Sony Ericsson W950i

Last update: Review by Bios Magazine (added on 16/02/07)

Sony Ericsson W950i is targeted for the music lovers around the world, with its large space of 4GB that holds up to 4000 songs and excellent music quality. The Sony Ericsson W950i is a Dual Mode UMTS Walkman phone featuring 3G, FM Tuner, up to 10 hrs music play time, RSS Feeds, bluetooth 1.2, supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, WAV and m4a.

Sony Ericsson W950i Latest Price Info

>> REVIEWS (last updated: 16/02/07)

Bios Magazine reviews the Sony Ericsson W950i (rating: 7.5/10) and writes;
“Thankfully you can multitask between listening to music, SMS texting, e-mailing and browsing the Internet, should a colleague need to get in touch. Getting music into the W950i is fast and simple and can be done in a number of ways. The supplied Disc2Phone music management software is an intuitive package that handles transferring music stored on your PC to the phone. UMTS capability also makes the W950i ready for fast direct-to-phone transfers from available operators’ download services…Pros:Great looks & build quality; awesome sound quality; 3G; 4GB HDD; FM tuner; crisp display; stylish carrying pouch. Cons:No camera or memory slot; lacks Wi-Fi; stylus is a pain; not a world radio.”

CNET Australia reviews the Sony Ericsson W950i (rating: 6.9/10) and writes;
“The biggest drawcard for this phone is that it contains 4GB of storage, and as such is pitting itself against Nokia’s N91. Also in line with the newer phones in the Walkman range, the W950i supports TrackID which enables users to record several seconds of music of a song playing within earshot and then, potentially, get the track name and artist…As a music phone we are happy to report that it’s actually quite successful. The sound via the included earbuds is clear, and so as an mp3 player it’s a very good one. It’s easily better in this regard than the otherwise excellent W810i. The comparatively boundless capacity helps here, too.”

Mobile-Review reviews the Sony Ericsson W950i ;
“The model features a TFT QVGA display (240х320 pixel) with the diagonal of 2.6 inches. The screen doesn’t fade in the sun and what is more, provides a vivid picture with good color rendering (up to 262 K colors); therefore the phone leaves a favorable impression. Keeping in mind the fact, a number of functions require touching the screen, one could have expected an additional protective substrate, and an upgrade of Sony Ericsson P990i technology. Though the developers didn’t incorporate something like this into this handset, that’s why you should consider purchasing some screen protectors, since when touching the screen your fingers leave prints.”

CNET Asia reviews the Sony Ericsson W950i (rating: 7.7/10) and writes;
“We tested the 3G-enabled Sony Ericsson W950i and found the call quality and reception good with the built-in speakers sufficiently loud. Even though the speakers are on the rear, at maximum volume, music was clearly audible when the handset was placed on its back on the table…If you commute daily for about 1.5 hours and listen to either your MP3s or radio faithfully, then you can expect the 950mAh Lithium-polymer battery to take you through three days on normal usage comprising some calls and text messages. While on GSM networks, the company rates the phone for 7.5 hours of talktime and 340 hours on standby. As a music player, we managed to keep the Walkman playing for 8 hours with 50 percent of the battery life still intact.”

GSM-Arena reviews the Sony Ericsson W950i ;
“Measuring at 106 x 54 x 15 mm, the W950 could be hardly called a compact phone, but as far as smartphones go, it is in fact pretty slim. The probable reason for that is the absence of a camera. When it comes to width though, our friend has lot more to show. But width is essential in order to be able to use comfortably the Jog Dial single-handedly. And you may agree, that is of great importance since besides the stylus, it is the only way to navigate through the interface…The functionality of the Calendar application is at a good level. You can choose between monthly, weekly and daily view and two time zones. The available events that you can store are Appointment, Reminder, All day event, and Anniversary. The birthday can be recorded as an Anniversary event since those events are repeated automatically through the years.”

Lordpercy reviews the Sony Ericsson W950i ;
“Business users haven’t been forgotten about either. The Sony Ericsson W950i has a Symbian operating system, enabling users to download new applications to their phones, and has all the features of a smartphone, including a calendar, to-do list and the ability to make conference calls. Handwriting recognition is also present, so you can actually write out memos and the phone translates them into text, however like all devices with this feature it means developing crystal clear handwriting to get full use out of this feature. For the rest of us the phone includes 3D Java games, Bluetooth and an FM radio.”

W950 ultra-stylish UMTS WALKMAN® phone is a dream for mobile music lovers

4GB storage plus high performance entertainment suite with touch screen

3GSM Congress, Barcelona, 13th Feb 2006 – A major addition to Sony Ericsson’s family of Walkman® phones is announced today. The W950 is an ultra-slim, ultra-stylish, UMTS-enabled device with 4GB of onboard storage complete with touch screen for simple navigation through music genres, playlists, individual songs or music albums.

