th
Aug 2009
I have had the phone for 3 week and the front of it has scratced to
pieces!! just by being in my pocket! it turns it self off all of the
time on its own this phone is the worst phone available !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT BUY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by daniel from united kingdom on 12th
Aug 2009
this phone is rubbish!!! camera is shocking, music player is useless
and the screen is too small. plus mine turns itself off all the time.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Klass from u.k on 8th Aug 2009
The phone is a very good phone and therfore i would reccomend it. It
has good music and a good camera with nice handy touch feautures which
have been included in the device. it however has got less battery and
is quite big when opened. The design of the phone is exxccellent and
has got a large memory for songs etc. At such a good price you cannnot
really go wrong for this because it is competing against such higher
priced phones. Overall a superb phone
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Reviewed by robbie the pict from scotland on 8th
Aug 2009
was going to buy one of these butas soon as i saw it ,changed my mind
looked cheap and nasty.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Deepak from India on 30th Jul 2009
Fantastic phone! My 2nd walkman and 3rd Sony Ericsson phone. I had the
w550 earlier and this is way much better. I was waiting for a stylish
clamshell walkman and this was perfect. Sound quality is awesome. The
speakers are not as loud as w550, but quality is much better. looks
very stylish and i like the look of the keypad as well. I don't multitask
with it, so has crashed only once so far. charge lasts for 3/4 days
with 2-3 hours of music and an hour talk time daily. Camera is good
for use in day light. I liked the fm transmitter and it works beautifully
with my car stereo. Will get some screen protector for it. At 200$ this
is outstanding!!
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Reviewed by m from inglang on 24th Jul 2009
poor
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Dan from UK on 9th Jul 2009
I have the black blob as well (actually 3 of them but 2 are quite small)
at first i thought it was dead pixels and worryingly it was getting
bigger. then 3 weeks ago, just before it fully engulfed the last pixel
of the text message symbol, it moved! i got my phone out of my pocket
and the blob had moved across to the left and now blocks my 3G symbol,
which is much less of an issue. other than my blob, i've not had any
other issues and it's definately my best SE phone yet.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Risha Aneja from India on 6th Jul
2009
Beautiful, sleek, 8GB memory, sound quality is amazing, much better
than overrated iPod's. That's all I need! I truly love this phone...
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Reviewed by Ken from SG on 4th Jul 2009
I got the black bob thingy too! and the earpiece, i dont' know how to
fix the black bob, its growing in size 0.o. But It doesn't take much
time to transfer files into it?, well when i transferred a 6 gig file
into it it took 1 hour but yea... a 200 mb file took a few minutes?
My phone doesn't freeze at all though, and if i use it wisely, i can
go up to 3-4 days, 2 days if i keep listening to music. I've even tried
plugging it and playing warcraftIII it worked pretty okay to me.( I
found out i'm killing its ram though) Mabi it doesn't crash for me cause
i keep it off for a while, and 8 gig of internal memory can be pretty
killer for the ram if you stuff it. Just be careful what you do with
it i think this phone isn't half bad, first thing you do when you buy
the phone is buy a protector =P. Then it'll look super stylish for the
rest of the time you have it. This phone is only for those people who
keep their things in tip top shape.(not me)
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Reviewed by Steve from UK on 3rd Jul 2009
The first thing I'll say is that I personally rate the clamshell form,
seems to me to be the logical design for a mobile. It allows a fairly
compact design when closed, but with a nice big screen and keypad when
open. Used a 980 for two months now and overall I'm fairly pleased with
it. Realy nice big bright screen, very spaced out keypad (which does
take some getting used to) and pretty lightweight overall and nicely
balanced when open. Very plastic build quality though, with high gloss
surfaces that look ace for about four days.....! Then it's micro scratch
and fingerprint hell! Operating system is Sonys finely honed best, BUT
it does run slow, especially in the music player and typing a text message
slows to a crawl if the internet is open in the background and music
is playing. Not a good multi tasker.... I've also experienced about
five random shut downs/re-starts, which is not good. But it does sort
itself out pretty quickly and even saves the text you were in the middle
of writing. Music player is great (8Gb built in memory), and sounds
brilliant but again, runs a tad slow and 'sticky'. Camera is not great
for a phone, ok for occasional use though. Battery life is rubbish,
same as 98% of modern multi media phones. To sum up: Very plastic, creaky
build. Great music player. Very good volume on ear piece and speaker.
