Sorry, third-parties, all JAVA-enabled Sony Ericssons now have official support from Microsoft to run their new Windows Live Messenger Mobile application. MSN/Windows Messenger site Mess.be found this goodie in a chineese MSN website. Well, actually, functionality may be a little below some other JAVA clients, but if you’re like me and only need your contact list and being able to chat with some few emoticons, you’ll take this Windows Live themed instant messenger over anything else. Apparently these download links (be careful to chose the version for your model) are completely legal and free to download, but after a couple of months they will stop working unless you pay a small unknown monthly fee. Hmm, let’s just enjoy it in the meantime and we’ll talk again in January. Check some screenshots of it running on K800 inside this entry. [Via Mess.be].
If your exact model number isn’t listed here, make sure your phone supports JAVA and then download the version of models using the same screen pixel size.
Posted by Luis Camino on Oct 25, 2006 in Reviews| W710
I was going to title this entry “another scant recommended rating from Mobileburn” but let’s be fair, it’s getting tougher and tougher to keep up with the fierce competition, and if recentnews about Sony Ericsson’s figures is any indicative, perhaps business isn’t always about making every single supermodel worth a Mobileburn’s “highly recommended” rating. And after all, it’s an “enthusiastic recommended rating”. Next, some notable extracts from the review, including a description of the W710’s interesting pedometer “for people who sweat” (I’m just quoting there!):
The slider key located on the right side of the W710i locks the rubber buttons [around the orange back lit, 4 shade grayscale external display] so that they won’t be triggered by accident when you aren’t playing music
Some long needed functionality [is that] email accounts can now be configured to download headers or only the first so many KB of a message. This system will let users see what an email message is about without having to download any huge attachments that were sent with.
The overall quality of the photos is not quite as good as we have come to expect from Sony Ericsson. The issue seems to be the lens, which takes photos that are not consistently focused
I was pleased with the quality of the sound overall when the W710i was used with both wired and Bluetooth wireless stereo headphones.
The pedometer function in the W710i works really well, and does a good job of organizing your past exercise efforts by distance, time, and calories burned. You can calibrate it by inputting your height, age, and weight and let it guess about stride length, or you can actually use it on a known distance (like a track) and have it calibrate itself from that. While in use, the pedometer will display the number of steps walked that day on both the internal and external displays. An included Java app actually lets you see graphs of your training, and offers the user virtual medals and other rewards as incentive. In short, the pedometer is a fun addition to a mobile phone.
Sony Ericsson’s user interface is both intuitive and entertaining. It makes good use of screen real estate as well as color and animation – without getting in its own way.
While I don’t consider it to be one of the better looking handsets the company has created, the Sony Ericsson W710i is still a very capable and fun handset to use. It might not have a best in class camera, but the music playback (with stereo Bluetooth support) and the built-in pedometer make it a great companion for commuters and athletically inclined people alike.
If not for some issues with audio quality on calls, I might have been convinced to give the W710i a higher rating, but as is, I instead give it an enthusiastic “Recommended” rating.
Sony Ericsson last week unveiled another cool Bluetooth accesory: the MBW-100, which is the Sony Ericsson-styled, Sony Ericsson-branded result of the partnership with Fossil, which also gave birth to other Fossil-branded Bluetooth watches. No, it doesn’t integrate an earpiece or microphone to go all spy-agent, but it has an OLED display to check caller ID, battery life and received messages. It has buttons to mute/reject callso and to play/stop and skip MP3’s too! Sadly, the display isn’t big enough to display SMS’s or song titles. At ~$300€, it isn’t cheap either. Maybe next time.
Cnet Asia already has a hands-on preview (wait, isn’t that a review?) and here are some interesting excerpts:
A rather nifty feature on the MBW-100 is its out-of-range notification function. When the phone is moved out of Bluetooth wireless range, the watch vibrates to alert the wearer. We found this useful as a security feature since it tells you if someone is attempting to walk away with the phone. (…)
The Bluetooth watch comes with a mini cradle that charges the onboard battery via the contact points located at the back of the watch. It is rated for up to seven days of Bluetooth usage and an additional week for analog time-keeping. (…)
The watch is made of stainless steel with a scratch-resistant mineral crystal glass and anti-glare coating for improved clarity of the display. (…)
For full functionality, the Bluetooth watch is compatible with only specific models in Sony Ericsson’s current and upcoming lineup. This includes the K610i, K618i, K800i, W710i, W850i, Z610i and Z710i. (…)
Despite its chunky design and not-so-affordable sticker price, the Sony Ericsson MBW-100 remains one of the more innovative Bluetooth phone accessories we’ve come across so far. It is, however, not expected to appeal to the mainstream crowd.
Lots of interesting stuff here today! The fact that Sony Ericsson has one of the most —if not the most— interesting mobile phone portfolios in the world is more unquestionable than ever. Let’s summarize it quickly because all these guys are coming in Q3:
W850: Sony Ericsson doesn’t hesitate to say it in the press release: this is one cool phone. Could we expect less from SE’s first slider? A 3G/GSM triband phone, the W850 will sell with a bundled 1gb Memory Stick Duo Pro card (not Micro) and 64mb internal memory, has a 2 megapixel camera with regular LED flashlight and no autofocus, supports Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), the Walkman application now shows Album Art and TrackID, and the controls light up at the rythm of the music. Not sure about that after watching the animation in the official page, which shows that only a (otherwise useless?) orange bar below the screen does light up. They keep mentioning the 4gb Memory Stick Pro Duo cards but where are they? Anyway, a really great little brother for the W950. W850 Official Page W850 Press Release
W710: Aimed at the fit, sporty crowd out there, this Quadband/EDGE wearable clamshell may be —correct me if I’m wrong— the first mobile phone with an integrated motion sensor, for measuring your running speed, distance ran, or even the number of steps walked. The external screen is pretty big at 1.5″, and very useable with several buttons around while the phone is closed. It has a 2 megapixel camera with no autofocus or flash, 20mb internal memory, Bluetooth A2DP, and comes with a 512mb Memory Stick Micro card and the also new IAC-60 Stereo Headset with ear hooks to keep them in place while jumping about. W710 Official Page W710 Press Release
Lots of interesting stuff here today! The fact that Sony Ericsson has one of the most —if not the most— interesting mobile phone portfolios in the world is more unquestionable than ever. Let’s summarize it quickly because all these guys are coming in Q3: