Sony Ericsson W995a Walkman Unlocked Phone with 3G, 8.1 MP, WiFi, Stereo Bluetooth, and Assisted GPS-U.S. Version with Warranty (Progressive Black) Review

Product description

If you’re seeking more features and fun from a phone you rely on, the Sony Ericsson W995 is a phone that includes “real” features to enrich your mobile lifestyle.

With Facebook integrated, your W995 makes it easy to stay social. You have your friends’ status updates on your phone screen. And when you snap a photo, you can upload it straight to your Facebook page. (Only available on selected networks).

Want to see what Windows 7 Device Stage has to offer? Grab a USB cable and connect your W995 to a PC. Enjoy easy access to Media Go. Discover tools that help you make the most of your creativity. Or just relax and let yourself be entertained. The W995 is also YouTube compatible.

With the W995 at hand, you won’t get lost – no matter where your travels take you. Your phone comes pre-loaded with a trial version of Wayfinder Navigator to keep you in touch of where you are and where you’re going.

The W995 by Sony Ericsson features seamless transfer, thanks to Media Go, you can drag and drop video clips, tracks, photos and more between your phone and PC, or enjoy podcasts from the directory. Complete clarity; catch the action on the bright, clear 2.6″ screen. When you want to share views and sounds with friends, use the built-in stand and stereo speakers. Get it all, 8.1 megapixels give you big pictures, store them on the 8GB memory card. Enjoy the speed of Wi-Fi networks and share your music via the 3.5 mm jack Digital Zoom – up to 16x Camera – 8.1MP TrackID – record a few seconds of a song and get track, artist and album information sent to your phone in seconds Shake control SensMe – music mood mapping; listen to, and create, playlists of songs sorted according to the mood of the music 3.5 mm audio jack Access NetFront Web Browser – full Internet browser with support for standard protocols, images and video FM radio with RDS Flight mode – disable the radio receivers

Amazon.com

Combining a high-performance digital audio player, high-megapixel digital camera and ultra-fast mobile communicator in one package, the Sony Ericsson W995a Walkman Phone will keep you easily connected to family and friends wherever you roam as well as keep you entertained with your favorite tunes and YouTube video. This slider style phone offers a gorgeous, brightly colorful 2.6-inch display that’s great for watching videos streamed from YouTube via a special application as well as reviewing photos snapped by the 8.1-megapixel camera, which includes a flash and face recognition technology.

Enjoy your favorite music and video on the go with the Sony Ericsson W995a, which includes the Walkman 3.0 digital media player application.

Other features include Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth stereo music streaming, and Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion (an 8 GB M2 card is included).

The W995a has an 8.1-megapixel imager that works just like a standard digital camera–hold it horizontally with the screen acting as your viewfinder.

The clear and intuitive Walkman digital audio player interface makes it easy to navigate your mobile music collection, and with the innovative Shake function you can simply flick your wrist to randomly select a new song from your library. The W995a comes with an 8 GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card, which can store thousands of songs.

The phone’s integrated aGPS location feature not only enables you to find your way from point to point with the preloaded Google Maps application, but you can also geotag photos with the precise location where they were shot. Other features include Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g), Bluetooth for handsfree devices and stereo music streaming, integrated stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack, preloaded fitness application (with step counter), web browser with RSS feeds, access to personal email and instant messaging, and up to 9 hours of talk time on GSM networks (4 hours using 3G networks).

Unlocked Phone
This unlocked cell phone can be used with a GSM network service provider and it provides quad-band connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). It does not come with a SIM card, and it requires that you provide a SIM card for usage with your selected service provider.

Additionally, this phone can be paired with 850/1900/2100 MHz UMTS/HSDPA 3G networks. When paired with a compatible 3G network, you’ll enjoy a high-speed connection offering a variety of feature-rich wireless services–from data connectivity to your office to multimedia streaming, and take advantage of simultaneous voice and data services. In areas in the U.S. not served by a 3G network or in foreign territories, you’ll continue to receive data service via EDGE network (depending on network compatibility).

Phone Features
The Sony Ericsson W995a slider phone sports all the controls you’ll need for accessing the features and functions of the Walkman 3.0 player, which supports a variety of audio formats as well as access to audio books and podcasts. The auto-rotating 2.6-inch display (320 x 240 pixels, 16.7 million color depth) is complemented by a circular toggle navigator, soft navigation keys, a control button to access shortcuts, and standard send/end keys. The right side of the phone includes music player controls and a volume rocker as well as a dedicated camera key, while the left side features a Walkman player shortcut key. The face smoothly slides up to reveal a standard alpha-numeric keypad.