Op system runs slow with some random re-starts. Not brilliant Mr Sony.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Rachel from UK on 22nd Jun 2009
I think basically what dngn_rdr from Australia thinks :) Some crashing
but if nothing comes off it, just that happening an odd time, it has
good quality sound, grand camera, great screen size, handy little organiser
and looks good too!!
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Reviewed by dngn_rdr from Australia on 27th May
2009
I love this phone and the only reason I don't give it 5 stars is the
periodic crashing (just had one moments ago but it's been over a month
since last one) or turning itself off - paper or thin card against the
battery does help, not a great fit. Otherwise it's a sensational phone.
Rating:
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Reviewed by fireguy from uk on 22nd May 2009
Had this phone for a couple of weeks absolutely love it.Yes the camera
is not the best but.. its a walkman that is why, if you want a camera
buy a nikon! no problem charging no probs with battery life ,no freezing.
Yes its a fingerprint magnet but it looks sooo good.I am 52 this is
the first phone I have really enjoyed to text with, the keypad being
more spaced out,well done S/Ericsson.I love the menu system so easy
to use have not needed the manual up to now. I agree with Dr Smith turning
off your mobile once a day does help.The camera lens is in a stupid
place but with time you can adapt to the way to hold the phone when
taking pictures.For me the walkman is fantastic great sound and bags
of memory,what more do you need.
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Reviewed by Scooper from UK on 10th May 2009
I have died and gone to heaven! Having been in a mobile phone mid-life
crisis for the last 6 months, I have finally found the phone of my dreams!
The thing that sold this phone to me - IT HAS AN FM TRANSMITTER!!!!!
Not much is made of this in any of the adverts / reviews but it is the
thing that makes it stand out from all the other phones for me. Not
only does it have 8GB's of built in memory, but I can actually play
my music in the car by transmitting it to my car stereo. I have all
of my large CD collection stored on it and it's only just over half
full - room for lots more! Yes - it sometimes doesn't acknowledge it's
being charged, so I simply take out the charger and then put it back
in, and all is fine. Yes, I'm often filming my fingers coz the camera
lens is in an awkward place and I have to hold the phone in a weird
way to clear the lens. But not much of a price to pay, considering it
has an FM TRANSMITTER!!!!
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Reviewed by Dr.smith from England on 5th May 2009
For those people who say that their phone freezes then you should turn
your phone off for about an hour a day to reset the ram like in computers
otherwise your phone will crash also to the people who find that their
phone turns off by itself then place a small bit of paper hn next to
the battery so that fits nice and snug in the back
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Reviewed by Valentino from indonesia on 4th May
2009
i'm sill using it for 8 months until now. i love this phone because
it is the best clamshell walkman phone and has touch control also has
a great music player(if using headphone), but same like provious comment
it's often switching itself, the battery is not good( i always charge
it minimum every 2days), has slow respond if i opened application or
playing games or when transfer data to pc, some times it breeze itself,
the headset some time is not recognise when i connect to phone, camera
also is'nt good in 3.2m class. it just has better resolution than other
walkman phone but the quality is suck
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Reviewed by Daniel from UK on 3rd May 2009
Like many other people on here, it's around the nine month mark of be
having the phone (so mid-way through my 18 month contract), and not
only does my phone freeze, fail to recognise when head-sets/chargers
have been plugged in (to the point that it is no longer a walkman phone
because I can't listen to music on it), and also The front screen has
developed some kind of black blob on the display, without me ever having
dropped the phone or anything! When it works, this phone is pretty good,
but unfortunately it's let down by the fact that it has so many design
flaws that let down what COULD be a pretty solid phone.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Sharon Queen from Scotland on 29th
Apr 2009
I am used to sliders and previously had w850i and moved onto this. At
first I missed the previous one but soon liked the flip function and
especially love the keypad. The main reason I bought this is for the
music feature which is great, could be better when played on loudspeaker
but still better than most. Had it 9 months now and have had to send
it back for repair/replacement as it is switching itself off and now
does not recognise when charger/headphones/speakers/usb are connected.
