Sony Ericsson W760i review

Bringing satellite navigation to the Walkman music phone lineup for the first time, Sony Ericsson's W760i comes with A-GPS location finding technology built in, and is pre-loaded with a selection of Sat Nav-based software and applications.

Music still takes centre stage on this sliderphone, with the W760i sporting the latest version of Sony Ericsson's Walkman Player software featuring motion sensing Shake control gadgetry, and SensMe mood defined tune selection, alongside the usual high-quality tune-player options. The W760i also comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera - higher resolution than average for a Walkman phone.

It is equipped, too, with high-speed HSDPA mobile broadband 3G data connectivity, enabling fast downloads of music and video clips, plus swift internet browsing. Wi-Fi, however, isn't on the features list.

But music aside, the main attraction of this phone is its internal GPS satellite receiver, complemented by Google Maps and a trial version of Wayfinder Navigator software for location finding, route navigation and place searches. Sat Nav is appearing on a fast-growing number of handsets from the big mobile makers, with Sony Ericsson starting to introduce navigation and location search facilities in more of its handsets.

Google Maps has become a regular fixture on Sony Ericsson's mid-range phones this year, using cellsite-based location finding technology rather than GPS satellite positioning to get a fix on your rough position to within a few hundred metres. But the addition of A-GPS (Assisted Global Positioning System) in the W760i means precise, spot-on location information rather than approximate area positioning. And A-GPS, using both satellite and cellsite technology for fast and accurate location tacking, facilitates full in-car-style voice guided directions, too, which users can enjoy with the Wayfinder Navigator app.

Design and handling
The W760i has plenty in its features locker, with the standard mid-tier rundown of music and video player options, including FM radio and TrackID software, a full web browser and push email support, plus a selection of motion sensor-aided games and apps that use the handset's movement for no-button control. The motion sensor inside also automatically switches the screen orientation between landscape and portrait as the phone's being moved when viewing items in the media gallery - music, videos, images, RSS feeds - and using the phone's web browser.

One usual 3G function that's surprisingly absent is face-to-face video calling, as there's no secondary camera above the display - although most mobile user are unlikely to miss this minority-interest feature. The display itself is a decent 2.2-inch display, a 262K-colour QVGA (320x240 pixels) array that's detailed enough for viewing Sat Nav instuctions and routing information, as well as for looking at other video and web-based content. Naturally, it's not the size of a standalone in-car navigation system, but it does the job perfectly adequately.

The W760i doesn't have the super-slim design traits of some recent Walkman models, such as the W910i sliderphone or W890i candybar; it has a more mid-sized feel, measuring 103(h) x 48(w) x15(d)mm and weighing 103g compared to the W910i's trimmer 86g and 12mm thin bodywork. Its rounded build feels comfortable in the hand or pocket, with a dimpled back panel giving a good handling grip.

The control system is standard Sony Ericsson - an easy to use, intuitive menu system based around grid icons, with a navigation D-pad and conventional softkeys taking care of most control functionality, plus prominent regular call and end buttons on a well-spaced control panel. As usual, three shortcuts can be programmed into the navi-pad (there's a fourth dedicated to location services), with an additional Activity menu button providing handy fast access to lists of key features, apps and information. The slide-out numberpad is sturdily built and has nice and large keys, neatly arranged and responsive enough for speedy texting.

Music player
Walkman player controls are etched into the D-pad, for when the music player is in use, and there's a fast access Walkman player button on the side. As well as being used to fire up the music player, it also brings into play the motion sensor-activated Shake control music controls; when your tunes are playing, you can hold the Walkman button in and with a shake left or right shift forward or back. A quick shake both ways switches on the Walkman's shuffle control, while up or down movements can be used for adjusting volume level.

Of course, all these options can be carried out with less fuss, more accurately and with less risk of sending your phone flyng by using the standard physical buttons and volume rocker - but then the Shake control option does have decidedly more gimmick factor, if that's what shakes your tambourine.

The Walkman player puts in the sort of high quality audio performance you'd expect from the Sony Ericsson music range. The supplied earphones plug into a side connector rather than on top or bottom, which makes pocketing the phone while listening to music more awkward than it should be. Sony Ericsson has, as usual, boxed a two-piece set headset, with a 3.5mm adapter socket so you can plug in your own headphones to maximise sound quality. The in-box earphones produce a pretty good performance - much better than average mobile far, with decent bass - but if you swap to better quality ear-wear, you'll get the most out the software. Our reference Sennheiser headphones got top notch sound from the phone.

The Walkman user interface is a familiar user-friendly set-up; you have the usual tune categories - artists, albums, tracks, playlists, genre - plus podcasts, audio books, year. Added to this, there's Sony Ericsson's SensMe option - a feature that can help you create playlists by mood and tempo of particular songs.

In order to use this mode - which may appeal to some as a way of accompanying fitness routines - you need to sort tracks before copying from a PC using Sony Ericsson's supplied Media Manager software. A USB cable is provided too, and you can drag and drop tracks and other media files too using the phone as a mass storage device.

Sony Ericsson supplies the W760i with a 1GB Memory Stick Micro card - there's a handy to access slot on top of the phone - complementing 40MB of internal user storage.

