Sony Ericsson W705 Review

Introduction:

If we ask how many of you are into listening to music on their phones, we figure quite many shouts and raised hands are to follow. But the question is rather “Do you like Sony Ericsson´s music phones”? Hm, the enthusiasm seems to have subsided a bit, doesn´t it? While top of the range phones (such as the Sony Ericsson W980, the W995 and the W902) come loaded with extra features such as high-end cameras or quality sound, more affordable devices (the Sony Ericsson W595 and the W580, which we have reviewed as well) are somewhat simpler. You need as much as just take a quick look at the Sony Ericsson W705 to find out it´s a something quite different, featuring the manufacturer´s new design language (looks pretty much like the W995) and display that´s larger than those on previous makes in the same price range. It also supports Wi-Fi and the manufacturer claims it´s at par with their best devices in terms of audio quality. But, we´ll get to that later.

Let´s see what´s inside the box:

Design:

Display itself measures healthy 2.4 inches, has QVGA resolution and delivers great image quality even in direct sunlight. Though just 0.2 inches larger than the W595, its compact body makes screen look huge. Despite its rectangular shape, we do like the phone, because it is made in the spirit of high-end devices, like the W995 for an instance. The metal front side, fine-spun bronze-gold colored elements and back covered with rubber-like material all make for an appealing mix.



You can compare the Sony Ericsson W705 with many other phones using ourSize Visualization Tool.

The sliding mechanism and almost all buttons deserve an A+. The keys around the D-Pad and those on the numeric keypad are slightly embossed, large enough and feel easily discernible when touched. The only buttons we find a bit uncomfortable to use are the sound rocker and camera shutter, both onto the right hand side of the phone, because they are somewhat small and harder to press.



The back cover locking mechanism deserves praise, since you don´t need to put your shoulder to the wheel and overexert yourself to get it open, something that doesn´t apply when trying to reach the M2 expansion card slot though.

Interface and functions:

As you may have guessed already, the Sony Ericsson W705 takes after the W995 in more than just its outward appearance. The software implementation is closely similar and the phone features the same themes we saw on the prototype unit that we wrote a preview of. The only difference is brought forth by the lack of GPS module - you have the FM radio app taking up its place in the main menu.

The Sony Ericsson W705 sports some really pleasing functions. Say, you can do phone contacts searches from the home screen by entering digits, which makes the phone seek through both entered names and numbers of all your contacts. Unfortunately, there is no way you can filter your contacts by family names even from the phonebook itself. Not last, the phone politely asks for your permission to download all necessary internet and email account settings the moment you enter the particular menu, which feels nice and might turn out to be a great time saver.

Taking a look at the home screen you´ll find that the two functional buttons lead to both major functions of the phone – multimedia menu and internet search (through Google). Let´s press the latter first.

Internet and Multimedia:

The Sony Ericsson comes properly equipped for Internet surfing sessions – it supports HSDPA 3G at maximum speed of 7.2 Mbit/sec, while Wi-Fi allows you to put the excellent internet browser to good use in case a wireless hotspot is within range (say in your corner pub) and do this free of charge. Browser loads heavy websites fast and hassle-free (aside from Flash content), supports pop-ups, RSS broadcasting and the pan option allows you to comfortably read even larger web pages. The overall performance of the web browser is excellent for a feature phone.



The build-in accelerometer is decent, kicks in when you get to the browser or multimedia menu and manages to spin the screen to landscape mode with but a short delay. It´s also usable in certain games or with the music player (the ShakeMe function)

Well, let´s not wander from the subject and get to the audio features of the phone. We are of the opinion that the manufacturer has taken things a bit too far by claiming the W705 an undisputed champion. Certainly, the phone produces great sound… but this only holds true if you plug in a pair of earphones. The built-in loudspeaker is rather weak and adds an annoying, sharp trait to the sound. We don´t find the headset that comes in the box extremely comfortable to use plus it lacks proper basses. We decided to put the 3.5 mm. adapter to good use and plugged in another pair of earphones to find audio quality drastically improved. The longevity of the battery deserves admiration. We heavy used the handset as music player in between all the tests we subjected it to and the battery didn´t fail us. Plus you can always turn the radio on in case you´ve grown tired of all the music you have.



Video support is limited to MPEG4/H.263 only and that´s quite unfortunate, since the format can deliver no better than mediocre image quality… We so much felt like watching a movie or two on the large display.

Sony Ericsson W705 sports 3.2-megapixel camera that lacks autofocus and has rather simplified interface when compared to the Cyber-shot phones. Still, it offers enough options – white balance, preset effects and night mode. Come to picture quality, camera performed nearly as we expected. Snapshots had pleasing colors but lacked enough details. All told, picture quality is somewhat below par alongside of what the C510 delivers, but is still OK. You can also capture videos at QVGA resolution, 15 frames per second and rather bad overall quality.

Performance:

Do you know that the South American leaf frog can actually bark like a dog? Well, the Sony Ericsson W705 lacks such unique capabilities and in-call quality is rather mediocre. We were able to hear people on the other end, but their voices sounded muffled, while the very same people complained that our voices were extremely sharp and to the point of preventing proper communications at times. As we mentioned already, battery is excellent and according to the manufacturer should be able to provide 10 hours of continuous talk time, over 400 hours in standby and about 20 hours of audio playback.

Conclusion:

The Sony Ericsson W705 is a typical midrange phone for 2009. It delivers comfy interface and pleasing overall look, capable browser and excellent audio playback quality (through a decent pair of earphones). We believe the manufacturer could´ve given the phone an edge over the competition if multimedia features had been properly implemented (video playback and camera performance). Still, we cannot deny that good midrange music devices that deliver both decent audio playback and rich connectivity options are somewhat scarce indeed (with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic being an exception). All told, if you need a similar feature pack, the Sony Ericsson W705 is quite good an option indeed.

Sony Ericsson W705 Video Review: