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Monday, Apr 23, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Apr 23, 2007 ePaper |
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Telecommunications Marketing - New Products & Services Falling short Preethi J
Sony Ericsson's W880i - G.R.N. SOMASHEKAR
Want you to know you make me happy,' the song plays quietly as a couple toast themselves under the orange glow of Sony Ericsson's W880i propped up on a table. The power of the ad overshadows reality for a moment. The W880i as SE's answer to the thin segment disappoints on various fronts, just managing to hold fort with its brilliant camera functions. You worry about dropping it, about chucking in on your desk and shift the keys to a different pocket so as to not scratch it. Enclosed in a too-thin, fragile body measuring 103x47x9.4 mm, the W880i begs you to be gentle. It weighs 73 gm.The metallic body may not appeal to the colour-conscious, who would prefer the black version, with its attractive contrast to the standard orange Walkman logo. Talking about being part of the Walkman series, as a music phone, the W880i's performance is below average. The playback is too tinny. Speakers make the song sound better, but again are rendered useless while the mobile is charging.
TrackID
It comes with TrackID, a feature that lets you record a clip of a song, send it via GPRS to a server that identifies the song, artist, etc, and sends it back to you. This needs an Internet connection on your SIM card. Volume controls on the exterior are miniature and difficult to nudge, and seem to be there for name's sake. The phone's keypad needs getting used to, while the screen powers down too quickly. Battery life is Sony Ericsson's primary strong point and the W880i sails through with flying colours with a nine-hour standby life. However, removal of the same battery was quite a task, if not Herculean. The SIM card too, seemed to like its slot and had to be prised out. Space constraint is a price to pay for wanting a thin phone. Even with its anorexic look, the W880i is lively, thanks to the themes and smileys that can be included in text messages.
Picture perfect
Why the focus on `thin' and music when they got the camera part down pat? This appears to be more a part of the K series by the maker than a W. Panorama, burst mode, portrait, a night mode that works more efficiently than most other camera phones, and a UI (user interface) that a four-year-old could pick up. The buttons change their use when the phone's tilted to the camera mode. Some serious programming must have gone to make that work. The graphical user interface of the phone reflects the care and affection the engineers put in. It is as complex as a smart phone, without being one. Applications such as RSS reader will find fans. PDFs and .WMV (windows media video) files don't open though the 2-inch wide screen would have sufficed to view them. The phone will be quite popular when Mobile TV comes around, by which time its price also should've gone down. Its cost, excluding speakers (a must buy), and Bluetooth accessories is Rs 25,499. Loaded with a 1GB memory card, the mobile lets you store the files you share and use most — music, photos, videos, etc. What's surprising is SE didn't think of pre-loading it with its own brand, songs, etc. Even the song that the ad plays has not been included in the phone. Pity.
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