Sony Ericsson W580i Gray Phone (AT&T)
Sony Ericsson shakes things up with its new quad-band W580i Walkman phone, introducing an innovative "shake to shuffle" feature that randomly chooses another song stored on your phone with just a flick of the wrist. This thin, slider-style phone also features a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, fast Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR connectivity with music streaming, Memory Stick Micro expansion, Web browser for viewing full Internet sites, email access, an FM radio with RDS, and EDGE data support. 
The slim slider W580i measures just 0.55 inches thin and features a brightly colorful QVGA screen, external music keys, and a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder. |
With AT&T's Mobile Music service, you can access your Napster subscription service for music downloads to keep you booming out the tunes for up to 20 hours. |
AT&T Service
The W580i operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution"), with availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. This third-generation, high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go. The phone has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T's MEdia Net service lets you do more than just stream videos--it enables you to receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. It also features AT&T Mobile Music, which provides access to the Napster subscription music service in addition to Music ID song-recognition software, music videos and The Buzz music news portal. (A MEdia Max subscription bundle is recommended for accessing AT&T's Internet, video, and music services.) Phone Features
The W580i Walkman phone offers a full-function digital audio player that's compatible with MP3 and AAC files. The front of this slider phone includes dedicated music control buttons, and it includes Sony Ericsson's innovative "shake to shuffle" feature. With Shake control activated, press and hold the Walkman key and flick your wrist. A vibration lets you know that the track has been changed--a new song from your current playlist is randomly selected and automatically played. With the TrackID service, you can identify any song that you can hear by just recording a snippet of sound using the microphone. After sending the file for recognition, you'll have the name, artist and album sent to your phone. Other Walkman features include MegaBass enhancement for added depth of sound, a flight mode that lets you keep listening to tunes with the phone's network connectivity turned off, and Disc2Phone software for easy transfer of song files between phone and PC. It also includes a built-in FM radio with RDS, which displays the name of the currently playing song (when tuned to compatible radio stations). This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity with EDR (enhanced data rate), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server. The built-in 2.0 megapixel camera captures stills and video--and playback of video or still pictures is only limited to the memory card size. Picture effects and custom screensavers, backgrounds, and themes can be setup to fit your personality. It provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC (either using USB or Bluetooth). And the W580i makes it easy to send snapped photos directly to a blog or an online photo, complete with text. This phone is also compatible with RTSP/3GPP streaming video playback You can even take your favorite tracks to the track with the W580i, which will count your steps, your calories and monitor your running speed/distance/time with the integrated motion sensor. Your workout results are stored in your phone so you can monitor your progress. The phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3 and IMAP4 protocols, while the included Access NetFront Web Browser allows you to surf full HTML web sites. It also supports RSS feeds, allowing you to use your phone to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you. Support is built in for sending and receiving text, video, graphics and sound via messages. The phone also supports the SyncML PC synchronization standard. This means the phone can be used with the included Sony Ericsson Sync Station software, which lets you synchronize your Microsoft Outlook calendar, contacts, notes and tasks on your PC with the phone. Other features include: - 2-inch LCD with a 240 x 320-pixel resolution and support for 262K colors
- Up to 1000 contact entries, each with five number fields
- Built-in pedometer and fitness applications
- Picture blogging with Google Blogger
- Mobile email and messaging via AOL/AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN
- Java support for online and offline 3D games (preloaded games include PacMan and Ms. PacMan)
- USB 2.0 wired connectivity with mass storage capability
- PIM functions including calendar, tasks, notes, alarm, calculator, stopwatch, and timer
- T9 text entry technology
- 72-chord polyphonic ringtones and MP3 ringtones
- Digital audio file formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+
Vital Statistics
The W580i weighs 3.32 ounces and measures 3.9 x 1.85 x 0.55 inches. Its 930 mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated at up to 9 hours of talk time, and up to 370 hours of digital standby time; the phone will also play for up to 20 hours when in Music Mode. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.
Sony Ericsson W580i Gray Phone (AT&T) Accessories
 Sony Ericsson W580i White Phone (AT&T)
Sony Ericsson W580i Black Phone (AT&T)
Sony Ericsson W580i Pink Phone (AT&T)
Nokia N75 Phone (AT&T)
SanDisk 2 GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) w/ Adapter (SDMSM2-2048, Bulk Packaging)
SanDisk SDMSM2-004G-A11M 4GB M2 Memory Stick Micro (Black)
Sandisk Memory Stick Micro (M2) 1GB SDMSM2-001G-A11M (Retail Package)
Soyo FreeStyler 500 Bluetooth Headset
SanDisk SDMSM2-2048-A10M 2.0 GB Memory Stick Micro
LG Shine CU720 Phone, Silver (AT&T)
Sony Ericsson W580i Gray Phone (AT&T) Reviews
The 2-megapixel camera/camcorder is my favorite feature. I've also become oddly addicted to the pedometer. The MP3 player is really impressive. You can edit and tweak pictures with photoDJ right on the phone.
The music stops automatically when your phone rings and resumes when you hang up. As a long time flip phone user I wasn't sure how I would like using such a tiny phone. I just used the recorder to record part of a song and set that as my ring tone because I am too cheap to pay for ring tones. I bought a 4GB memory stick and I now have at least 250 songs on it and I haven't used even half of the space. It has a self timer, various effects, and a night mode.