The phone has an internal 118 MB memory that’s complemented by the included 8 GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card, which you can swap out and replace with additional optional M2 media for even more expansion. The internal phonebook can store up to 1000 contacts with support for multiple numbers per entry as well as caller groups and photo/ringer ID.

This Walkman phone offers a full-function digital audio player that’s compatible with MP3 and AAC files, and it includes Sony Ericsson’s innovative “shake to shuffle” feature. With Shake Control activated, just flick your wrist and a vibration lets you know that the track has been changed–a new song from your current playlist is randomly selected and automatically played. Playback settings also include an equalizer, playlists, stereo widening, and shuffle and loop modes. This Walkman phone also features a flight mode that lets you keep listening to tunes with the phone’s network connectivity turned off.

The W995a is also the first Sony Ericsson phone to include the new Media Go PC application, which enables effortless and automatic transfer of any audio, photos and videos between your phone and computer via drag and drop. It features include:

• Automatic sync: Sync your music playlists automatically to keep the phone updated with your new music
• Auto convert: Media Go gives you the best quality playback of multi-media content on a mobile phone. There’s no need to use extra applications to be able to bring your media with you.
• Podcasts: Apart from adding your own favorites, the directory is there to help you to find the new and exciting content.
• Audio CD Ripping: Use Media Go to burn your CDs and bring your music and audio books with you

With the TrackID service, you can identify any song that you can hear by just recording a snippet of sound using the microphone. After sending the file for recognition, you’ll have the name, artist and album sent to your phone. It also includes a built-in FM radio with RDS, which displays the name of the currently playing song (when tuned to compatible radio stations).

Sony Ericsson’s SensMe technology is used to incorporate mood analysis into the track details, which allows you to create playlists that suit your mood. Select SensMe in the Sony Media Go software, and it will mood-analyze all MP3 files on the computer. When you transfer music from a CD or a PC to your phone using Media Manager, the tracks will automatically be analysed. Instead of selecting tracks for your next playlist, just select your mood.

Handsfree communication is easy thanks to the integrated speakerphone. This phone also provides Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 2.0), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and file transfer. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. This phone also offers integrated Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g), enabling seamless connectivity with wireless networks at work, at home, and on the roam via Wi-Fi hotspots at airports and coffee shops.

Take dazzling pictures with the 8.1-megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, which can be used just like you would with a standard digital camera by holding it horizontally with the screen acting as your viewfinder. And with the phone’s GPS capabilities, you can tag your photos with information on where it was taken. The Face Detection and Auto Focus capability enables the camera to detect and focus on the face of your subject rather than the background, so that you can take sharp and high quality pictures of your friends. The phone also incorporates the latest in lighting technology–Photo Flash–giving you better quality pictures even in low-light conditions.

An image stabilizer compensates for those small movements, reducing the chance that your photo comes out blurred. The BestPic function gives you nine chances to capture the precise moment you want. As well as your shot, the phones take four images as you press the button, and another four afterwards. Pick the one you want, trash the rest. Select the Photo Fix function to improve pictures that you think can be better. In a one-click operation, brightness, light and contrast are adjusted to give you the best possible picture. The phone also provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC.

In addition to still photos, the phone can also capture video clips, with videos for messaging capped at 20 seconds and those meant for saving to your PC running for as long as you have available space.

The phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3 and IMAP4 protocols, while the included Access NetFront Web Browser allows you to surf full HTML web sites. It also supports RSS feeds, allowing you to use your phone to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you. Support is built in for sending and receiving text, video, graphics and sound via messages.

Other features include:

• Walk Mate step counter stays activated throughout the day. It keeps track of how many steps you’ve walked and how many steps you have left to reach your daily average health goal.
• Watch your favorite YouTube clips and even upload captured video to your YouTube account.
• DLNA support, allowing you to connect wirelessly to other electronic devices via Wi-Fi.
• Exchange ActiveSync: Stay seamlessly synchronized with your Microsoft Exchange email server.
• USB mass storage capabilities
• Synchronise and share phone content with your PC
• Organizer tools: Calendar, alarm clock, calculator, notes, stopwatch, tasks, timer

Vital Statistics
The Sony Ericsson W995a weighs 3.99 ounces and measures 3.82 x 1.93 x 0.59 inches. Its 950 mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated at up to 9 hours of GSM talk time (4 hours of 3G talk time), up to 370 hours (15.4 days) of standby time and up to 20 hours of music playback. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies, as well as 850/1900/2100 MHz 3G frequencies (UMTS/HSPA).