I don't think battery life is too bad - I use it frequently for the
music and charge it every 3 days or so which I think is fair considering
how much I use it. All in all I love this phone except for the fact
it is now faulty after 9 months - not like Sony Ericsson!
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Reviewed by Anna from warrington on 22nd Apr 2009
As with all Sony Ericsson phones this is very useable and has a great
quality walkman. However it is prone to screen freezes and often doesnt
recognise its charging, I have had this phone for 7 months now and the
problems are still existing
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Reviewed by Vince from Canada on 20th Apr 2009
I'm never listening to the reviews on this site again; they're biased
as hell. So despite ignoring certain reviews down here and only reading
the main review up there, I figured "meh, need a new phone, lets go
buy". In the half year I've had it this phone has frozen many times.
During data transfers it freezes. Load speed is MUCH slower than my
old w850i. As of right now, 350MB file transfering to it is taking 24
minutes+ and is probably going to freeze. I've updated firmware, gotten
a new one, done about everything except take it apart. Oh, and battery
life? I'm sure we all know about that. BAD PHONE. STAY AWAY.
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
20th Apr 2009
Thanks for taking the time to write a review, Vince, especially considering
your low opinion of us. Hey, we're sooo not biased we even printed your
review :) We did mention the poor battery life in our review, plus some
other bad stuff that you haven't complained about.
Reviewed by shuevo from england on 6th Apr 2009
this phone is the worst it broke down lots of times and its camra is
rubbish but lovley sound . batttry life poor
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Reviewed by danielPx from Portugal on 26th Mar
2009
Very nice phone! Very stylish and slim, nice to use, great value for
your money and excellent build and sound quality! Love the walkman function.
Hae mine for 3 days and allready love it, just one thing, When will
sonyericsson move the space key to zero and no in the #? Don't like
that... evreything eles, excellente as allways with SE phones.
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Reviewed by Daf from UK on 19th Mar 2009
Had the phone for a year,its great for texting as i have large hands,
music sounds good camera is fine so is video,never had dropped calls
battery is good too, BUT of late i have had it turning itself off now
and again and a slight delay/freeze? but all in all a good all round
phone.
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Reviewed by Sha from UK on 7th Mar 2009
Great phone but the sound quality on calls lets the phone down.
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Reviewed by balu from India bangalore on 16th
Feb 2009
Nice phone but no walkmate... No landscape mode for pictures in file
manager and no speaker quality compared to c902.. . I have used almost
all the sony ericsson phones but w980i is the best for music lovers
and it is class in design but gu wants to be slim. :). Superb display
clarity.... And so 9/10
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Reviewed by Magby from Singapore on 15th Feb 2009
THIS PHONE IS RUBBISH. I JUST FINISHED CHARGING IT FOR 8 HOURS AFTER
I BOUGHT AND CONNECTED IT TO MY COMPUTER USING THE NEW USB PROVIDED
AND BOOM! IT GOES OFF AND CAN'T BE ON
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
15th Feb 2009
So, Magby, yours seems to be broken. Why not get it fixed, then review
it again?
Reviewed by raynolds a gusbuch from ghana on 12th
Feb 2009
I LOVE USING IT.(RYNGUSS@YAHOO.COM)
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Reviewed by Colin@Rush from Wales UK on 7th Feb
2009
I agree with most of the review except i find the camera pretty good...
I bought it for music and it is a superb music phone so for me 10/10
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Reviewed by Daniel from Hull on 27th Jan 2009
just got this phone an d love it
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Reviewed by louise from nottingham on 16th Jan
2009
had this phone from santa very nice man indeed.the phone is THE BEST
had the w910i which woz pants.i can now talk text &lisnen to good quality
sounds with out freezing and going blank on me.even my husband has the
same phone and he loves the 8gig memory.