My husband and I both have one of these and we love them. The recorder on it is nice because this comes stock with only a couple terrible ring tone options. It only took me couple minutes figure out how it worked and despite being so small I have no trouble hearing or being heard when I'm talking on it. This is one of the few tech items that multi-tasks really well. It doesn't matter to me because I really just wanted a serious music phone. This is definitely not a phone for people who text all the time. You make custom play lists or just set the whole thing on shuffle.
It keeps a really accurate count and stores your steps/miles/calories to show you your daily average. There is no point in carrying a iPod with this phone. To zoom you have to put it in panorama though. It is a surprisingly good little camera for a cell phone. It didn't even have a regular ring option. The keys are tiny.
Just by holding it in your hand, you can feel how flimsy and fragile it is. My old phone, a Sony Ericsson w800i, which I've dropped more times than I could count and charged overnight for the past 3 years with no problem, could run laps around this junk. Title speaks for itself. The phone itself is very sleek and pretty with a bright high quality screen, but that's it. After about a week, all the number keys developed a crack down the center, which is a very common problem with this phone according to Google. After two months, the select/backspace key started having problems, then stopped functioning completely (this is another common problem with this phone).
I repeat, two months. Who has time for that. I'm surprised that the same company that made such a durable functional phone could also release such a faulty one. When we first bought it, the saleslady told us to make sure to watch it while it charges and unplug it right away when it is done, or else the battery life would quickly erode. I didn't want to bother exchanging it for another one, since it was bound to develop problems again in a few months and I was planning to travel, so I just switched to my old phone. The aqua metal on the back of the slider has also started to wear away and develop ugly silver streaks.
I filed a complaint they send me a new phone of same type. Believe me don't take a new connection or renew your phone connection on AMAZON site. continuously over the phone without connecting battery. I wonder how AMAZON able to grow biggest online store with this kind of cheap customer service.
I tried hell lot of times to fix my problem but they never really cared about it. I am a customer of AT&T, I renewed my phone connection with AMAZON.COM,. The most interesting part comes here. So guys I advise you think twice before you order anything on AMAZON.COM. The phone is hanging up suddenly, I have problem with flip, it not catching signal properly where I am loosing lot of calls and I am directly getting voice messages, the battery is not lasting for one full day. Are they playing tricks with the customers by sending them defected gadgets.
I don't know why they are so insensitive to their customer problems, they are deaf and dumb. Now I have multiple problems with the new phone. The cell phone which they delivered(I ordered Sony Ericsson w580i) has battery used running out charging very quickly, I couldn't even talk 15 min. When I call customer service of AMAZON it was a big horrible hell.
The phone completely died after 3 months. There are many better phones on the market. Phone is flimsy and made of cheap material. Too many buttons have to be pushed to complete a transaction, like adding a contact. If not careful, buttons take you to a place to "buy" something.
Pros:. Annoying for you to read about it, and even more annoying for me to do it. The w580 lets you set ringtones per contact, but not for groups. This is basic phone functionality, and a huge hole in the w580 feature set.
I'm glad I bought it, and if it breaks I would likely buy the same thing again unless something that fixes the above problems in the same form factor becomes available. First thing to do after getting the AT&T version is to debrand it (search youtube for tutorials), and make sure you don't use the Sony Ericsson updater or it will update your phone firmware to a version that can't be debranded or further modified (e.g. You can only SMS to a group and that's about it. Upgraded from an original Razr to this via AT&T a few weeks back and I love this phone.
Finally, the group ringtones. I have playlists for itunes and winamp. No other way around it. On my razr I can set a default ringtone for my phone, and then I set up groups of contacts (friends, family, work, etc). And of course the micro M2 memory stick is annoying since no one carries them so I had to mail order an 8GB card for my music, video, pics, etc.
There's plenty of room for larger keys, so a larger keyboard with more tactile feedback to make it easier to differentiate the keys would be nice. and I can assign a ringtone for each group so I can easily tell from how the phone rings who is calling. The biggest annoyance is that the phone doesn't use standard connectors, so the headset, charger, and file transfer all go through the custom connector on the side. This means I have to set the ringtone for each individual person which is impractical, and there's no way to set a silent ringtone for people not in your addressbook. It works ok for texting, and I haven't had any problems with keys breaking, but it is tight.
This is so painful that it's effectively impossible. - great screen. I don't use the Internet on it, so no comments there. Overall, it's a good phone, and I expect to be happy with it for the next few years. The best part of this is that anyone not in my phonebook rings a different way, so when I hear that, I know I can ignore it or set that ringtone to silent so I'm not distracted by people I don't know. - poor mp3 management. I was very disappointed to find that the only way to manage playlists is to manually create them on the phone.
The phone is still locked to AT&T, but it's more fun to use and you no longer have those annoying AT&T splash screens. - small size. changing the walkman skins). - no per-group ringtones. I carry my phone in my pocket wherever I go, so I want a small phone with good battery life and great voice quality.
- play music without headphones. Huge oversight on the part of Sony. - small keyboard. - 2 MP still and video camera.
Keyboard is tiny. Debranding gives you flash menus, unlimited length mp3 ringtones, and the shortcut button on the front is customizable rather than being hard coded to AT&T Medianet. MP3 management is lame. It would so much more convenient if they used standard headphone connector for audio and standard miniUSB for charging / data. Instead, I create folders in my "music" folder, copy the playlist songs into that folder, and then go into that folder via the phone, send the songs to the walkman, and save as a playlist. This phone has that.
Cons:. I should be able to drag a playlist into my phone and have the playlist and the songs copied over and accessible on the phone. - AT&T branding. - non-standard connectors. - great voice quality.
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