Sony Ericsson W900i

You can never have too much of a good thing, and nowhere was that made more obvious than when Sony Ericsson Singapore served up for dessert, on a platter to local media at Paragon's Crystal Jade Golden Palace, the W900i. Of course, the mango pudding came as well, but the piece de resistance here had to be undoubtedly the company's first 3G-enabled Walkman phone, available in a choice of white and black with its unmistakable signature-orange logo.


Sony Ericsson MMR-60 FM music transmitter
(Click for larger image)
Upside: Flushed with the phenomenal success of its W800i phone, which cleverly recaptured the Walkman magic for those who grew up with the brand name in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the W900i retains all the hallmark features of the W800i. So expect numerous audio functionalities including playlists, audio equalizers, as well as dedicated music buttons and the ability to operate as a standalone music player with the phone turned off.

Hidden beneath the hood, and likely to silence detractors of music phones, is a whopping 470MB of free memory space (good for up to 240 songs), on top of the Memory Stick PRO Duo slot for an optional 2GB more of storage capacity (yielding up to 1,000 tracks).

A handsfree with quality earbud-type earphones is supplied, with one difference: A remote control with LCD panel. Depending on how you view appendages, we thought the remote at least gives the user the option to operate the W900i without having to take it out. A button toggles between the music player and FM radio, while two side dials operate the volume and station tuner. For gamers as well, there's now a dedicated 3D accelerator for 3D gaming capability.

More visibly, the 2-megapixel camera at the back is now complemented by a VGA camera upfront, immediately marking the W900i as a 3G-capable handset. Three quick access buttons direct the user instantly to video call mode, activity menu, and browser. It took a while to adjust to the four-directional navi pad which has replaced the customary joystick, but this proved equally responsive. Meanwhile, the charging port at the bottom now comes with a plastic dust cover, while a lock switch on the left operates the photolight.