More than a music phone, broadband-fast email and Web browsing plus a suite of high performance entertainment applications add to its capabilities, making it one of the most highly specified phones in the Sony Ericsson portfolio.

“Bringing the Walkman® brand to Sony Ericsson phones was one of our outstanding achievements in 2005 and we have now sold more than 3 million Walkman® phones,” said Miles Flint, President, Sony Ericsson, “W950 is our sixth Walkman phone to be introduced since that announcement and listening to music on mobile phones is now an established and growing consumer behaviour. This announcement also demonstrates the flexibility of the Symbian v9.1 and UIQ 3.0 platform to create a consumer focused offering as well as business and the W950 is now our third Symbian based handset to be introduced in 2006.”

The W950’s design will turn the heads of the most avid style aficionados. Its thin, sleek and compact form is finished in Mystic Purple, fingerprint-proof matt with orange accents. The purity of its design is strengthened by the keypad being flush with the surface, and orange backlighting that brings the music keys to life in a stunning, practical way.

The music player within the W950 has the functionality and sound quality of an equivalent standalone device. Its 4GB storage can take up to 4,000 songs and the sound quality, delivered on high quality headphones, makes listening to music a real pleasure. A new graphic-rich interface on the Walkman® player makes it easy to navigate around the music library by song, artist or playlist and now it’s possible to search visually by browsing through album covers using the stylus and touch screen. The W950 has all the benefits of a combined phone and music player, enabling multitasking between listening to music, SMS texting, emailing and browsing the Internet.

Getting music into the W950 is fast and simple and can be done in a number of ways. The supplied Disc2Phone music management software is an intuitive package that handles transfer to the phone of music stored in the user’s PC. UMTS capability also makes the W950 ready for fast direct-to-phone transfers from available operators’ download services.

Beyond music, the W950 is a complete mobile entertainment centre that delivers great speed and exceptional quality sound and vision. Users can now enjoy the complete spectrum of mobile multimedia applications, from web browsing, push email and video streaming to 3D gaming and store-and-share of media files. Besides music, 4GB is enough storage for a wealth of photos, video’s or email attachments in the phone.

Stereo sound through wireless headphones is now possible as the W950 support Bluetooth streaming in stereo. The Bluetooth Stereo Headset HBH-DS970 also announced today and available as an accessory delivers high quality stereo sound through stylish, comfortable headphones.

W950 is the 3rd Sony Ericsson phone based on the new Symbian v9.1 and UIQ 3.0 platform, benefiting from a growing multitude of third party applications. All of these applications are available to download from the Sony Ericsson Application Shop, an online catalogue that is stocked directly by third party developers.

The Sony Ericsson W950 is a Dual Mode UMTS Walkman phone starts shipping during Q3 2006. Regional variations are:

W950i - Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Europe, Asia Pacific,Middle East, Africa

W950c - Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Mainland China (launch for mainland China dependent on availability of 3G services.)

W950 – Features at a glance:

Music
o Walkman® player
o Supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, WAV and m4a
o 4 GB flash memory
o Up to 4.000 songs can be stored when downloading songs from operator networks in E-AAC+ file format
o Touchscreen with album art support
o Polyphonic ringtones, 40 voices
o Graphical equalizer and Mega Bass™
o Disc2Phone music management software
o Stereo headphones in the box
o FM radio with RDS
o MusicDJ™
o Speakerphone
o Streaming Audio/Video
o Bluetooth™ stereo streaming support
o Java MIDP 2.0
o 2D and 3D gaming
o Music play time – 10 hours

Messaging
o Bright QVGA TFT 2.6’’ Display
o 262K Color display
o Video playback , 30fps
o SMS, MMS and email
o Handwriting Recognition
o Touch screen
o Word completion and Auto correction

Connectivity
o Opera™ 8.0 Internet browser
o RSS Feeds
o Bluetooth™ 1.2
o Infrared port
o USB 2.0 Mass storage, High speed (480 Mbps)
o USB cable in the box
o Modem
o WAP 2.0 XHTML/HTML
o Dual Mode UMTS 2100 – GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900

Business
o Full HTML browser Opera™ 8
o External antenna connector
o USB charging
o PC synchronization
o Flight mode
o Size: 106 x 54 x 15 mm
o Weight 112 grams
o Talk time: up to 2.5/7.5 hours (UMTS/GSM)
o Standby time: up to 250/340 hours (UMTS/GSM)

For more information about W950, please click here

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sony Ericsson Corporate Communications
Telephone: +44 (0) 208 762 5858
Email: press.global@SonyEricsson.com

Any product features, specifications or statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual product features, specifications or forward-looking statements are subject to change.