Sony Ericsson W810i (AT&T)

Design of Sony Ericsson W810i (AT&T)

Last year, Sony Ericsson definitely had orange on the brain. Both its W800i and W600i Walkman phones came in orange skins (granted, you could replace the faceplates on the W600i), as did the Walkman music player interface. For the Sony Ericsson W810i, however, the company took a slightly different track and dressed the phone in basic black. Sure, the Walkman interface is still the color of the Florida-grown citrus fruit, but the black exterior provides a nice contrast. At 3.9 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches and 3.5 ounces, it's exactly the same size as the W800i, and it retains the solid, comfortable feel in the hand. Surpassing many other cell phones in quality, the rich, vibrant display supports 262,144 colors and measures 1.8 inches diagonally (176x220 pixels). It's fantastic for scrolling through the menus, viewing pictures and videos, and playing games, but it's harder to see in direct light, and it goes completely dark when the backlighting is off. Unfortunately, you can't change the backlighting time or the text size.

For the navigation keys, the W810i takes a different design approach than it did with the W800i and W600i. Besides scrolling through the attractive, user-friendly menus (available in four styles), the sliver, circular navigation toggle serves as a shortcut to four user-defined functions in standby mode. Also, when in Walkman mode, the toggle acts as your tool for scanning through your music list. In the middle of the toggle is a raised OK button that resembles a tiny joystick. In addition to opening the main menu, the OK button is the play/pause control for the music player. Overall, both controls are tactile and easy to use, and we like that they're raised above the surface of the phone. On the downside, however, they're a bit small, especially for users with larger mitts.

On either side of the toggle are two soft keys, a Clear button, and a Back key. In standby mode, the soft keys open the main menu and the Recent Calls list. They're stiff to the touch, however, and it should be noted they double as the Talk/End controls. Sony Ericsson tends to forgo dedicated Talk/End keys; it's not our favorite arrangement, but you get used to it. The final two buttons are an orange Walkman key that turns the media player on and off and a silver control for opening a user-programmed shortcuts menu. In all, the generous shortcut options are welcome.

We've knocked Sony Ericsson in the past for its poorly designed keypads, but we're happy to report that the company got it just about right this time around. Instead of recessed or flat buttons, the W810i's keypad is raised above the surface of the phone, making it easy to dial by feel. The keys are spacious, and our only real complaint is that the orange backlighting was rather dim.

Completing the outside of the phone are a music player button and a Memory Stick Pro Duo slot on the left spine, a camera control and a volume/camera zoom toggle on the right spine, and a dedicated power button and the infrared port on top. On the bottom of the phone is the port for both the charger and the headset, which means you can't connect two peripherals at the same time. The camera lens, flash, and self-portrait mirror are on the back of the phone just above three round speakers. As with the W800i, you can hold the W810i much like a real camera to take a picture.