Soundtripping in style
By Angela V. Ignacio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:04:00 05/20/2008
MANILA, Philippines—In a media launch held recently at OneMGM Boracay, Sony Ericsson unveiled three hot new Walkman® phones: the flip-style W350i, the clamshell-type W380i and the ultraslim W890i.
Boasting of one-of-a-kind features and sleeker designs, these drool-worthy handsets aim to please all mp3 addicts with different types of budgets.
“We address the needs of a broader audience who want a stylish yet compact phone with the W350i; the young, fashion-conscious music lovers with the W380i; and music connoisseurs who demand the latest Walkman® features and fast downloads offered by the W890i,” explained Sony Ericsson Marketing Manager Patrick Larraga.
So, which travel buddy will you pick?
Sony Ericsson W350i
Total eye and ear candy: these words just about sum up this gorgeous little gadget. This may look like the ultimate “pamporma” phone, but, surprisingly, it’s the most affordable of the lot.
The 10mm-slim W350i is the first flip phone with all the Walkman® function keys on top for easy control. It also comes with an FM radio and Bluetooth stereo, which can be used with the new Bluetooth Headset for wireless streaming.
Can’t remember the title or the artist of the song you just heard on the radio? Just use the phone’s handy TrackID function. It lets you record a snippet of the song, sends it to a global music database, and it comes back with the song’s title, artist and album. Finally, something that can help us forgetful people sleep at night!
For color-conscious consumers, the W350i comes in cool combos like Electric Black with orange accents, Hypnotic Black with purple accents, Ice Blue, and Graphic White.
Other nifty features include a 1.3-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, video viewing, sound recording, Internet browser and E-mail access, 1000-contact phonebook memory, and a 512-MB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card that’s included in the phone kit. One tiny warning, though: the flip cover is quite thin, so don’t be too rough with it.
Sony Ericsson W380i
A bit bulkier than its siblings but still lightweight, the tri-band clamshell W380i combines form, function and fashion in one classy package. It’s the first of its kind that has the Gesture Control feature. Simply sweep a hand across the camera, and voilà, you can mute a call or snooze the alarm. Magic!
Like the W350i, it has a Walkman On Top display, this time in the form of a futuristic-looking set of control buttons that vaguely resemble Braille. The exterior also contains a hidden Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display that lights up to show the currently playing track, or an incoming call or text message.
Instead of the usual caller ID, an option lets you use music for different callers, with accompanying light effects that dance to the music’s beat. Meanwhile, its music functions and extra features are also similar to those of the W350i.
The W380i comes in Electric Purple—perfect for funky fashionistas out there, and in Magnetic Grey, for music-loving yuppies.
Sony Ericsson W890i
As an obsessive-compulsive electronics freak, I’ve always preferred to keep my mp3 player, camera and phone as separate, “no-frills” gadgets that serve only the purpose for which they are made. So when we were given this unbelievably slim, all-in-one toy to play with, the mobile phone Neanderthal in me naturally got a nosebleed.
But then, the unthinkable happened. Within minutes, I was completely hooked. As its tagline goes, it’s sleek, silver and sexy, and so easy to use. Equipped with the latest Walkman Player 3.0, a whopping 2GB-M2 card storage capacity and crystal-clear stereo speakers, the quad-band W890i is the newest high-end model that allows you to go music-tripping and multitasking at the same time.
As if the sharp, high-resolution display and animated themes aren’t enough to knock your socks off at first glance, its features will completely blow you away.
Apart from TrackID, it also has a unique SensMe function that lets you select music to match your mood. In this feature, all songs are plotted onto quadrants ("fast,” “happy,” “sad,” and “slow”), and you can choose what track suits your current mood based on the song’s tempo and style.
Extra functions include a 3.2-megapixel camera with 3.2x digital zoom, video calling, photo and video blogging, sound and video recording, Bluetooth stereo streaming, 3D games and high-speed web access. And oh, did I mention the comfortable fit and awesome, non-tinny sound quality of the soft bud earphones?
This jack of all trades comes in Espresso Black, Mocha Brown and Sparkling Silver. Buy now or drool later. You decide.
E-mail the author at avignacio@gmail.com.
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