Sony Ericsson K660

Sony Ericsson K660

The Internet literally at the palm of your hands! This new offering from Sony Ericsson, the K660, is designed to be a fully functional mobile Web browser that would make Internet surfing as convenient and simple as browsing on your personal computer. In today's web based fast paced lifestyle where everyone is constantly on the go and depend on web based applications for their daily schedules and routines, the K660 provides a viable option as a mobile Web browser. The K660 which was developed using Sony Ericsson's Java Platform 8 (JP-8) and supports Mobile Services Architecture (MSA) JSR 248, touted as the next step to the Java umbrella standard offers the user HDSPA mobile broadband connection experience. HDSPA offers download speeds that are four folds faster than any regular 3G connection.

Sony Ericsson is targeting the Web Generation with the K660 by providing then a rich, satisfying and user friendly web browsing experience. With the growing number of people arranging their lives around web based services, the development of the K660 is truly a step in the right direction of making the mobile phone a more functional and responsive tool for those who manage their lifestyle and social networks over the Internet. The compact 3G, HSDPA enabled K660 which comes in a web optimized candybar from measures 104mm x 47mm x 15mm and weighs in at 95 grams. This feature packed mobile web browser phone is available in two eye catching colors, wine on black and lime on white, which are both modern and trendy.

Some of the powerful and innovative features that come with the Sony Ericsson K660 are its support for UMTS, HSDPA 2100, GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900 and EDGE network band frequencies. 3G and EDGE with HSDPA allows for faster data transfer which will give the user an almost no waiting time broadband-like surfing experience. A technological innovation is the incorporation of shortcut keys that illuminate when the user is actively surfing the Internet, the introduction of the magnetic mouse pointer, where the navigation keys of the mobile phone acts as a personal computer mouse which allows the user to navigate the Internet and indicate which parts of the web page can be clicked or where input of text is allowed, it also has the functionality of zooming in on images or text, when the mobile phone is in web mode and desktop tickers that gives the user regular updates from his favorite Internet sites.

Landscape browsing, picture and video blogging, IM client, pan and zoom, and support for mobile e-mail are other very important features found on the K660 which can be activated by the user mostly just by the touch of a button just like you are surfing the Internet inSony Ericsson K660 - 2 front of your personal computer. Mobile Internet browsing experience will never be the same with the Bookmark function, single button interface that takes you to your Home Page and a shortcut that allows you to enter a valid Internet address all purposely designed to guide the user and make Internet access faster.

The landscape browsing function is very helpful in browsing some web sites especially when accessing one of the special features included in the Sony Ericsson K660, Google Maps for Mobile. This handy web application helps you to navigate different places with your K660 by having access to interactive maps that you can zoom out or zoom in or even allows you to pan in whichever direction or orientation you please. The instant access to maps allows you to enter your actual location and where is your destination and from this information, it will send you a point-to-point direction how to get there. The Google Maps for Mobile comes pre-installed with the Sony Ericsson K660. The K660 utilizes the NetFront web browser which gives users added functionality and easier navigation by providing instant access to RSS feeds and other updates without the need of opening the web browser.

The browsing experience is further enhanced with the incorporation of a two inch QVGA screen that can display 262k colors. Of course an expected component of the Sony Ericsson K660 is the inclusion of a digital camera. The compact frame of the K660 accommodates a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video recording capabilities. It also incorporates a second camera on the front panel designed for making video calls. And because the K660 is designed a quick access mobile Internet browser phone, after capturing those pictures and videos of your unforgettable adventures, you can immediately upload them to your blogsite, favorite social networks or send them directly to your family and friends ensuring that they are constantly updated of your activities. Despite being bombarded with a number of web applications and Internet friendly features, the Sony Ericsson K660 can also bring satisfaction to the regular mobile phone user.

The K660 also boasts of an integrated FM Radio tuner, sound recorder, video streaming capabilities, Stereo Bluetooth that supports A2DP and Speakerphone. The k660 has an internal memory size of 32Mb and comes outfitted with a memory slot that can accommodate a Sony Memory Stick Micro format memory card with a maximum capacity of 4 GB. The user can have additional enjoyment for his music with the packaged HPM-62 stereo headset. The 256Mb Memory Stick Micro included in the sales package of the Sony Ericsson K660 allows the user to save all his favorite music and picture files. The user has the option to purchase the Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Headset HBH-PV703 which automatically connects to the K600 by auto-pairing for that wireless satisfaction.