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Reviewed by zohair from u.k on 26th Dec 2008
This is a very good designed phone and the sound quality is very very
good,& the cam,era is excellent
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Reviewed by gargoyleprotected from UK on 16th
Dec 2008
I couldn't wait to get my hands on the W980i. I love music phones &
especially flip phones. I got my W980i on contract in Sept. Well I have
to say the W980i is very disappointing. It is very slow & freezes often.
I even updated the software but the slowness has not improved. When
ever you close the phone after a call or reading/sending texts it automatically
reverts back to the music controls. So unless you keep the phone lock
on you are constantly starting the music player by accident, which is
pretty annoying esp when you are at work. The polished finish looks
good until you touch it coz it constantly looks dirty & scratches far
too easily. The camera is pooh!! Not only are the pictures not as good
as you would expect from a 3.2 mp camera. But also the lens is in such
a silly place that it is almost impossible to keep your fingers off
it when trying to take a pic. Although it sounds promising this phone
just does not live up to expectations.
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Reviewed by angst from uk on 8th Dec 2008
i love sony ericsson phones but unfortunately the negative reviews in
regards to this are correct, the phone constantly freezes, and shuts
itself down for no reason at all. better luck next time sony
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Mabs from UK on 14th Nov 2008
Recently upgraded to this phone, and had the usual excited rush to open
the box, but once I had put the battery in and set the phone up it took
me very little time at all to begin to hate it!! I am afraid that the
only good aspect to the phone is the sound quality and volume, and the
storage! Other than that I was incredibly disappointed with the phone!
The UI was sooooo slow and buggy it was unbelievable, the keypad seems
to have been designed for people with deformed hands, and the web browser
was absolutely terrible! Perhaps inevitably, the phone is now back in
the very incapable hands of vodafone...
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by mia from United Kingdom on 3rd Nov
2008
i have this phone, and its amazing...... i dont know what these people
are saying, it has NO flaws at all. i think the clamshell design works
really well, but i have to agree that the camera is quite annoying.
ROCK ON, W980i!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by Phuong from Viet Nam on 27th Oct 2008
I love my phone so much,the sound quality is amzing,and camera phone
is good if shot in the day,ang ok in the night.Sometims lag.The touch
screen led is cool.So many app can do with it's shake control
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Reviewed by Mirza from Macedonia on 20th Oct 2008
I have the phone for a month and it is pretty good i am surprised by
the sound quality a satisfying camera and an easy to use interface but
i defiantly recommend the new iphone 3g it's simple the best.
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Reviewed by Jax from UK on 11th Oct 2008
Ok I am another one who never writes reviews on these sites but i felt
compelled to this time round. I have to say I fell in love with the
phone when I saw it and wanted it right away.... Even paid extra to
have it early.... days after its release. I had it all of a month and
it died.... fully charged would not turn on and I had done nothing to
it. All I had done was the same thing I have done with my other sony
which still works perfectly fine. That was number one.... I am now on
my third in a month because the phone is terrible.... Now, the phone
is meant to be an MP3 phone and you should be able to fill it up with
all your music via your PC.... Fat chance of that happening. I plugged
it in via my PC and I put some music on it and then it started restarting
itself all the time and is still doing it now. And has been for hours
and it is the second one I have had do it... They either die completely
or they keep restarting for no reason at all. I loved sony after my
W880i now I am going back to Nokia... Its safer.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Richard from England on 8th Oct 2008
I thought this phone was great for the first week, even though i was
advised on forums and from friends to avoid getting it do to issues
regarding the build 'quality' and the battery life. The camera isn't
as good as the K800i, although i wasn't expecting it to be. The sound
quality is great through the supplied headphones, but quite poor when
you attach a 3.5mm and used my own headphones. Some reviews have suggested
that the audio quality is excellent, but what they don't point out is
that the excellent headphones serve a compensatory purpose to make up
for the poor audio signal quality. In other words, there is STILL no
improvement in the poor audio quality of the walkman range. Battery
life lasts me about 1.5 days with light usage. The only good thing i've
found about this phone is the UI (when it isn't freezing and rebooting
all the the time) and the headphones provided. Other than that, this
phone is rubbish.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Pete from UK on 3rd Oct 2008
This phone looks the part and is nice to text on etc. But the earpiece
quality on calls is dreadful - very muffled and when you put the volume
up it is very distorted, so that you cannot hear what the other person
is saying. It is all but useless when used outdoors or in any kind of
semi-noisy environment. It was not that my model was faulty, as I took
the first one back and tried another handset. Why none of the professional
reviews bother mentioning this is beyond me. Avoid at all costs.
