Sony Ericsson’s Walkman handsets have always been the lead singers on the mobile music scene but recently its rep has come under threat from a crew of super group-sized rockers.
The likes of the Nokia N96, Apple iPhone 3G and Samsung i8510 with their 8GB and 16GB stadium-sized storage and skilled music player licks, has seen the Scandinavian Asia outfit retaliate with force with the 8GB fatted W980.
Amongst such fierce competition, the W980 does hold an ace up its sleeve: its dinky size. Compared to its mammoth rivals, this compact clamshell will nestle unnoticed in the pocket without fear of being arresting for lewd public acts. Not bad considering it can hold around 2,000 good-sized MP3 files.
The W980’s finger smear loving mirrored finish and overly plastic shell is not what we expect from a flagship music blower, but we’re prepared to overlook its design faults because it’s easily the most accomplished Walkman phone we’ve pawed.
With a bright hi-res screen and touch-sensitive buttons, the music player can be entirely controlled without opening the phone. A side switch also lets you easily interchange between the FM radio, music player and standard phone homescreen.
Its sonic performance has also been boosted with new Clear Audio Experience technology and equaliser modes. Listening through the new premium supplied headphones it sounds cleaner, tauter and louder than previous Walkman’s. Our one persistent grumble is the lack of integrated 3.5mm headphone jack. Naturally you get an adapter but it just means an endless tangle of wires. Sort it out Sony Ericsson!
Elsewhere, other cool features include an FM transmitter so you can stream your tunes over a car stereo or house radio (unfortunately sound quality is compromised a little) while HSDPA download speeds and an autofocus lacking 3.2 megapixel camera give it’s a respectable feature rap sheet.
Verdict
While it still lacks the all out mobile power of its regal rivals, the W980 is undoubtedly the best Walkman phone we’ve heard.
Best features
Compact design
Ample storage for music
Great sounding music player
Not so good
Lack of integrated 3.5mm headphone socket
No autofocus or flash on camera
Closest rivals
Sony Ericsson W890
If you like your music phones a little slinkier and slimline then the W980’s 10 mm thick, HSDPA speeding compadre is perfect for size zero fans.
Samsung F400
This dual slider muso harbours a sizeable in-built loudspeaker, integrated 3.5mm headphone jack and a fine sounding music player.
Nokia N95
Unlike the F400, the original dual slider sports handy music controls instead of a speaker while it also weighs in with a built-in 3.5mm headphone socket.
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