Summary of Sony Ericsson K660 Features

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Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 + HSDPA
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Dimensions: 104mm x 47mm x 15mm, 95g (with battery in compartment)
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Display Type: 2-inch TFT 240 x 320 px, 262k colors
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Memory: 32Mb (internal), Expandable 256Mb M2 (included), 4Gb (Expandable limit)
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Camera: 2MP 1600 x 1200 px, Video, Secondary CIF 640 x 480 px for Video calls
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Ringtones: Polyphonic, MP3, Vibrate
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Connectivity: GPRS, 3G, Modem, Bluetooth, USB, WAP, Browser, E-mail
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Other Features: SMS, MMS, Java games and applications, Clock, Alarm, T9, FM Radio, Voice Memo, Calculator
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Battery: Li-Po (9 hours talk time, 330 hours standby)

PROS: The Sony Ericsson K660 lives up to its hype as the mobile Internet browser phone by packing it with useful and functional web based applications and integrating in the design useful shortcuts to make mobile web browsing easier and more enjoyable. Innovations such as magnetic mouse pointer, pan and zoom, Google maps, landscape browsing, lightning fast Internet connection speeds, illuminated and dedicated shortcut keys all make the K660 a very desirable phone for the Web Generation.

CONS: Although the K660 has succeeded in incorporating innovations in its designed that will give the user a satisfying and gratifying mobile web browsing experience, there are some minor additions that can increase its market value. Sony Ericsson could have included GPS capability to work in combination with Google maps. Also the 2MP camera does not have an autofocus function which could be very useful for mobile users. And lastly, they could have considered that the packaged 256Mb M2 memory stick is simply too small for such a power packed mobile phone.

Overall: The Sony Ericsson K-series of mobile phones is developed primarily to address the growing Web Generation market whose lives evolve primarily on the Internet and web based applications. The K660 is a very welcome development and addition to the K-series family especially with the inclusion of innovative designs and features. The K660 although geared for the more web savvy market can also be a very useful mobile device for the average user. With the classy, modern and fashionable look combined with its innovative features, the K600 will surely turn a lot of heads on the mobile phone

Sony Ericsson W960

Sony Ericsson W960

Once in a while, we, as consumers, witness partnerships of big name companies that offer us products that either fall short of expectations or thrill and delight us in many ways. Apparently, the cellular phone industry is not excluded from this trend. For most, if not all of us, the names Sony and Ericsson are brands that need no further introduction.

Hard to believe that it was more than a decade ago that I had the fortune of having an Ericsson handset with a one liner monochrome display. Though packed with not a lot of features, even at that time, I appreciated it's tough and masculine feel and clear signal.

Now, of course, Sony is another brand name that we have come to love and has been a household name for as long as I can remember. Many a time we drooled over their television sets and stereo components at home and appliance center display windows. For many years it was the name to beat when it came to gadgets, and are still worthy benchmarks for all consumers and competition alike up to this day.

So when the names Sony and Ericsson were finally merged into one giant entity, many expectations and eyebrows were raised. Optimists eagerly awaited what cool and nifty features the researchers at Sony Ericsson can come up with while detractors (Nokia users perhaps) of course didn't think much of said partnership.

So, to see whether this partnership is worthy of a second glance, let's take a close look at one of their products, particularly the Sony Ericsson W960.

Sony Ericsson W960 Camera and Display

What better way to judge a cellphone than to look at the specs and nitty gritty of its camera capabilities. Quite ironic but it is what most consumers look for in cellphones nowadays. In fact I have come across many who crossed out certain handsets from their wish lists after hearing bad phone camera reviews.

Boasting of a 3.2 megapixel shutter complete with autofocus with a dedicated Macro mode and LED flash (dual in fact), and the ability to capture images at a maximum of 2048 x 1536 pixels, the W960 promises clear photos of your friend's envious faces once you whip out this phone from your pocket and start clicking. For the novice user, there is of course the auto focus feature which you can turn off once you get the hang of it and decide you can do better than the phone's focal judgment.