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
3rd Oct 2008
Well, Pete, we didn't bother mentioning it, because in fact we found
the audio quality to be exceptionally good. I think that both the handsets
you tried must be faulty.
Reviewed by Leeza from Uk on 2nd Oct 2008
Absolutely love this phone. Have had it now for about a month and wanted
one from the first day I saw it and it has not disappointed. I love
the sound quality of this phone. I love bass, the deeper the better
and this phone delivers bass in droves. Its like listening to my music
through a sub woofer! OK not quite but you get my drift. Awesome bass!
The phone has other neat features which just adds to its appeal for
me but too numerous to mention here. On the con side it has frozen on
me twice when playing music but easily fixed by removing the battery.
If I could add one feature it would have to be a sleep function for
the music player as I often listen to my music when going to bed. Overall
I think this is a fantastic phone and highly recommend it.
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Reviewed by Sean Rowley from Wales on 23rd Sep
2008
excellent music player, not much new features, back cover always comes
off, mines been a bit tempremental..likes to go blank on me sometimes
wether its just mine im not to sure, other than that great phone, 8gb
internal memory, to be honest i only bought it because of the walkman
feature it's brilliant
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Reviewed by XxAdelexX from uk on 22nd Sep 2008
Buttons are easy to use and music is easy to install the touch screen
ist easy to use and the screen occasionly rotates battery life is very
poor but the phone stores a lot of music i am pleased i brought it
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Reviewed by Miguel from Australia on 22nd Sep
2008
This phone is great, have had it for nearly 2 weeks now, I won't go
into the positives cause we already know them but just a few negative
issues.. One is I've found whilst listening to music it just freezes
and shuts down for no reason, this usually happens about once every
day! Secondly I've found in the Walkman app when having 2 or more albums
with the same name (e.g. Greates Hits) but from a different artists,
it uses the album cover image of the first Greatest Hits album you copied
across, in other words it thinks they're all the same album (though
this only affects album cover art and not the songs.. and thirdly the
battery doesn't last too long, I only use it for about 2-3 hrs a day
listening to music on the train + 2 or 3 short calls and a few txt msg's
(not much) yet still have to recharge it every second night if I'm lucky
Other than that the music sound quality is great and I'd say even better
than the iPod..
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Reviewed by Jack from UK on 20th Sep 2008
Got this phone and after 3 days sent it in for repair.. the screen broke
after being knocked around in my pocket whilst walking, not easy to
take pictures with. good speaker but not reliable
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Beamy from UK on 18th Sep 2008
I like this mobile phone, camera is Ok but as Ben said it is difficult
to take a picture you have to open the phone, but better than nothing.
I find the battery run out so quick, I have to re-charge everyday…otherwise
it is good mobile
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Reviewed by Clayre Campbell from Scotland on 15th
Sep 2008
My first Sony Ericsson phone... and I will never EVER go back! I love
it so much and the music quality is above anything you've ever heard
before. I love how the clear plastic bit lights up to the beat of the
music! Brilliant! really easy to text aswel as thats what i use it for
the most. ONLY PROBLEM. I see other reviews have said you can sync it
to your itunes and i was just wondering how you did that. I LOVE THIS
MOBILE!!