Location-based services
Some may wonder why Sony Ericsson has chosen this music-orientated Walkman phone as one of its first A-GPS-enabled handsets. From the outside it may not make much of its Sat Nav capabilities, but they are, none the less, well implemented on this non-smartphone handset. Location finding on any gadget you have with you constantly in your pocket or handbag, and the A-GPS on the W760i ups the performance considerably of the Google Maps app we've found very useful in its non-GPS version. Position finding is accurate and swift - we found the phone locking onto our location within 30 seconds - and works efficiently when driving or walking.

Be warned though, you may incur data usage costs when using the Sat Nav applications, unless you have an inclusive data mobile deal; rather than using onboard maps or storing maps on a memory card, the pre-loaded location functions refresh maps and other information by connecting to a remote server and downloading data.

Google Maps enables you to plan routes, search for addresses or locations, look up businesses and services and view them on map. The navigation results can be mapped, with a turn-by-turn itinerary of directions loaded up too. You can also view maps as satellite pictures, as you can on your desktop PC, which can be fun.

The Wayfinder Navigator 7 application included on the W760i is a three-month trial version of the software, and provides a more in-car Sat Nav-style experience; you can plan routes and find addresses, locations, restaurants, services and so on, and get full Sat Nav step-by-step voice instructions, as well as 2D or 3D mapping. It works like a basic in-car system - there are a selection of settings options, and you get loud vocal alerts as you approach turns, etc. It can be set to pedestrian mode too, which is handy if you're wandering around an unknown area. In our tests, the Wayfinder app worked smoothly enough to take us from A to B without any drama.

Another pre-loaded app which can utilise the A-GPS system is Sony Ericsson's Tracker sports training software. This can keep tabs on your running performance, using GPS positioning to track your speed, distance and route, to give you performance feedback you can use to monitor your progress. Regular runners will find it interesting though probably not regime-changing.

Camera quality
One regular criticism of Walkman phones has been their lack of camera quality compared to the high standard shooters peppering Sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot branded line-up. With the W760i, Sony Ericsson has upped the pixel-count to 3.2 megapixels - but he camera is still lacking in what we'd expect from a decent quality cameraphone. There's no flash, for instance, no autofocus system, no dedicated camera button for taking snaps, and most oddly, the viewfinder can't be swapped to landscape full-screen view - you have to compose images in portrait mode, with the viewfinder image framed by bands on the top and bottom of the screen. The motion sensor doesn't come to the rescue here, either.

The camera is reasonable rather than a leap forward from the standard issue 2-megapixel shooters we're used to seeing in Walkman. The camera takes a long time to process images - you have to wait around 5 seconds from when the shutter's pressed to get ready for another shot. There is some extra detail apparent in images, but the general shooting quality isn't great, even in decent lighting conditions.

Colours can appear over-saturated, reducing image definition when there are subtle tones, while some mid range shots in good light appearing soft. Low-light shots can be noisy too, and the camera struggles to take sharp images even in moderate indoor lighting, let alone in darker bar-style conditions.

Video shooting is average quality mobile footage, shot at maximum QVGA resolution, so isn't up to much other than fun clips. Downloaded video clips, or footage copied from a PC does play better on the phone however, and comes across reasonably well - and you can watch playback in full screen landscape mode.

There are the usual supply of mid-tier settings adjustments for the camera and basic brightness, white balance and effects options to tinker with, plus you can upload your pictures and videos directly to Blogger accounts using Sony Ericsson's standard embedded software. You can also 'geotag' photos - adding GPS location based data sp you can see where they've been taken on a map.

Other features
Sony Ericsson's W760i has a full complement of mid-tier apps and functionality, from email support and extensive organiser tools, to a weather forecast app and world clock. And FM radio is part of the entertainment lineup too, with TrackID software doing a clever job for song identification for tracks you hear over the radio or around you. There's a regular Sony Ericsson full web browser that has an intuitive user interface and resolves websites reasonably efficiently, particularly on high-speed HSDPA 3G networks. It has RSS feed support, too, making it easier to keep up with your favourite websites and blogs.

Among a busy lineup of additional applications, Sony Ericsson has packed in a selection of six games, some of which can use the W760i's motion control functionality.

Performance
Power hungry features such as Sat Nav and music playing can take their toll on battery life. Sony Ericsson estimates that the W760i can deliver up to 4 hours talktime on 3G networks or up to 9 hours on GSM, and standby time of up to 350 hours in 3G coverage or 400 hours on GSM networks. Alternatively, the phone can run the music player for up to 20 hours.
However, if you're operating that A-GPS system, you can expect significantly lower figures, and we'd recommend in-car users invest in a car charger to avoid sapping the battery. In our tests, with little Sat Nav usage, but some music playing and average amounts of calls, we managed a couple of days between charges.

The voice performance of the W760i was certainly up to standard, with reliably clear audio when taking or making calls, and no issues with signal strength.

Summary
With any Walkman phone, music is what it's primarily about, and in this respect, the Sony Ericsson W760i does the business with an assured, fine quality music player performance. Even without the Shake control gimmicks this phone is an attractive Walkman option, albeit a bit larger than some of its svelte Sony Ericsson label mates.

It has a decent mid-tier selection of features too, although alongside its HSDPA data connectivity we'd have like to have seen an option for Wi-Fi connectivity. It's camera was a touch disappointing too.

Still, what really lifts this phone's appeal is its A-GPS functionality, putting some genuinely useful satellite navigation technology in your pocket.

Sony Ericsson W760i technical specifications