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.
![]("http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/wireless/detail-page/w580i-att-gray-135.jpg")
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. |
![]("http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/wireless/detail-page/B000UWBXPY-w580i-gry-music.jpg")
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.