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Reviewed by Ry from Manchester , UK on 14th Sep
2008
Ben i have got the phone i have had it over 4 weeks now i have the krusell
rotate clip with it and its perfect , it does not need a Jack Jack Jack
like you say for 3.5mm the earphones provided are different to all the
other Walkman series phones as they have been produced to the highest
standard and provide optimum music experience. Yes the camera aint the
best and it needs to be opened to use but the camera is added to give
it more desiraiblity not as a major selling feature , its there for
music not for sitting in your back garden taking pictures of daisies
and telling your friends about ISO levels and Xenon flashes. PLUG it
in mate TURN it up and ENJOY it does excellently whats its SOLD AS !
And also the voice dialling feature is even more improved cutting out
any background noise and being able to assign a personal SMS alert to
all your friends makes it a notch above what else it out there. [Editor's
comment: Thanks Ry and Ben, let's leave this debate now and hear from
some other folk :)]
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Reviewed by Dave from UK on 13th Sep 2008
I coveted this phone from the moment I first saw it! I just had to have
it. Now i have been living with it a few weeks I think I can write a
balanced review. As a walkman the sound quality and software is excellent.
I have had Sony MP3 players before that were ruined by Sony's insistence
on "sonic stage" but you can use 'drag n drop' and Media Player here
as well, so full marks. The only downside is you can't plug your own
3.5mm headphones directly into phone, it uses a Sony connector. The
headphones supplied with this phone are very high quality though. Using
it as an Mp3 player doesn’t feel compromised in any way. I don't
bother using camera features on a phone, as I have an actual camera
which I prefer. However the camera on this phone is merely "adequate"
and if this is the main feature you would use, I would look elsewhere.
Styling wise it looks VERY nice when closed and being used as an MP3
player. Can't help thinking it looks a bit 'boring' when open though?
I used to have a KRZR which I loved the look of. Size wise the phone
is fine, much easier to live with than brick phones. Battery life is
fine but not outstanding. To sum up buy this phone if you want an MP3
player/phone that doesn’t compromise.
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Reviewed by Ben from Staffs Uk on 11th Sep 2008
Ry, Thanks for pointing that out its all clear to me now!! But answer
this, if it's such a good walkman walkman walkman, where is the 3.5mm
jack???(jack jack) Ohh and does yr Xbox have a cup holder on it? NO,
it does one thing and it does it well!!! I bet you haven't even got
the phone??
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Reviewed by Ry from Manchester , UK on 11th Sep
2008
Ben jeez man "Why put the 980i on the W range if its camera quality
aint much use"...... W = Walkman , it is a Walkman phone WALKMAN WALKMAN
WALKMAN thats what the W stands for if it had a xenon flash and easy
to use camera it would be in the C range called a C980i , C = Camera
W = Walkman !!!!!! Take it you dont like XBOX cos it dont play PS3 games
too..... The w980i is an outstanding WALKMAN phone if u want a Camera
look at the c902.
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Reviewed by de2 from e3re32 on 9th Sep 2008
ttttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeee best
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Reviewed by mark from staines on 8th Sep 2008
had the phone 5 days and found it very hard to use and download .easty
to scratch and mark
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Ben from England - Staffs on 8th Sep
2008
I had this as an upgrade, but in the end i sent it back. WHY, you ask?
Well there's no doubt about it, its stunning to look at, and don't worry
about the front screen you can lock it. As flip phones go its a pretty
good one and an excellent ipod. BUT.. The camera is a total waste of
time, unlike the W850i you have to press the button on the key pad to
take pic, so its very fiddly to take pics and that is not helped buy
the fact that you have to have the phone open to take pics!!! If you
could shut it and take pics using the (otherwise useless)Front srceen,
then it would be much MUCH better. Also no Light or flash!! Why put
the camera on the W range?? its just a waste of time.
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Reviewed by Sue from Scotland on 5th Sep 2008
Had this phone a week now and was considering sending it back as the
first few days the battery just kept draining away within 24 hours.
