I <3 my new mobile May 12, 2008 23:57
No, it's not the iPhone, but I still love it. In fact, we purchased our latest phones because we're waiting for the 3G iPhone rumored to be released in the June/July timeframe. They were supposed to be temporary "good enough" phones, but having used my phone for about a month, the next-gen iPhone is going to have to be pretty darn good to make me switch.
I got the Sony Ericsson w580i phone and I love it. Here are the reasons why:
- Small Size - it's a very small/thin phone measuring at: 99.0 x 47.0 x 14.0 mm / 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches. I can easily fit it into my pocket, there's no awkward bulge of any kind. Here is the size comparison to my old phone (XV6700) and the iPhone. Which doesn't include the big antenna of the XV6700 either. BTW, sizeasy.com is one of my favorite sites.
- Automated GooSync calendar synchronization - I purposely picked a phone that was supported by goosync because I cannot live without my phone and my google calendar synchronizing. I would have been happy if the synchronization worked as well as it did on my old phone. On my old phone, I downloaded an application and ran it occasionally when I wanted it to sync my calendar and my phone. On the w580i, I've set it up to automatically synchronize every 12 hours. Now I don't ever have to think about synchronizing manually; it works without me having to think about it.
- Bluetooth music player - I didn't think this was that big of a deal, and I actually stumbled upon this by accident. I have a car stereo with bluetooth capability which allows me to turn up the volume while I drive and still answer my wife's phone calls because my phone will cut into the music. It's a far better way for me to do the whole "handsfree" thing because I don't really need a headset any other time than when I'm in the car and again, the bluetooth hookup happens automatically when I drive my car and my phone is with me. IOW, I don't have to think about it or do anything to make it work.
Well, after pairing my new phone with my stereo, I noticed my stereo offered me another music choice: bt-play. I turned to it and realized that my phone will play music wirelessly to my stereo. How cool is that! I bought a 4GB Micro Memory stick and am quite happy using it as a music player. - Inexpensive - This phone is significantly less expensive than the XV6700 I had on Verizon - $100 after rebate vs. $400-500??. The plan has worked out to be less expensive as well, about $50/month cheaper (family plan, unlimited text/data). Granted, my data plan isn't a 3G data plan, but I can live with that. FWIW, I didn't have any qualms about Verizon's network, nor do I have any complaints about AT&T's. If anything, AT&T's signal strength has been stronger than Verizon's in the areas that I've been.
- Nice display - The screen on this phone is really nice. Sony's are known for bright/brilliant displays and this phone is no exception.
- Good battery life - Another Sony hallmark; this phone's battery life puts the XV6700 to shame, which means I can have a 45 minute conversation without having to plug the phone into the charger.
- Good Build Quality - Sturdy, but not heavy. This phone is a pretty tight and it just feels like a well made phone. The slider mechanism clicks into place crisply and the buttons feel solid.
- Phone quality - I can actually hear the person talking on the phone. On the XV6700, I had to keep the volume turned up all the way to even have a chance at hearing the other person. I hated that. The XV6700 was a crappy phone. The Sony w580i is first and foremost a phone and I'm glad it is. I need a phone first, pda second and this device reflects that. It is a phone after all...
- Tethered internet access - I'm posting this blog while vacationing at the beach using my Sony w580i in tethered mode. It's not 3G, and it is a bit slow...but I'm not streaming video or anything. It's good in a pinch (i.e. no wifi access): I can check my email, I can read the news, I can do a lot of things that I need to do with just my MacBook and phone. Eat your heart out iPhone (I know there are hacks to tether the iPhone...).
- Friends think it's cool - Many of my friends that see this phone, which I thought was nothing special, make a comment about it: "That's a cool phone" or "Neat phone", etc. Which now makes me think, it is indeed a pretty sexy phone.
- Built in pedometer - My wife has a pedometer and she wears it to be aware of how many steps she has taken during the day. So when I saw the "fitness" menu option in my phone, I decided to activate the pedometer. Well, it's pretty darn cool. I don't know how accurate it really is, but it's accurate enough to give a reasonable indication of how active I was during the day. It displays the current step count on the front screen and keeps a log of steps per day/distance walked for the last month. As expected, it resets the count at midnight automatically. The phone gets geek points.
- Not Windows Mobile - I loathe Windows Mobile. I'm so happy to be free from the crashes, delays and bloated UI on my phone. The Sony's UI isn't perfect, but it's a heck of a lot more usable than my XV6700 ever was. Not only that, Opera Mini is a pretty decent browser and there are a bunch of java apps that work on this phone.
- Suits my needs - Would I like more phone? Perhaps, but I'm extremely satisfied with the Sony w580i's combination of size, cost, usability and capability. It's primarily a phone, but enough of a pda, internet device and everything else that I need.
Maybe I love this phone because the XV6700 and Windows Mobile sucks so badly? It doesn't really matter, I'm very happy with this phone. The bottom line here is that the next generation iPhone better be really, really good (and justify its size) or I'll just stick with my "temporary" phone.
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