Wed, Nov 12, 2008 - Page 14 News List

[TECHNOLOGY REVIEW] Sony Ericsson W705 Walkman: a sleek phone with lots of power under the hood

by GARETH MURFIN  /  CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

Which brings me to the W705’s appearance. The astute among you may be thinking that this phone is a G705 with an aluminum casing. This is virtually true, but just like the G705 the W705 is beautiful in form. The design is sleek, and the keyboard that slides out from underneath the screen begs to be picked up and fiddled with. Just under the screen is a Motorola RAZR-style joystick presumably intended to make skipping through music easier and to make operation more comfortable. (Sony’s joysticks have been rather crude in the past.) If, like me, brushed aluminum excites you, then this phone is extremely beautiful: a sleek, slender slider phone with a lot of power under the hood.

Interestingly, since Sony has included the ability to use stereo Bluetooth headsets (before now Bluetooth headsets were mono only, a terrible way to listen to music), it has also announced the MBS-900 Bluetooth stereo speaker, which means you can stream your MP3s from the W705 to a high-quality external stereo speaker. This is an excellent situation because the MBS-900 Bluetooth speaker can be carried around and placed anywhere, and your music can be streamed to it wirelessly over Bluetooth. Powering a party from your W705 can be a reality, so long as you have the external speaker and the battery power.

In conclusion, this is a powerful, attractive and capable mobile phone. Stereo Bluetooth has further improved upon the sound features of the W range. It comes recommended if you are looking for an MP3 player phone, although existing owners of Sony Ericsson Walkman phones may find too few improvements to convince them to upgrade.

— GARETH MURFIN IS A FREELANCE DEVELOPER AND CONSULTANT

WWW.GARETHMURFIN.COM

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