Jan 22 2009
Sony Ericsson W595 Review
The W595 is a simple upgrade to some of Sony Ericsson’s other Walkman handsets. In fact you might say it’s the same as an earlier model the W890, only in a different form factor. The Specs are almost identical with a few minor distinctions. Take a look.
Design
Little of significance has changed since the W580 — the devices genuinely look like brothers from the same mothers. The camera has shifted positions, the USB socket has moved, and the overall enclosure has a slightly different shape. But if you’re looking for ground-breaking changes, keep walking, ‘cos there ain’t nothing to see here.
It’s still a decent design though, with a fine key layout. Speed texting is easier on some other handsets, but it’s nothing a week of practice won’t solve. Our biggest, most epic complaint is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone socket. You may remember this criticism from many, many other Walkman phone reviews.
We feel it almost wasn’t worth updating this phone unless you were going to add something as game-changing as a place to put headphones without a repugnant plastic adaptor. And reattaching the battery cover gave us several minutes of annoyance thanks to some tiny, easily breakable plastic positioning clips.
Features and Performance
Interface
There’s absolutely nothing new with the interface. It’s still quite vibrant, colorful and animated as any of the other SE handsets. So I can say, in compassion, it’s not slow but it’s not fast either. One of the biggest problems was, as I mentioned earlier, the very erratic light sensor. It seemed like all the ambient light surrounding our world was going a little nuts and hence caused the display to constantly become brighter and dimmer alternatively. Although the handset has an accelerometer, it’ll only function for web pages and the media menu. That means you’ll be constantly turning the handset one way or another for viewing.
Once again Sony has gone with their proprietary USB/Charging/handsfree port that will allow you to use the handset for one function at a time. It’s a good thing that the handset charges through USB in this case. There’s no dedicated camera key for the 3.2 megapixel camera, just a Walkman button for shake control. If you’re under the impression that the same key will activate the audio player you’d be wrong. I even held it for few seconds and it did nothing. A set of volume/zoom keys are located on the same side.
Performance
If you’ve used any Sony Ericssons over the last couple of years, you’ll have no problem working this one. It’s essentially the same phone in a new case. There are various menu themes, most of which are clear and easy to navigate.
We have no complaints over sound quality, but bear in mind the bundled sound-isolating earphones, while above average, are still pants compared to a decent pair costing as little as £40. The phone sounds much better than the earphones let it, so upgrading is advised.
Ups:
Good Battery Life
Camera is decent
Audio player is good
Entertaining games and apps
Downs:
Rear panel is extremely difficult to open
No hot swap for M2 card
