Sony Ericsson W890

Great looks Plenty of features Decent sound quality

Camera is just okay

One of the things I’ve always admired about Sony Ericsson (SE) is the craftsmanship that goes into the design of its handsets. There are exceptions of course. Many manufacturers don’t bother to integrate new technologies into either the handset or the OS, so the main thing is to see if the existing functions work well.

Form Factor
The mocha brown W890 looks classy from any angle. It’s been a while since I came across an SE with normal keys, so this is a welcome change. The 2-inch screen with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution and 256K colors is perfect for videos and images alike. The navigation pad and corresponding keys are well-placed for comfort and ease of use. I’ve always liked SE’s effective shortcut menu. A secondary camera is located above the display. The instrument is slim, at only 9.9mm.

Ingeniously, the rear panel doesn’t just slide open. It has two little locks on either side that need to be unclasped before the panel drops open. It's quite well-designed; you don't need to worry if the phone will spill its guts in your pocket. On one side are the volume / zoom keys and a dedicated camera key. On the other side is a Walkman key for activating the music player and below that is the proprietary USB, charging and hands-free port.

Thankfully the Walkman range of handsets usually comes with a converter so you can use your own earphones. The 3.2 megapixel camera, which does NOT have an auto-focus feature (odd), is located on the back. The M2 card slot is under the rear panel, and getting at it doesn't require you to remove the battery.

Features and Performance
The menus won't seem new if you’re a SE user, but they are clear and easy to navigate. As with all SE handsets, this too is decently equipped with features like a calendar, notes, timer, stop watch, calculator, and a code memo option for secure data. It has 28MB of internal memory and comes with a 2GB M2 card.