Another standard is the automatic white balance. If you want to start getting a little artsy, the W960 offers a wide range of photo editing capabilities such as rendering your shots as black and white or sepia, or even applying solarization effects. If this is not enough for you, the W960 can even capture videos of your YouTube-worthy karaoke antics. It is with this feature that this unit falls short though, as it can only capture at 15 frames per second when set at the maximum video resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. If this would prove too choppy for you, you can opt to shoot at 30 fps although only at very low resolutions such as QCIF - 176 x 144. Something has to give I guess.

The length of video you can capture of course is dependent on the phone's available memory. Although this is sufficient for the average user, it's shortcomings regarding video capturing is quite of a let-down when compared to its competition.

Another disappointment would be the W960's TFT display. Although the screen size is ample at 2.6 diagonal inches, it only supports 262K colors QVGA at 240 x 320 pixels. This is a shame considering its camera capabilities. The screen is transreflective though which means it performs well even under bright sunlight.

Sony Ericsson W960 Design and Accessories

What I consider a plus with the W960 is its design. Although its casing is made out entirely of plastic, it feels sturdy and looks elegant as well. With phone dimensions of only 109 x 55 x 16 mm, this Sony Ericsson handset would fit comfortably into anyone's hand. Lefty users will have a hard time with the location of the jog wheel though as it seems it is designed with the general public of right handed users in mind. Users weary of supposedly “innovative” keypad designs which are just cell phone design novelty more often than not would greatly appreciate the W960's straightforward yet ergonomic keypad. And if that still proves too hard for jotting down messages, you can opt to use the virtual QUERTY keyboard on the phone's display. Or simply write down your messages using the supplied stylus pen for which the phone has great character recognition. Useful for those of us who can't seem to understand our own bad handwriting?

The W960 can also accommodate after-purchase accessories such as Bluetooth headphones and hands-free sets, portable speakers, and better-than-supplied stylus packs - pretty much what consumers might look for to accessorize their smart phones.

Perhaps it would be wrong to judge the W960 for it's lackluster performance in the video and display department. After all, this is a Walkman phone we're talking about, and this is where the strength of the phone lies – and where the Sony legacy comes in.

First of all, the W960 boasts of an 8gig on board memory – at par with the Apple iPhone. This alone is more than enough for a long, boring ride out of town, taking also into consideration that the W960 promises music playback for 27 hours when fully charged.

Another thing I love about this mobile phone (most people will probably love the W960 for it) is that once connected to a computer, the phone's memory is recognized as an external drive much like when a USB flash drive is plugged into the machine. This means no more fiddling for hours with any proprietary software. To get your music from the computer to your phone, simply drag and drop - via USB or Bluetooth.

Summary of Sony Ericsson W960 Features

• Weight: 119 g
• Dimension: 109 x 55 x 16 mm
• Network: GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 (2G), UMTS 2100 (3G)
• Screen Resolution: TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, 240 x 320 pixels, 2.6 inches
• Data: GPRS, 3G, WLAN/WiFi, EDGE, WCDMA
• Connectivity: Bluetooth (v2.0 with A2DP), USB (v2.0)
• Web Browser: WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML(Opera 8.0), RSS reader
• Music: Walkman® player, Supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, WAV and m4a
• Camera: 3.2-megapixel, Digital zoom 3x
• Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
• Tones: Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, AAC, Vibration
• Software Features: Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0
• Other Features: Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS , Walkman Touch player, TrackID music recognition, T9, Image viewer, Picture/document editor, Organiser, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree
• Battery: Standard battery, Li-Po 900 mAh (BST-33), 9 Hours talk time, 370 h Stand-by time

PROS: Massive memory at 8 gigabytes. Elegant, compact design. Great multimedia player.

CONS: Plastic casing. Low display and video resolution.

Overall: A good all around handset with all the nifty features the modern consumer looks for in a phone.

Sony Ericsson W580

Sony Ericsson W580i

The W580i is another product by the Sony and Ericsson combined effort. The unit's stylish and no frills design utilizes a slide opening mechanism and is available in equally attractive silver / orange and black / orange color combinations. The new Walkman logo right beneath the screen alone is enough to make most mobile phone aficionados' hearts start pumping. Most especially true for the music loving mobile phone user looking for seamless cell phone and media player integration. The W580i's music player can play back not only MP3 files but AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ and WMA files as well, making it versatile. So Apple users would certainly delight in this fact as a lot of Mac users prefer the AAC format.

