The endless way of searching the suitable solutions are constantly “walked” by both producers and consumers. The attempt to create something out of the usual series, sometimes leads to the appearance of models such as Sony Ericsson W200i.
The phone has been officially presented a little more than a year ago. It quickly gained some fame among those who cannot afford expensive models.
This review, we hope, will help determine the choice of those who still doubt, as well as give confidence to those who have already decided.
Exterior
A significant similarity with the K310i/K320i is seen immediately, and it was not accidental. The manufacturer did not trouble itself creating a new product. Some hardware changes and a few new style components - that’s all.
The quality of the body polymer (which is not typical for this price category) is quite acceptable. The W200i was assembled well enough too. As the practice shows, after about six months, some strange sounds can begin to appear.
The body does not collect the finger prints and other marks, some traces remain only on the protective screen. In what concerning the color variations, then, original there was Pulse White and Rhythm Black, now a new color is available, Mono Blue. Why Mono, when both the audio player and the FM-radio support stereo effect? The body is also painted in two shades of a cyan kind. The question "of dualism" will remain on the manufacturer’s conscience. However, this color variation looks better than it’s named, even if the idea of these colors is not "musical" at all.
The physical size of the phone is quite small: 101 × 44 × 18 mm. That’s why the set of elements and where they are located do not make any diversity. On the front side are located the main screen, the five-way joystick, a pair of twin keys and the number keys block. A short description of the screen: the UBC (Ultra Bright Color) technology is designed to save the battery charge and reduce the total cost of the device. The picture, however, looks somewhat faded and there are noticeable some grains.
The upper end hosts the on / off switch and the infrared port; on the lower end we can find the Fast Port interface connector and the microphone connector (on the left edge between the sidewall and the bottom end). On the left side is located the rapid activation button which starts the branded music applications (audio player / radio) and the card slot for M2. The right side contains a very convenient to use dual key for volume adjusting, it also can switch the tracks if pressed for some seconds.
The battery panel almost covers the back side, therefore, it has openings for the speaker and the VGA- digital camera. Because the camera module is located quite deeply in the handset’s body and there is no protective glass, the dusting and dirtying process is slow but steady. The back cover fits very tight, but it’s fairly easy to open.
Keyboard and key ergonomics
The keyboard is designed without redundancies and repeats the previous models of Sony Ericsson. This is a four line keyboard with large enough (compared with the size of the phone) separated keys and pleasant at touch. They are up in the air far above the surface. The buttons are very comfortable in use, which was to be expected. The keys’ pushing is short, but tightly. When the key reaches the destinations is very good felt.
The Navigation block is composed of a joystick and double "Reception / Rejection" soft keys. "This plastic stick", as its detractors call it, is quite small. In use, such words: small, inconvenient, inaccurate and so on, are common. However, structurally it is similar to other joysticks, of the more popular models, such as K750i or J300i. Therefore, you can boldly say that the potential buyer is already aware of what it would have to deal with. The key white light is uniform.
Inside the phone
The W200i’s software is built on the well-known A100 platform. The main menu has 12 items, arranged as icons, or (if the theme Cheerful is activated) in a cycling list.
The phonebook is ready to memorize up to 1000 contacts, each of which can contain 5 numbers, e-mail, address, date of birth and additional information in the form of notes. Each contact can be assigned an individual picture and ringtone. At the same time, can be displayed only the SIM-card’s numbers, or the numbers from the phone.
The messaging work is typical. T9 predictive input is supported and template messages are also available. Thanks to the keyboard construction, writing a message is quite comfortable.
Sony Ericsson W200i has a sufficiently saturated organizer. The calendar offers to mark a memo with two icon types: "Event" or "Telephone call".
The "Settings" section is quite typical and represents a vertical list with the possibility of lateral movement. In "General settings" you can customize profiles, time and date, choose the menu language and language input, manage voice functions. In "Sound Settings" is set the call’s volume ringtones, message ringtone and the keys sound. The section with the display settings is also saturated: background image, themes, animated screensavers, and brightness adjustment. In the section "Connectivity" are the Internet access settings, the possibility to choose the cellular network and data transmission via infrared and USB-connection.
