The Sony Ericsson W8-How It Compares With Earlier Generation Music Phones

Back in 2006 Sony Ericsson introduced their first Walkman mobile phone into the marketplace in the shape of the W800i. At the time this model was streets ahead of the competition and inevitably proved a huge success with consumers. Five years down the line and the mobile industry has changed greatly thanks to the arrival of smartphones as well as the emergence of brands such as HTC and Apple. Sony Ericsson have decided to reincarnate their Walkman range of phones starting with the new W8 model but how does this differ from the very first releases that proved such a success with the public?

At the time of its release the Sony Ericsson W800i was a groundbreaking piece of technology however the new W8 model boasts a much more modest specification compared to some of the handsets currently available. A 600Mhz processor ensures this new addition is much faster than earlier models but that is to be expected. Many people will acknowledge that this speed falls somewhat behind what many rival phones are offering but we must not forget that this handset is not aiming to compete with the smartphone market. Yes it does boast some smartphone features but it is intended to appeal to the person who wants a basic phone with good audio facilities. When it sticks to its brief this model is outstanding. In terms of storage capacity the W8 offers 128MB of internal capacity which is huge compared with the 20MB on the W800i, however both of these figures are not substantial enough to house extensive music collection. The saving grace here is that both phones accept external storage media with the older phone allowing for Memory Sticks up to 8GB whilst the new model can double this figure thanks to a micro SD card slot.

A major change since 2006 is the emergence of touch screen displays and the Sony Ericsson W8 offers a good quality 3 inch screen then benefits from this technology. Not only is the screen larger larger than on the W800i but it boasts a far superior resolution of 320 x 480 pixels compared to the 170 x 220 that the older phone sports. Mobile internet access has moved on since the early days so whereas the W800i offered no facilities for this the W8 not only gives users the option of connection to a network via WiFi for the fastest experience but also via mobile data services such as 3G, EDGE and GPRS. An area where the older model does come up trumps is with regards to size as it weighed in at just 99 grammes rather than the 106 grammes that this latest model weighs. There is very little difference between the two in this department however and despite being heavier the compactness of the W8 is one of its main draws.

Technology has moved on a great deal in 5 years but despite the Sony Ericsson W8 not being as cutting edge as the W800i was on its release it still offers great functionality and looks if you are not looking to travel the smartphone route.

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A Comparison Of The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini And The HTC Wildfire S

As the size and specification of the modern mobile handset increases the costs of the phone inevitably spiral. Some of the top end smartphones will now cost the consumer around £500 without a contract and if you are signing up with a network provider it is easy to spend upward of £40 a month. There are alternatives however, phones that do not cost the earth yet still offer the day to day smartphone functionality that you require. An added bonus is that they also look great and you could be forgiven for thinking the models we are about to discuss were in fact top end phones. The HTC Wildfire S and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini are both compact phones that will not break the bank but how do they compare to one another?

Nowadays a lower priced phone does not mean you have to compromise too much in terms of the hardware you are getting for your money. Internally these two handset are both impressive. The Xperia Mini features a powerful 1Ghz processor together with 512MB of RAM. Add to this an Adreno 205 graphics processing unit and you have a chipset that ensures that this little phone operates at quite a speed. The HTC Wildfire S cannot quite live up to the high early standards laid down by Sony. The phone sports a 600Mhz processor and matches the Xperia Mini for RAM making it no slouch but also not in the same league as the Xperia for speed. A feature that more and more consumers are utilising on their mobile handset is the camera. This increase in popularity is partly do to the improved quality on modern camera resulting in crystal clear images rather than the dull and blurred shots we expected a few years ago. Add to this the ability to capture video and the modern phone really is a truly multimedia device. Sony Ericsson also come out on top in this department thanks to a combination of a great 5 mega pixel camera as well as HD video capture. The Wildfire S matches this in the terms of photographs but unfortunately its VGA video capture is no rival for HD.

Things are a little bit more evenly matched when we take a look at the screens on the two phones. The Sony Ericsson Xpera Mini and the HTC Wildfire S both offer the same resolution displays at 320 x 480 but the Sony screen is slightly smaller at just 3 inches resulting in a slightly sharper image. Another contributing factor to this extra clarity is the incorporation of Sonys "Bravia Mobile" engine which boosts the picture quality. At 3.2 inches the HTC screen is only slightly larger and in fairness does offer a great image for a budget phone but the extra technology on the Xperia Mini means that once again it comes out on top. Where HTC may claw back some ground is when it comes to the physical design of the phone. Size will not be a problem with either model as they both weigh in at roughly 100 grammes and are incredibly compact. The Wildfire S is just like a mini version of the brands more premium offerings in that it feels well made and is very pleasing on the eye. This is in contrast to the Xperia Mini which although is not a bad looking model does suffer slightly from the over use of plastic which does make the handset feel a little on the cheap side.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and the Wildfire S from HTC go a long way to prove you do not need to spend a fortune to get a high quality smartphone. Both of these models impress but overall the Xperia edges it thanks to a great screen and brilliant multimedia features.

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