Sony Ericsson W995a – With 8.1 Mega Pixels Camera!
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Great camera, awesome music quality, gorgeous screen, 3.5 mm headphone jack,
Thumbs Down:
Keypad is uncomfortable to type upon, slider feels wobbly.
Inside the Trunk:
Technology: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
Band: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Phone design: Slider
Caller ID: Yes
Other features: Camera, music player, 3G, EDGE.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
W995a has a 2.6 inch LCD which gives a resolution of 240X320 pixels, supported audio formats are AAC and MP3, the phone has a 3.5 mm phone jack for putting any standard headphones. The phone has 8.1 mega pixels camera with flash, 16x digital zoom and face detection. The handset has 118 mb onboard memory and is further expandable to 8 GB. Additional features on the W995a include PictBridge direct printing, Radio Data Service (RDS), Built-in stereo speakers, Melody composer, aGPS.
The W995a has a rated talk time of 4 hours for 3G and 9 hours for GSM. The standby time of the phone is 15 days for 3G and 15.4 days with GSM. Downloadable content on the phone includes screensavers, video files, audio files, wallpapers, ring tones, games. The phone is 1.9 inches wide, 0.6 inches deep, 3.8 inches high and weighs about 4 oz.
Razzle Dazzle:
Though a high end phone, Sony Ericsson hasn’t put a lot of effort to make the phone attractive. This phone is not for you if you like heads to turn while you flaunt your gadgets. The phone appears boxy, the slider is the best around, the top half wobbles a bit and feels it might break.
Inside Dope:
We will put Sony Ericsson W995a in the category of one of the best multi media high end phone as it has 8.1 mega pixel camera, 3.5 mm jack, walkman player all under one roof. The media player has to be one of the best ones ever on a music phone. The W995a comes with a kick stand, which is not the best but still is great for watching movies. Other features include GPS, stereo Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. We have seen such features on multi media phones but when you have a high end multi media handset which has such features in addition to the high end hardware, it is like putting icing on the cake.
The display of the W995a is 2.6 inch big, it supports 16.7 million colors and gives a resolution of 320X240 pixels. Graphics, animation and photos look great on the display. The menu interface hasn’t changed, it is still standard Sony Ericsson the options of grid and list are the best among the four styles.
We were a bit uncomfortable with navigation controls on some of Sony Ericsson handsets but the W995A isn’t one of them. It has a circular four way direction button with OK key in the center, clear button, 2 soft keys, button for waking up the programmable short cut menu. Finally there are Talk and End buttons on the navigation display. Pressing the buttons was quite easy as they are adequately raised above the surface of the phone.
The keypad didn’t give us a similar experience because the keys were tiny and slippery. We were skeptical of the life of these buttons when used for a long period of time. We could dial without looking at the keypad just like most of the phones but over a period of time your fingers will start howling if you are typing long messages.
We were delighted to finally find a 3.5 mm phone jack which is a welcome relief from those proprietary jacks for power adapter and headset. The presence of 3.5 mm phone jack lets us plug in any standard headphones of our choice. However we request Sony Ericsson to move on to microUSB port for power charging. Other than that on the sides there are music player controls, volume rocker and camera button. The volume rocker can be used as a zoom in camera.
There is a kickstand behind the W995a which can be used to make the phone so that you have a hands free movie viewing experience. Even though we appreciate the inclusion of such hardware we would have appreciated if it would have been sturdier because it looks quite weak.
The phone book can hold 1000 contacts; a single entry can store multiple phone numbers, company name, e-mail ID, job title, two postal addresses, birthday, notes and URL. The SIM card can hold 250 additional contacts. You can make groups and put your friends into them. The handset comes built in with 30 ring tones however if you are not satisfied with these, you can always hook up MP3 tracks as ring tones.
Other features on the phone include multimedia and text messaging, vibrate mode, speaker phone, notepad, task list, stopwatch, calendar, alarm clock and calculator. For advanced users there is file manager, instant messaging, voice recorder, PC syncing, USB mass storage and Wi-Fi. The onboard Bluetooth lets you control other compatible devices with this handset. There is also a code memo in the phone for storing personal information.
We all know how good Sony Ericsson is when it comes to music phones, the quality is really great just like Nokia N Series phones. Settings include loop and shuffle modes, stereo widening, play lists, equalizer and airplane mode. The interface is simple and user friendly. Music is great especially with the inclusion of 3.5 mm phone jack.
The W in W995a stands for Walkman and just like other Sony Ericsson walkman phones it has the shake control which means you can control the playback but moving the phone around. By flicking your wrists, you will be able to go to the next track. Gesture controls is good but it can be a bit weird in public. For storing your music, the phone comes with 118 MB onboard space and the phone can take up to 8 GB cards.
One of the greatest features, of course is the gorgeous 8.1 mega pixel camera at the back. It has options for 4 resolutions and 2 settings for quality. There is host of editing options for you to make your picture look the best. The camera comes with the flash which can also be used as a flash light in the dark. The display will change from portrait to landscape when you tilt the handset. The smile detection feature will click photos when the handset detects a smile. There is also an application called Comeks Stris which turns a given photo collection in to a comic strip.
Games on the phone include Real Football 2, Playman Extreme, NitroStreet Racing, Guitar Rock Tour, Diamond Island, Bubble Town and Bowling. You can download more from the built in WAP 2.0 Web Browser.
The phone was tested for call quality, it was quite good but we would have appreciated if the volume level was a bit higher because we couldn’t make out what our friends were saying when in high noise environments. Our friends said that they could hear us clearly. However there was an occasional echo on the calls which was irritating. The inclusion of Bluetooth lets us pair up the device with wireless headsets. Pairing was quick and voice was crystal clear.
The W995a has a rated talk time of 4 hours for 3G and 9 hours for GSM. The standby time of the phone is 15 days for 3G and 15.4 days with GSM.
The camera can also be used as a video recorder and the editing options are the same as that of the camera. You cannot shoot more than 20 seconds when in the MMS mode. Video quality was average but photo quality was really good.
The phone has support for 3G and EDGE networks. It is compatible with wireless broadband networks in North America and Europe. The device also supports video calling if the service permits.
Nitty Gritty:
Sony Ericsson W995a is a cool multi media phone but we are concerned with the wobbly slider, which gives the feeling that it is too weak. The keypad too isn’t the greatest. The phone is unlocked which means it will make a hole in your pocket because of the high price. Buy this phone if you can accept these limitations.
