Product Listing

First Looks: Sony Ericsson W660i Walkman Phone (with 3G)

By Amanda Lian - 26 Jul 2007

Simply Immaculate

Simply Immaculate

For starters, laying our hands on the Sony Ericsson W660i was an experience aptly described by the title: Simply Immaculate. Essentially an enhanced version of the W610i with 16MB of additional onboard memory and 3G connection, this new model is a continuation of Sony Ericsson's undivided belief in its music series of mobile phones, or better known as Walkman phones. That said, the sound quality of the new W660i is expected to be nothing less than impressive. By and large however, this new addition doesn't look all that different from the W610i, save perhaps for the location of the data jack.

Swim into Places with Style

Hailing a black and gold appearance (Record Black), the W660i is sure not short on elegant styling. There's even a stunning Rose Red version that comes complete with flower prints, which is a huge contrast to the clean and sleek embossed circle prints on the unit we had. In its compact, candybar form, the W660i is very easy on the eyes, and hands. Slim it may be but the W660i is not a flimsy device. Even with a slim 14.5mm profile, warping or bending from daily usage is very unlikely – unless brute force is intentionally applied. Occasional mishandling will therefore not be an issue. What's more, because the W660i packs a large and well-endowed keypad with protruding keys, users can also look forward to snappy messaging with a lot of tactile feedback.

Goodbye to Unnecessary Worries

Maximized fully, the onboard battery pack held strong for two full days of use, which was longer than most slim phones reviewed in recent times.

A compact 2.0-megapixel camera port located at the back arms the W660i with photo and video imaging capabilities. While the pixel count is not mightily impressive when compared to other devices with stronger imaging traits, it's still capable of producing decent shots, be it at the hottest club in town or a relaxing day at the beach.

The most intriguing function is without second thoughts the TrackID. With it, you can simply record short snippets of music from say, radio or external music source, send it over the Internet and have details of that tune sent right back to your mobile. Users of the W610i should be very familiar with this feature.

Connectivity wise, the built-in 3G connection made quick work of loading web pages, and being a Walkman phone that it is, it comes out of the box with A2DP Bluetooth profile for wireless stereo audio output through compatible Bluetooth headphones. The legendary usability and interface design of the Walkman interface continues to be one of the, if not the easiest to use in any mainstream mobile phone today. Courtesy of the onboard M2 memory expansion slot, the W660i is capable of storing up to 2GB (sold seperately) of your favorite music.

Last but Not Least

Overall, the Sony Ericsson W660i is a slim and light mobile phone that offers a good balance of chic styling and functionality. Now with 3G connection in addition to impressive music playback capability, the W660i will quickly win you over if you've never used or owned a Sony Ericsson Walkman phone before. The one disappointment we must highlight though is the lack of an onboard flash unit, for without it, night shots are next to impossible. Nevertheless, the SE W660i is not any less desirable, especially not in the eyes of street-smart teens and young working adults.

 

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.