Because of the dimensions and weight the phone is inconvenient to carry in jeans or jacket pocket perhaps you could carry it in trousers pocket though the best way out is a cell phone holster. By the way while carrying the W900 in a pocket or in a handbag one should lock the keypad to avoid occasional keys pressing. It can be done with a simple movement of a slide bar on the left side of the phone. It's a pity Sony Ericsson does not use this old and very effective method (used as far back as in Sony phones) often.

The phone body is done rather practically: it does not creak and is nearly totally scratchproof. The fingerprints are most noticeable on the display, as for the case it almost does not get dirty and the staains from hands are barely seen.

The battery deck takes about 2/3 of the whole case length and is easily removed by simple sliding down. It is fixed firmly by the reverse movement. The battery and SIM-card are also safely fixed. The steel ledge presses the SIM-card firmly in the middle so id is clearly seen and easy to remove.

On the front panel there is a four positioned navigation key with inner Play/Pause button that serves also as OK key. There are two soft keys on either side and restore, remove the last symbol buttons. But that is not the end: on the lower part of the front panel adjusted to the lower curve there are three more buttons: Web, Videocall and My links from where you can trigger the function you need. Therefore a lot of functions can be used without opening the phone and the photo can be taken only when the phone is closed.

The keys are made of mat plastic (akin to the one used in front panel). The navigation key is made of metal as the inner chromium-plated button. The signs are engraved on them unlike the ones on the keys, which are marked with paint. The point type for Latin letters is 1x1.8mm and numbers 1.5x2mm. All signs are seen very distinctly.

The Navigation button can be assigned 4 hot functions for every position or providing there is such wish reprogram them. The functions from such menus are available: Organizer, Entertainment (with the exception of games), Messaging and Controls. The rest is unavailable. To find a number quickly one can also use right lower button of the front panel triggering activity menu and from there go to any of the functions available.

To the number keys 9 “speed” phone numbers can be assigned. This can be done in menu Contacts – Functions – Speed Dials.

The backlight allows to work in darkness as easy as in the daylight

A bit lower the camera trigger button is situated. The location is very handy as the button is right under the point finger if you take the phone like simple camera.

Functionality

Camera : 1632x1224 p (2Mp), flash, zoom8x, autofocusing , close-up, additional camera for videocalls .

The main camera is situated on the rear panel of the phone in the left upper corner. Under it there is a mirror for self portraits and a flash. Sooting is activated either from menu or by pressing photobutton for some time. The phone should be closed and situated vertically while taking photo.

The left soft key (in the vertical position it is the lower one) is responsible for camera settings and using right (upper) soft key one may look through the photos taken. To navigate the menu the navigation key is used it also switches photo/video modes. The flash is a torch with very bright white light activated by the slide bar or in the camera settings.

• in the lower left corner – quality
• down in the middle different effects and options (flash, close up etc.)
• right in the middle photo/video mode
• right lower corner settings
• right upper corner – photo view mode

Settings include photo/video mode, shooting mode, images resolution, autofocusing , night mode, photo light, autotimer , effects, whitebalance , quality of images photometer, shutter sound. There is also option “save to” (either phone or memory stick) and null file counter on the flash card. Now lets dwell upon each of them:

Shooting mode gives 5 variants: usual, panoramic, frames, series, self-portrait.

images resolution allows to choose 1 of 3 variants: high (1632x1224), medium (640x480) and low (160x120)

Autofocusing allows to switch autofocus on/off and enter close-up mode.

Effects give possibility to take grayscale, invert, old-fashioned and with illusion of shutter delay photos.

Whitebalance can be set in automatic mode or such modes as clear, cloudy, daylight lamp and incandescent lamp. All this allows to improve photos

Quality of images offers 2 options; high (about 600 Kb) and usual (about 300Kb) which does not effect the time of saving images.

Sony Ericsson W900i has a full-fledged 2Mp camera (only 2.5 thousand pixel lack to 2 million) with a wide range of functions. The photos can be sent by MMS (either packed or natural size), Ir port or Bluetooth .

Close-up can be taken not less than from 10-cm distance.

IR port is situated on the right side panel and is quite appropriate.

The capacity of the integrated memory is 470 Mb and that is a record among phones so far . Besides one can insert memory stick up to 2 Gb . The card is taken out rather easy , the slot supports “ hot ” change . Besides ringtone or photo for a certain number can be taken from a memory card . Of course music can be also listened from it .

The phone has special menus to look at the memory state which makes information search and working with it easier. File manager allows to copy, move and send files. All files of the folder can be selected and you can work with them as if they were one file: move, copy, send through IR port, Bluetooth , MMS (with the consideration of limits).

Connectivity

USB data cable is included in the sales package. Windows XP installs drivers automatically which fact makes work with it a lot easier. That is how Sony Ericsson W900i can work as Mass Storage Device. However on USB connection all phone functions are disabled which is very inconvenient. To enable phone functions the connection should be closed and the cable disconnected (as the phone warns: to avoid software failure). The phone starts recharging through USB automatically.