But, I then locked the outside/front touch sensitive keys using the
little slider on the side of the phone and it has made a huge difference
and the battery life is now what I would expect -plus the phone doesn't
start making musical noises when in my pocket or bag! Other than that,
I like the look and feel of the phone - it doesn't look or feel cheap
or plasticky but feels well built. I like the buttons spaced out and
have no problems with texting. The phone moves quickly enough round
the menu. A couple of times when I have opened the phone the menu optioon
hasn't been there but has always reappeared when I close and reopen
it. Sound is very good, pictures are crisp and clear-better than the
Samsung G600 I have just upgraded from. Signal is very good too, I work
in a basement office and in the past with mobile phones I often haven't
been able to hear the person on the other end as they break up a lot
- not with this phone. The big plus for me is the phone has a loud ring
tone -it is seriously loud and I can't imagine missing a call or text!
All in all, I think this is a great phone.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Card from UK on 4th Sep 2008
Seriously I wish people would actually find out how their phone works
before reviewing on this site. To Rod from Aberdeen, of course the music
will start if you put the phone in your pocket...it has touch sensitive
buttons! Check the side of the phone and you'll see a small button that
locks the phone that is designed precisely for when you have it in your
pocket! Seriously, don't review something if you can't be bothered to
find out how it works. For my part I'm very pleased with this phone,
the camera could be better but it doesn't bother me particularly as
I buy the W range for music. Phone's nice and sleek, not quite as nice
when you open it but still classy. If you're coming off a candybar like
a W890 it will feel strange at first, but you'll get used to it in no
time. I can't get enough of this phone personally.
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Reviewed by AW from Rotherham on 2nd Sep 2008
Its the most beautiful toy I've ever had and the FM transmitter is a
cracking idea. BUT .... standby time of 300 hours, I think not. I managed
to get about 30 hours over the last weekend and during that time I barely
used the phone at all. I left home with it 7 hours ago, fully charged,
have sent/read approx 10 text messages and the battery is already at
67%. Has anyone else had this problem?
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Reviewed by Rod from Aberdeen on 2nd Sep 2008
There's no doubt about it, this a very good phone. If your into music
that is. No use, if like me you keep it in your pockets. It starts playing
the music as the touch sensitive buttons on the front cover activate
very easily. Agree with earlier review, not very private with the front
cover screen showing who is sending text and first line of text. Its
a well made phone and the keypad is well laid out but duplicate buttons
meant I kept opening Internet which was a pest. The camera is excellent.
Battery life not good but overall a very good phone its just not for
me.
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Reviewed by Clive from Oxford on 31st Aug 2008
Great phone but the back cover fell off and was lost after a week. No
idea where to get a new one! Also am I the only one who can't get their
entire Itunes library to sync?
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Reviewed by hikaru from japan on 27th Aug 2008
@ Paul: Menu > Settings > New events > change from activity menu to
popup.
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Reviewed by paul from aberdeen on 25th Aug 2008
i totally LOVE this phone - except for one thing... when i get a text,
its shows who its from and the first line of message on the main screen..not
good for privacy! does anyone know if this feature can be turned off?
ive gone through all the settings and cant seem to find out how, or
if it can be done...HELP !
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Reviewed by Rob from UK on 25th Aug 2008
What can I add that those here have not already said? This phone is
amazing. I've always steered clear of hybrid phones, but after looking
at a friends W980, I was hooked. Starting with the looks, it is sleek.
It feels perfectly weighted in the hand and the clam shell feels like
it can take some abuse. The buttons are spaced apart with at first seems
odd, but soon you become used to it, and it actually makes more sense
that way. The fact that it comes with 8gig memory to start with really
was a selling factor for me. I've put 3 gigs of music across already
(the transfer rate is very quick). Might try and put some movies on
there for the way to work. It syncs easily with both my Mac and PC,
and like the reviewer said before, it also works with Itunes :) I have
to say, there is so much more to explore from this phone that I've just
started to see, but I am very impressed with it, from the way it looks
to the way it sounds. Call clarity is spot on and I know I'll be happy
with this phone for the next year. Again, big 5/5
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Reviewed by kez from england on 25th Aug 2008
i think the phone is very nice but when u flip it up its just ugly and
quit diffacult to work
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