Speaking about the products of the Swedish-Japanese alliance, is always good to mention that even in such low-cost models, the user is provided with many ways to set the phone.
The applications are represented by two games: QuadraPop and Treasure Towers. As a cure for boredom are offered the already familiar PhotoDJ and MusicDJ, as well as FaceWarp (entertainment tool for funny portraits) and Music Mate (music play learning on virtual musical instruments).
Music
The audio player and the FM-radio are the main W200i’s musical features and they were realized at a decent level, although nothing unusual in them is noticed. At least, the main tasks are handled. The player supports file formats as MP3, AAC, 3GP and MPEG4. Playback can be realized by order, by random and continuous repetition. Encouraging is the possibility to create playlists. If there are used the utilities from the supplied CD (Disc to Phone, for example) and the memory card is not "crammed" through the card reader, the music will be organized on folders, and the media library will record the tags. Of course, if you are not a pedant, you do as you want, but the demanding users were not disappointed of the proposed music organization.
Here we must to mention one of Disc to Phone application’s possibility that can be vital for the small memory supplied card (128 MB). The program allows to convert MP3 to AAC with the bit rate of 128/96/64/32 Kbps. At least, this would save some space and eventually write more songs.
There are equalizer settings (manual and presets) and the player can be also set to background. In this instance, the volume is controlled by the side double button, the same key can switch tracks (even when the keyboard is locked).
The radio’s work did not cause any complaints, or ovation. A typical FM-receiver with RDS support. The headset works as an antenna. Auto-search has found all the stations with good signal. The user is proposed 20 fields for save. In places with bad reception, the user is able to switch to Mono.
W200i comes with a HPM-64 headset. It is made in the standard form of ear pieces and in accordance with the manufacturer's ambitions, should be improved to better transfer the low frequencies, Bass Reflex. Its sound can be described as good, but better is also possible. The user is able to connect his own headphones, as the headset consists of two parts, the first of which ends in a 3.5 - mm input jack ("Mom"). Unfortunately, there are no additional buttons for playback control on the headset. Pressing the only existing key, will just accept and complete the incoming calls, while playing, it will switch the tracks.
In general, the musical implementation will not force someone to lavish tears. All is realized in proportion to the value of the phone with the kit. As the saying goes, each one decides for himself.
Digital Camera
The proposed 0.3 megapixel digital camera module has the right to life, because it is a multimedia part of the W200i. I think you agree that its absence would cause even more questions. The photos are suitable only for viewing on the phone’s screen. The best quality can be achieved with the 640 × 480 pixels resolution and a minimum degree of compression. Video recording is possibly in the 3GP format with resolution of 176 × 144 pixels. The available settings are limited, which should not be a surprise.
The model’s performance pleasantly surprised. It is clear that the appreciation is within reasonable limits, but still, it is good for a budget phone.
The device is equipped with a BST-36 battery, which capacity is 780 mAh. The volume and, subsequently, the work rate is average. However, two days - this is the norm for many phones.
Conclusions
Sony Ericsson W200i - a budget level phone with additional pretentions. To pluses will be included the interesting design, good quality assembly (by the way, Made in China), ergonomics (net sizes), a good player and radio, good performance. In the rest we have a poor screen, VGA-camera module, a small amount of memory on the card included (128 MB), the lack of Bluetooth. However, the last listed could not be called “minuses” – all is very conditional. The improvement of any parameter inevitably will lead to additional costs and, as a consequence - to compete with stronger or similar proposals. And, if will try to find a budget phone and a separate audio player, then it will be quite difficult to match the W200i’s price.
As a concept, the phone leaves a blurred impression. Perhaps, the solution could be, for example, the replacement of the 128 MB card with the 1 GB maximum supported. But, a question about the appropriateness of such costs is rising: the value of a M2 card makes the user reluctant. However, the choice is over the consumer. The phone has a small but steady demand for more than half a year, and that means something.
Package content:
• phone: Sony Ericsson W200i;
• BST-36 battery with a 780 mAh capacity;
• wired Stereo headset HPM-64;
• USB-cable;
• charger;
• 128 MB M2 memory card;
• disk with the software;
• user manual.
Source: GSMpress ®