The main menu is a set of icons 4 lines and 3 rows. Submenues are given in a list. For menues containing a lot of different information (File manager, Settings, call register) there are bookmarks that make the work with the phone considerabely easier. Navigation can be done using only navigation key without soft keys. To return one presses an arrow key. To switch to a main menu press the same button but hold it a bit longer.

Speed triggering of a function is supported by navigation button (4 functions can be ascribed to it) and menu My links appearing after pressing right lower soft key on the front panel.

1 message can contain up to 1900 symbols (can you type that much?). Language switches on pressing # button for some time and to change the mod you need to hold * for several seconds. Short * pressing is also responsible for the register. The screen displays 6 lines 23 symbols in each.

Delivery report works adequately. The delivery time range is from 1 hour to infinity. For SMS there is an option Require answer. All outcoming messages are saved in a separate folder and after report comes in a folder Sent. For all SMS one can ascribe a tone and a vibration mode. There can be up to 6 different tones for SMS. There is a program of immediate SMS exchanging that resembles chat including several participants each of them seeing all SMS sent by others.

MMS have a lot of settings easy to work with. Video MMS is also supported. There is also Quick Share function – sending imagess by MMS on pressing only one button.

E-mail client supports message exchange, there is a mailbox for in/out coming letters. The phone is equipped with full-fledged POP3/IMAP4 client allowing to check email anywhere.

The phonebook comprises up to 1000 entries + SIM-card memory. One entry includes Name up to 5 phone numbers ( home , cell phone, work, fax and “other”), email, Web-address, address and post. Every separate name can be assigned a ring tone and an images. The entries can be joined into groups that also have a ring tone and a picture. The phone also supports voice markers (up to 40)

As personal ring tones melodies, receiver records and MP melodies can be used.

It is convenient to search contact by the first letter – to do that one needs to press and hold a corresponding number button (from 2-9). Also backup of the phonebook can be done to restore it later.

Call register includes received, dialed and unanswered. The lists include up to 10 numbers each.

Games: Java : 3 integrated games : Asphalt 3d (car racing) , Powerball Arcade (manipulating a sphere on the city steets ) , QuadraPop (a kind of tetris ) .  3D support. The initially installed games can not be deleted though there is no necessity to do this with that memory capacity.

Organizer is realized fully – there is everything that should be there and it works first-rate. There are also hints as to setting functions

The Alarm clock can be set either on every day signal or on 1-time one.

The Stopwatch allows to make up to 9 time metering. The minimum interval between stop of the previous and beginning of the next metering is 1 second.

The timer can be set in countdown mode (hours, minutes, seconds) on triggering the countdown clock appears in the right lower corner. One can stop it only in menu Organizer – Timer.

The calculator is standard? The results can be saved to the memory.

Unit converter is multifunctional which allows to convert currency, weight, volume, space, speed and temperatures.

The receiver is of high quality. It is placed in menu Entertainment – Sound Record. It can also record phone talk though it can be activated only through menu. The length of the record is not limited.

The quality of the speech loudspeaker is quite good: wide volume range and excellent speech clarity. The polyphony loudspeaker is not combined with the speech one and is situated on the rear panel of the phone, to the right from the main camera. The polyphony is 64-tone and is excellent in sounding, no complains as for volume arise. The following profiles are available: sound only, vibrate only, general. On pressing # silent mode de/activates. There is also increasing sound mode. Vibrate mode is middle by its forth and that is quite understandable – such massive device is rather uneasy to swing.

Time of work

During testing (about 40 minutes of talking time per day + games + radio and MP3 player) the phone worked for 3 days. This is real working time a user can count on.

Sales Package Contents:

• 1 x W550i Handset
• 1 x Standard Battery
• 1 x Travel Charger
• 1 x Stereo Handset HPM-80
• 1 x Datacable
• 1 x CDROM
• 1 x User Guide

The sales package also includes software for images processing Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 Starter Edition, which helps in arranging photos and managing them. Besides there is also software for music control.

The Li -Ion battery is a standard one providing 8.5 hours of talking mode and 370 hours of standby mode. Maximum video filming time is 1 hour 40 minutes according to official data.

The HPM-80 headset is not that simple. The headphones are connected in JEC plug slot in the microphone block so besides standard (by the way very good) headphones you can use any other with that kind of plug. The headset is supplied with a special curved rubber strap for the neck. Embouchure are designed for inserting in acoustic duct. The set includes three diferent pairs so you'll be able to choose the one that suits you best. The sound isolation from the surrounding world is total. The same headset goes with Sony Ericsson W800i and W550i

• powerful functionality
• great display
• good camera
• advanced communications ( Ir port, Bluetoot , USB- cable, Mass Storage Device)
• good complectation

• masive dimensions
• no protection shutter for camera