The W580i fails though in the memory department; providing only 12 mega bytes of built in memory. This is ironic since the W580i is targeted at the music-lugging demography, and 12 Mb is obviously not enough. As expected, the unit does have a memory slot for users who want to upgrade their storage with a Micro M2 memory card. Good thing that the W5801 has its own stereo FM tuner. Still, for its purpose the internal memory should have been enough for at least a decent collection of tracks.

Sony Ericsson W580i Camera and Display

The Sony Ericsson W580i houses a 2 mega pixel camera with digital zoom capable of recording still images and videos. And the built in camera in this unit is very reliable. It may not be the best in the market, but what you are getting is certainly great for its price. Bright outdoor shots have sharp details and pictures taken at overcast environments sill look decent. But as expected with camera phones, indoor photos do not render well and the picture noise level is noticeable. But all in all, picture taking with the W580i's camera is a pleasurable experience. It even comes with its own set of menus dedicated to the camera and video functions.

The user has the option of taking photographs in VGA, 1 mega pixel, or 2 mega pixel sizes. Additional shooting modes such as panorama and burst are also offered. Shots can be tweaked a bit more with the camera application's white balance, color effects, and others. A nice addition also is the photo blogging feature which allows the user to not only send images via MMS messaging but can also publish their photos directly from the phone to a blog site. Now that's mobility, and may get a big chunk of the web logging market. Photos are displayed well with the W580i's 240 x 320 pixel resolution screen.

Sony Ericsson W580i Design and Accessories

With the W580i, Sony Ericsson refuses to be outdone in the design department. It looks stylishly clever with a minimalist flair. With the slider closed, the façade is only occupied by the glorious screen, a large D-pad and a couple of buttons on each side. The orange accents give the W580i its youthful flair, especially with the Walkman logo at the center of the phone's width. Once you slide the W580i open, the ergonomically designed striking orange keypad is revealed. At this point though, the fun stops. As upon great inspection you will notice the frailty of the phone's keypad. This is a shame as with the unit targeted towards the youthful market, heavy duty texting is sure to occur.

This is no good when your keypad has the tendency to crack. And the slider is definitely no toughie either and has the tendency to quickly accumulate dust in between the two halves of the phone. The D-pad though is a joy to use. This is as should be considering that the D-pad will experience heavy use when navigating though songs and other files. When you don't have the luxury to look at the phone's D-pad when doing certain activities during music playback, therefore rendering it hard to navigate through your tracks, you may choose to just shake things up, literally. The W580i has a clever little feature called the Shake Control that allows the listener to skip to the next track by just pressing on the Walkman logo and then shaking the phone. This little feature proves very useful indeed, especially during athletic activities like jogging or biking.

Summary of Sony Ericsson W580i Features

• Weight: 94 g
• Width: 47 mm
• Height: 99 mm
• Thickness: 14 mm
• Network: Quad Band (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900)
• Screen Resolution: diag: 2”. 262k TFT Color Screen (240 x 320 Pixels)
• Data: GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps
• Connectivity: EDGE, Bluetooth, USB, Fast Port, GPRS, Modem
• Web Browser: Access NetFront™ Web Browser, RSS Feeds
• Music: FM Radio, Walkman® Music Player (MP3 & AAC)
• Camera: 2 Mega pixel Camera, 4 x Digital Zoom
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, SMS Long, Email
• Expansion Slot: Memory Stick Micro M2 Option
• Tones: Polyphonic Ringtones, MP3 & AAC Tones, Vibration
• Software Features: Sony Ericsson OS, PC Suite software
• Other Features: Java Games, MusicDJ, PlayNow, Picture Blogging, Macromedia Flash Lite
• Battery: Sony Ericsson standard BST-38 Li-Polymer rechargeable battery (3.6v). 930mAh capacity, 9 Hours Talk Time, 370 Hours Standby

PROS: Good camera, Shake control, Photo blogging, good quality inclusive ear buds, great connectivity, stylish and ergonomic design, more than decent music playback, long battery life

CONS: The keypad has tendencies to crack, slider easily accumulates dust, small memory space

Overall: If music is your thing and you are looking for a clever mobile phone and media player integration, then the W580i is definitely for you. It tops in both the form and function department with a lot more additional perks than its size would make you think possible.