There’s always been a clear division in Sony Ericsson’s phone crew: Cyber-shot blowers for the mobile photography buffs and Walkman handsets for audio adventurers. For the most part we’ve happily lived with this specialist code but now we want to enjoy the best of both worlds. Well, thanks to the latest Walkman blower, the W902, we can.
While not officially badged, the W902, is the first Walkman phone to share sharp shooting Cyber-shot genes. Its five-megapixel snapper has been transplanted from the brilliant C902 with nothing, except the sliding lens cover, touch-sensitive shortcuts and face detection, sacrificed.
This Walkman mobly also shares the C902’s solid build and svelte bod, and although not as slimline as its Cyber-shot amigo or the size-zero W890 for that matter, the W902 is still sweet to handle.
As expected the autofocus-led camera delivers highly printable snaps with some neat onboard photo mods to up the skill level. Macro focus is keen when honing in for close-ups while Sony Ericsson proprietary Cyber-shot BestPic picture buffering technology also makes an appearance. The photo LED flash isn’t the best but is capable is some low-light situations.
The W902 may be Cyber-shot suited and booted but its roots still lie with the Walkman family. Its audio performance is top dollar, boosted by Clear Audio Experience technology debuted in the W980. The sound through the surprisingly quality bundled earphones is dynamic and punchy and the only major beef is a lack of an integrated 3.5mm headphone jack. Still, Sony Ericsson makes up for this criminal act by bundling an 8GB memory card – that’s enough for around 2,000 average quality songs.
Verdict
Now with Cyber-shot chops, the W902 easily ranks as the best Walkman phones currently touring the mobile music scene.
Best features
Slick sounding Walkman music player
Sharp five-megapixel camera
Brisk HSDPA download speeds
Not so good
No integrated 3.5mm headphone jack
Lack of GPS and built-in Wi-Fi
Closest rivals
Sony Ericsson C902
The 5MP camera performance may be identical to the W902 but this sleek Cyber-shot shows its photographic pedigree with touch-sensitive shortcuts and a cool sliding lens cover.
Nokia 6220 Classic
This Symbian smartie matches the W902 on the camera front but delivers a more all-round mobile game, complete with built-in GPS for navigation.
Samsung U900 Soul
It’s magic morphing context-specific touch-sensitive navigation pad will grab the headlines but this stylish slider also weighs in with a 5MP snapper and HSDPA download speeds.
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