Sony Ericsson W995
3 DirectThe W995’s 8.1 Megapixel camera is the best we’ve seen in a walkman phone. The LED flash performs great with close-up shots
Our Sony Ericsson W995 Review
Design
Upon first look on the Sony Ericsson W995, we felt at home with high expectations for this handset. The W995’s solid-angular design does not drift from other handsets in the Walkman series. The Sony Ericsson W995 gives off a vibe of durability and practicality that made us eager to poke around and see for ourselves.
Screen
At just over two and a half inches, the W995’s LCD screen is simply stunning. Its 240x320 resolution is packed with over 260,000 colours making images sharp and alive with colour. When it comes to video, we couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed with the pixel density.
User Interface
Moving on to the W995’s user interface, we realized that the design’s practical vibe is best shown in its simple, direct menus. Anyone familiar with the Walkman series will feel at home with this down-to-earth user interface – nothing too fancy, and pretty much standard.
Keypad
TheW995’s keypad is one of its strongest elements. While it does not address ergonomics in its six semi-circular D-pad, the W995’s buttons are easy on your fingers. The music controls are placed on the side along with the volume and camera shutter buttons – a common standard for music handsets. To add to the excitement, a neat metal stand is placed for you to watch videos and listen to music hands-free.
Camera and Multimedia
The W995’s 8.1 Megapixel camera is the best we’ve seen in a walkman phone. The LED flash performs great with close-up shots. You’ll find the standard features available such as: smile capture, BestPic, 16x zoom, panorama, and PhotoDJ.
On the negative side, the camera isn’t well equipped for moving shots or capturing a moment, as the time between pressing the button, capturing the photo, and storing it, adds up to more than 4 seconds. In comparison with other 8.1 MP cameras, the W995’s camera isn’t a gem as it doesn’t excel under sunlight or any bright light source.
We can’t fully experience a Walkman headset without discussing its multimedia features. Music is at the core performance strengths of the Sony Ericsson W995. Its clear resonating sound quality transported us to a different world. The W995’s external stereo speakers can definitely shine in a room of background noises.
One thing that got us on cloud number 9 is the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. You don’t see that on many handsets, and this definitely comes in handy for people who hate adapters.
The W995 player supports AAC, AAC+, eAAC, WMA, WMV MPEG-4, and MP3 for audio and video. One point to watch out for is that not all formats can be viewed in full screen mode.
Playback was a breeze as the player excelled both with home-made videos and commercials. Add to that, you can easily sync your media using MediaGo. As great as it is, the W995’s media player still has to put in some serious work to catch up with other touch screen handsets.
Connectivity and Battery Life
The Sony Ericsson W995’s connectivity options include: 3G HSDPA internet connection, WI-FI, and Bluetooth 2.0. You can easily sync or charge your handset using the USB 2.0 port.
The battery performance varies according to current playback settings. For example, we found that using the external stereo speakers drains your battery in a few hours. If you’re not heavy on media or web browsing, you can safely recharge every 2-3 days.
What We Lliked
We liked the Sony Ericsson W995 for its superb music features, stereo speakers, 2.6” LCD screen, MediaGo Syncing, and Wi-Fi connectivity.
What We Disliked
We disliked the Sony Ericsson’s W995’s online streaming performance, not-as-perfect camera, and battery life.
Our Final Verdict
The Sony Ericsson W995 is a great handset for any multimedia buff. We wouldn’t recommend the handset for anyone looking to fully utilize the 8.1 Megapixel camera. The initial vibes we felt were definitely confirmed after poking around, the W995 is solid, durable and practical for those constantly syncing music and video files.
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| Read Review | |||
| Sony Ericsson W995 | |||
General | |||
| Form Factor | Slider | ||
| Dimensions | 96 x 48 x 14 (mm) | ||
| Talk Time | 240 mins | ||
| Standby Time | 360 hours | ||
| Weight | 113 g | ||
Photo and Video | |||
| Integrated Camera | Yes | ||
| Camera | 8.10 megapixels | ||
| Video Player | Yes | ||
Phone | |||
| Vibrating Alert | Yes | ||
| Voice Recognition | Yes | ||
| Polyphonic Ringtones | Yes | ||
Messaging | |||
| MMS | Yes | ||
| Predictive Text | Yes | ||
Screen | |||
| Colour Screen | Yes | ||
Connectivity | |||
| 3G | Yes | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | ||
| Yes | |||
| GPRS | Yes | ||
| HSDPA | Yes | ||
| WAP | Yes | ||
Music and Radio | |||
| FM Radio | Yes | ||
| MP3 Player | Yes | ||
Additional Content | |||
| Downloadable Content | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Games | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes | ||
Sony Ericsson W995 Full Specification
General
| Form Factor | Slider |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 96 x 48 x 14 (mm) |
| Talk Time | 240 mins |
| Standby Time | 360 hours |
| Weight | 113 g |
Photo and Video
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
|---|---|
| Camera | 8.10 megapixels |
| Video Player | Yes |
Phone
| Vibrating Alert | Yes |
|---|---|
| Voice Recognition | Yes |
| Polyphonic Ringtones | Yes |
Messaging
| MMS | Yes |
|---|---|
| Predictive Text | Yes |
Screen
| Colour Screen | Yes |
|---|
Connectivity
| 3G | Yes |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Yes | |
| GPRS | Yes |
| HSDPA | Yes |
| WAP | Yes |
Music and Radio
| FM Radio | Yes |
|---|---|
| MP3 Player | Yes |
Additional Content
| Downloadable Content | Yes |
|---|---|
| Downloadable Games | Yes |
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes |
User Comments
Jamie W. submitted on 23 June 2009Ozzy23, it's not as bad as it looks. I don't recharge often.. It depends on how much you're on Wi-Fi. If you don't use it much, turn it off and your battery should last much longer between charges
Ozzy23 submitted on 17 March 2009I bought this on a looong contract, but what's the deal with the battery life… a very big turn off!
Please note all submissions are subject to manual review prior to appearing on this website.
Images of the Sony Ericsson W995
