Sony Ericsson W995a Walkman Unlocked Phone

Reviews:

Excellent phone, but competition is stiff...,

I decided to purchase the w995a after carefully researching some viable alternatives such as the Nokia n86 8mp, the still-good and underrated n96, and the n82. I chose the Sony because it looks and feels better than the other phones, not because it IS better than the others. Let me explain.

This phone is absolutely gorgeous. Its made of brushed metal, it feels amazing in your hand, and the sliding mechanism is nearly perfect. It's a feature phone, so you really don't have any options to customize the UI like you would with a symbian phone (i.e. the nokias mentioned above), but if this doesn't bother you (which it did not bother me), it really won't matter because the menu layout is really perfect and intuitive. It has great sound, it's beautiful when lit up, and the call quality is superb. That being said, it's simply not a "better" phone than the nokias I've listed.

For one, the camera is simply "ok." Shots taken indoors will disappoint you, while those taken outdoors look very good. The video recording is old-school at 30fps QVGA while the nokias mentioned record DVD quality video at 30fps in VGA. Not to mention the nokias have carl ziess optics (regarded as one of the best lense makers in the world).

I decided not to go with the Nokia N86, it's "closest" competitor. The N86 is a better phone, it has an 8gb hard drive while the w995a comes with an 8gb card. The nokia can be expanded with up to a 16gb card, has a variable aperture 8mp that takes exquisite photos, and has the ever- customizable symbian UI. But its ugly, and plastic; typical Nokia.

So, to sum it up:

THE GOOD:

-beautiful

-well built

-beautiful interface

-good pictures

-excellent media player

-best sliding mech. ever

THE BAD:

-other phones in its price range are arguable better

-should take great pictures, not good ones

-video recording is 2004-era phone

-has a TFT 256k screen, while all others in its price range have AMOLED 16M screens.

It was a tough choice, but for me, the look and feel of this one took the cake!