Sony Ericsson W580i Black Phone (AT&T)

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Editorial Review:

The slim form factor of the W580 hides the Walkman 2.0 music player to make it simple to organize and play your favorite music. Easily create custom playlists. The Disc2Phone music management software and included USB cable make it easy to transfer music from a PC on to the phone. Additionally you can listen to favorite radio programming as the W580 offers an RDS-FM radio. The TrackID feature powered by Gracenote makes it easy to identify music tracks you don't recognize. The W580 also features a 2.0 Megapixel camera and functions as a portable photo album and pocket gaming device. A large 2-inch color screen is ideal for gaming as well as web browsing and viewing your camera photos. TrackID music recognition software Disc2Phone Music Management Software Multiple Music Format Support (MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+/WMA) A2DP (Bluetooth streaming sound) Music Illumination Effects Stereo Headset Speakerphone Connectivity & Messaging - Bluetooth 2.0, Java MIDP 2.0, Full HTML Browser with RSS, Instant messaging & USB Mass storage

Sony Ericsson shakes things up with its new quad-band W580i Walkman phone, introducing an innovative "shake to shuffle" feature that randomly chooses another song stored on your phone with just a flick of the wrist. This thin, slider-style phone also features a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, fast Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR connectivity with music streaming, Memory Stick Micro expansion, Web browser for viewing full Internet sites, email access, an FM radio with RDS, and EDGE data support.

With AT&T's Mobile Music service, you can access your Napster subscription service for music downloads to keep you booming out the tunes for up to 20 hours.

AT&T Service
The W580i operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution"), with availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. This third-generation, high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.

The phone has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T's MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. It also features AT&T Mobile Music, which provides access to the Napster subscription music service in addition to Music ID song-recognition software, music videos and The Buzz music news portal. (A MEdia Max subscription bundle is recommended for accessing AT&T's Internet, video, and music services.)

Phone Features
The W580i Walkman phone offers a full-function digital audio player that's compatible with MP3 and AAC files. The front of this slider phone includes dedicated music control buttons, and it includes Sony Ericsson's innovative "shake to shuffle" feature. With Shake control activated, press and hold the Walkman key and flick your wrist. A vibration lets you know that the track has been changed--a new song from your current playlist is randomly selected and automatically played.

With the TrackID service, you can identify any song that you can hear by just recording a snippet of sound using the microphone. After sending the file for recognition, you'll have the name, artist and album sent to your phone. Other Walkman features include MegaBass enhancement for added depth of sound, a flight mode that lets you keep listening to tunes with the phone's network connectivity turned off, and Disc2Phone software for easy transfer of song files between phone and PC. It also includes a built-in FM radio with RDS, which displays the name of the currently playing song (when tuned to compatible radio stations).

This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity with EDR (enhanced data rate), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server.

The built-in 2.0 megapixel camera captures stills and video--and playback of video or still pictures is only limited to the memory card size. Picture effects and custom screensavers, backgrounds, and themes can be setup to fit your personality. It provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC (either using USB or Bluetooth). And the W580i makes it easy to send snapped photos directly to a blog or an online photo, complete with text. This phone is also compatible with RTSP/3GPP streaming video playback

You can even take your favorite tracks to the track with the W580i, which will count your steps, your calories and monitor your running speed/distance/time with the integrated motion sensor. Your workout results are stored in your phone so you can monitor your progress.

The phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3 and IMAP4 protocols, while the included Access NetFront Web Browser allows you to surf full HTML web sites. It also supports RSS feeds, allowing you to use your phone to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you. Support is built in for sending and receiving text, video, graphics and sound via messages.

The phone also supports the SyncML PC synchronization standard. This means the phone can be used with the included Sony Ericsson Sync Station software, which lets you synchronize your Microsoft Outlook calendar, contacts, notes and tasks on your PC with the phone.

Other features include:

• 2-inch LCD with a 240 x 320-pixel resolution and support for 262K colors
• Up to 1000 contact entries, each with five number fields
• Built-in pedometer and fitness applications
• Picture blogging with Google Blogger
• Mobile email and messaging via AOL/AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN
• Java support for online and offline 3D games (preloaded games include PacMan and Ms. PacMan)
• USB 2.0 wired connectivity with mass storage capability
• PIM functions including calendar, tasks, notes, alarm, calculator, stopwatch, and timer
• T9 text entry technology
• 72-chord polyphonic ringtones and MP3 ringtones
• Digital audio file formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+

Vital Statistics
The W580i weighs 3.32 ounces and measures 3.9 x 1.85 x 0.55 inches. Its 930 mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated at up to 9 hours of talk time, and up to 370 hours of digital standby time; the phone will also play for up to 20 hours when in Music Mode. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

It will break after warrenty:

I own two cellphones of this same kind W580i, but they broke one after the other from within with no obvious exterior damage after one year of warranty. I start to suspect that Sony did this intentionally. All features are good, but only good for one year.
Think about it before you purchase.

Great phone but could be better:

Had this phone for some time now and so far its held up great. Of course things could always be better.
But those who say this phone is flimsy or breaks easily need to learn to take care of their things better. I have this in my pocket all day long while at work and it takes a beating in there and it still almost like new. Those saying it breaks easy must be dropping it constantly, slamming it down, throwing it, or bending it for it to break. I suggest for those people to get one of those rugged phones... more info

Works:

My wife has had this phone for over a year and a half and it still works okay. My mom went through 2 before she ditched this phone, but my wife has been pleased with this.

Wanted to love it:

I loved the functionality of this phone. I bought it for the music player and everything there looked great, some cool little features like health monitor, step counter.
But.
The first one I had had a problem transferring music. Big chunks of the mix would be dumped in transfer. So you'd have no bass on a track, or no voices.
Returned it.
The internal mic and on the second one broke immediately.
Returned it.
I forget what happened to the third one but it broke too, software... more info

Accessories:

Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset [Retail Packaged] from Plantronics (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Sony Ericsson Cigarette Lighter Adapter CLA-60 from Sony Ericsson Mobile (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Sony Ericsson FM Music Transmitter MMR-60 from Sony Ericsson Mobile (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Sony Ericsson Portable Speakers MPS-60 from Sony Ericsson Mobile (Wireless Phone Accessory)

BlueAnt UNOTPBASN3 Sonic Bluetooth Speakers (Black) from BlueAnt (Wireless Phone Accessory)

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