Sony Ericsson W995 review

Home

8th April 2009 Author: admin - Unknown - Views:

Sony Ericsson W995 360-degree spin

The Sony Ericsson W995 measures 97 x 49 x 15 mm which, considering the large screen, is quite an achievement. The slider is compact enough to fit in any pocket or purse and weighs 113 g.

The friendly size and weight are best appreciated in comparison with the other 8 megapixel cameraphone in the Sony Ericsson portfolio. Our new Walkman here is more than 20 g lighter and has lost a few millimeters of the C905 height and girth.

Design and construction

The Sony Ericsson W995 comes in three colors - Progressive Black, Cosmic Silver and Energetic Red. All of them look quite nice, and the red one is particularly eye-catching. Even if the W995 shares the same form factor with the 8 megapixel Sony Ericsson C905, small details like the kickstand at the back and the music controls on the side give the top Walkman quite a distinct look and feel…and a look and feel that leaves a very positive impression.

Sony Ericsson W995

The brushed metal front and back give it a sophisticated look but we're not particularly fond of the round D-pad and semicircular buttons under the screen. The C905 navigation pad is definitely more stylish.

Did we mention screen size? We guess we did, but the W995 is worth all the fuss for having the biggest display among feature phones in the Sony Ericsson portfolio. The ample 2.6-incher delivers sharp and vivid images at QVGA resolution that are easy to see not only in the dark, but also under direct sunlight.

The phone has a built-in accelerometer for auto-rotation of the screen. This works really smooth and can be very useful when browsing the internet or viewing multimedia files.

Sony Ericsson W995
The display is large and delivers sharp and vivid images

Above the screen is the centrally placed earpiece, flanked by an ambient light sensor and the secondary video-call camera.

Sony Ericsson W995
Ambient light sensor, earpiece and secondary video-call camera above the screen

The keys under the screen may fail on looks but are actually quite comfy and even the tiny semicircular knobs are spaced out well enough that they won't be a problem if your fingers are on the large side.

Sony Ericsson W995
D-pad and controls under the screen are quite user-friendly

The keypad is revealed by sliding the Sony Ericsson W995 open. We generally found it comfortable to use although it is somewhat lacking in terms of press feedback. You won't guess by the looks of it, but the alphanumeric keys have such a short stroke they're easily outclassed by even the flatbed keypad of the C905.