If you are considering getting a new cell phone (or hey, even if you aren’t!), I can’t recommend highly enough the cell phone which I myself just got: the Sony Walkman w600i. Yes, it’s that bright orange phone (although it comes with a second free faceplate which is navy blue).
Now, before you scoff, and think that I have given in to faddism by getting a phone which can play MP3s, read on. And consider that I am a happy iPod Nano owner, so I don’t even use my cell phone to listen to music (but the built-in FM radio rocks!) Of course, I do know people who use their MP3 cell phones to listen to podcasts on the go – and I think that’s a great idea! Your cell phone is the one thing which you always have with you, why carry a second device to listen to news, podcasts, and more, when you are already carrying a device which will happily play them for you?
Anyways, some of you may recall that I gave up my beloved Sony t616 for a Nokia 6620 because the t616 didn’t have Edge, which is a high speed Internet technology for cell phones (I connect my laptop to the Internet via bluetooth through my cell phone). The thing is, I never liked the 6620. Way too many things wrong with it – lousy interface, wonky bluetooth, only able to deal with one bluetooth connection at a time, dumb voice dialing interface, and so on and so on. The Sony, on the other hand, had done everything right. It just couldn’t accommodate the high speed Edge once that came around.
I mourned my t616. I mourned its wonderful user interface, its effective voice dialing, and its robust bluetooth. It was so easy to connect to the Internet with my Sony phone.
So I started looking around for new phones ages ago, but there were no Sonys that I really wanted that also had Edge.
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Then the w600i came into my life.
The w600i is jam-packed with features, in addition to its cool design, great screen, and decently-sized keyboard (don’t you just hate those tiny keyboards on cell phones these days?), including (this direct from the site):
* Enhanced WalkMan(TM) ACC/MP3 media player
* 1.3 megapixel camera and video phone
* Bluetooth connectivity for connecting wireless accessories
* GPRS/EDGE High-Speed Data Access
* 850/900/1800/1900 MHz – Quad-band for international compatibility
* Mobile Instant Messaging using AOL, Yahoo! and ICQ Instant Messaging
* Multimedia messaging – send text, pictures and sound
* MegaBass(TM) stereo headphones included
* Email Client (POP3/IMAP4/SMTP)
* Large 1.8″ color display and unique keypad
* Downloadable polyphonic/full-audio ringtones, graphics and games
* Java(TM) 2.0 support for application download and games
Ok, you may not care about all of these, but let me tell you that the instant messenger clients, which are included free, are darned good, the Internet connectivity (and speed) rocks, and the built in web apps are more than sufficient for reading news and browsing on your phone. In fact, this is the first phone which has ever had me considering giving up my beloved Sidekick.
And the built-in FM radio really does rock, and has a great interface.
In fact, for me at least, it’s all about the interface. I have used nearly every make of cell phone available in the United States, and the Sony user interface (you know, the thing you have to navigate every time you use your phone) is head and shoulders above any other. Easy to use, intuitive, nice looking, easy to customize, and did I mention easy to use?
Last week, on the last day of the year, I realized that I knew for certain that I was going to get this phone, and so I decided to ring in the new year with a new phone.
So I walked into the next Cingular store, and bought it on the spot.
And I haven’t been disappointed. I adore it! The Sony w600i has a terrific user interface, nice feel to the phone, the bluetooth works a treat, etc. etc..
And my laptop is happily connected with Edge, through the phone, as we speak.
So, if you are looking for a new phone for 2006, and especially if you want to be able to easily connect to the Internet, or listen to the radio, or play music or podcasts, or, hey, make telephone calls, consider the Sony w600i! I know that I’m glad that I did!
You can get it unlocked, to use with any cell provider here
You can get it at a deep discount, for use with Cingular here
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I have a w600i and a hp pavillion dv6233 se laptop. I would like to connect my laptop online but do not know what to use or how to connect. can u help me.
john