i loved this phone! i got it in pink and, this phone has been the best phone i had own so far! it has many cool features such as a Music andPhoto DJ that allows the user to create and alter a photo and music. its not as heavy as most phones, and comes in many fun colorsit comes with a usb (or is it ucb?) cord that allows the user to hook this phone onto their own desktop! they can also download songs from your i tunes, where you can then uses it as a ringtone! this phone really does show your inner character. this thing has a very long battery life, left it out for two weeks!, and is pefect for people who enjow new and interasting apps. love this phone except for a few problems. the paint scraches easily around the edges, looking through the camera would be like looking at a side view mirror on your car, and it is very fragile; consertering how easily this thing can go haywire and start sutting down at the most gentaliest of taps. but over all good phone and i would recomend it to some people since the haywire crap might be my phone~
Can anyone speak to the reception and user interface? SE is (in)famous for lousy interfaces (the w580i is just AWFUL -- so many unnecessary clicks for common tasks!).
Also -- does this phone have any of the "gotcha" keys -- keys that are hard to reprogram, and easy to hit, and activate expensive (online) services?
Specs look great.
I just bought this phone yesterday when I walked into AT&T. I had been waiting a long time for this model since I really liked my old SE swivel phone.
Almost everything about the phone is slick and easy to use. SE finally added Send/End buttons to the phone which is a vast improvement over the old button layout. They've also added a shortcut button below the End key that makes it easy to see what applications you're running in the background and gives you fast access to things like bluetooth and alarms. It also gives you the option to add additional shortcuts right from the menu.
As usual the camera and video works great. I never had any major problems with the camera on my old SEs and this one. There is also a new media function in the phone that runs VERY similar to Sony's PSP and PS3 systems. I could test the mp3 player because it refused to play any of my mp3s. They are DRM free, so I don't know what this issue stems from. I used the usb connector from my old phone which seems to work fine, though it can be a bit finicky. I suggest buying an M2 card and card reader for you computer if you don't already have one. You'll need the extra memory and transferring files is much easier.
Now a few problems I've had with the phone. It is EXTREMELY picky when trying to connect to the mobile internet. It's a complete crap shoot. Sometimes you'll connect immediately, other times it will give you continuous error messages. Video streaming can be choppy and it often drops the sound. I never had this problem with my Samsung Sync. I'm using the phone in a 3g area and SE isn't exactly experienced with 3g handsets yet. Hopefully this issue can be resolved, if not it's a major drawback for me. If you plan on using 3rd party apps like Gmail mobile, Gmaps, OperaMini etc, as I do, this is going to be a MAJOR problem for you, too. Another small problem I have is that when writing a message, you do not have the option to change it from text to multimedia. You have to add pictures, videos or sound to make it change over. This probably won't be an issue for most people, but I send a lot of messages to international emails and sending as multimedia allows the message to be longer and prevents sending errors, as you will often get when trying to send text to some email addresses. Again, an isolated problem that won't affect most users.
I also had problems trying to copy my contacts off of my sim card. I kept getting error messages telling me the card was empty, but i could put it in any of 3 other phones and instantly have access to my contact list.
So, in summation
Pros:
-User friendly menus
-Slick design
-Auto brightness sensor for bright outdoors or dim indoors
-Great speaker
-Camera/video
-Application/Shortcut menu
-Good antenna
-$100 instant rebate if you buy it now so it only costs $49
Cons:
-Finicky internet connection
-Sim card read errors
-Uses Sony's crappy proprietary M2 cards instead of the widely accepted and cheaper microSD
-No usb cable in box (requires sony's proprietary cable)
-No headphone port (again, proprietary adapter required)
-Buttons are a bit "mushy"
-Messaging interface could be improved
-Center select button is difficult to press due to the large navigation buttons
It's really a toss-up on this one. I can't at this point say I hate it, but I can't say I enjoy it as much as my old SE. It all depends on how you're going to use the phone.
It could be a little thinner, but it is tri-band umts and quad-band gsm after all. Unfortunately, it still has proprietary connectors and you're stuck with sony's proprietary memory sticks, which means it's now for sale and I continue with my sony boycott...
now this is a phone that encompasses everything needed for use globally. great camera, supports all major frequencies, and nice design... i would love for at&t to pick this bad boy up... even offer different colors.