8 April 2008 | By: Cosmin Vasile, Communications News Editor |
| Sony Ericsson W380i Review |
| Funky music phone with Gesture control function |
| Sony Ericsson W380i is a low |
| into the handset market. Besides the external touch music controls that seem to take |
| advantage of the 'haptic feedback' technology, the clamshell also features gesture control. It |
| is surprising that the |
| embedding it onto entry level products. Still, this policy will probably make these handsets |
| sell much better than any other device in their range. Without impressing too much through |
| its design, Sony Ericsson W380i proves to be an excellent choice for those music lovers |
| that cannot afford an expensive Walkman series mobile phone. |
| Announced in November 2007, Sony Ericsson W380i clamshell was out on the market four |
| months later, in March 2008. Even if it is cheaper than its Walkman series predecessors |
| are, W380i is still worth no less than USD 320$ (SIM free) and is available in four colors: |
| Electric Purple, Magnetic Grey, Black Champagne and Black Orange. |
Design
Sony Ericsson W380i features a clamshell form factor, but it will not stand out in the crowd. The phone can very easily stay in a youngster's hands, as well as in a businessman's. It looks funky, but serious at the same time. Measuring 92 x 49 x 16 mm and weighing 100 grams (including battery), the handset fits perfectly into a medium sized pocket. The excellent plastic used gives the phone a stylish and trendy look, but W380i is still far from being a fashion phone. Unfortunately, unfolding it with a single hand is out of the question or at least very hard to carry out.
External keys are limited to a dual volume key found on the right side of the clamshell, and the three touch controls placed near the secondary external display. On the left side of the phone, the proprietary Sony Ericsson port enables users to attach the headset that comes in the sales package, the charger, or the USB cable for synchronization. There is a bad part and a good part about this kind of port. While you cannot charge the phone and listen to music to the headphones also, instead you can charge the battery of the phone during synchronization with a PC. This will definitely take more time, but at least you get this option that is not available for too many handsets. The front part of the clamshell features the secondary external OLED mono display (128 x 36 pixels resolution), which is not visible until you activate the music player or unfold the phone. At a first glance, the 3 external music controls placed right under the small OLED display seem to have only an ornamental purpose, but they're touch keys that control the music player and feature 'haptic feedback'. You don't need to press too hard on the keys, but only pat them gently as they are very responsive.
The 1.3 Megapixel camera has been placed above the small screen together with the speakerphone. On the back of the phone, you will notice a small keylock that unlocks the external touch keys, so you can start the MP3 player without unfolding the clamshell. The
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