This particular slide phone has got rid of what has been the source of headaches for a lot of Sony Ericsson owners; the joystick control, replaced instead with a circular navigation key instead. It is simple to use, with its simple keypad (even if the buttons are just a bit small), it has prominent music player controls externally, so that music can be controlled when the phone is shut, and it has a large, high resolution screen.

The music player is particularly good, as you’d expect of a walkman phone, it is simple to use, and does most of the things you would require of an mp3 player. It also makes use of that coolest of technologies; shake control. Who needs to press buttons, right?

Its memory is limited to just 40mb in-built, but comes with a 2gb microSD memory card, and can support up to 8gb if needed. The camera is the letdown overall, it’s 3.2 megapixels, but comes without autofocus or a flash, but if you’re not someone who takes a lot of photos then this really shouldn’t matter too much, but it is a bit disappointing.

This phone is pretty good, and definitely an improvement on its unreliable predecessor, the W910i. Overall, this is a pretty decent phone.

Summary:

• Good Points: Solid, reliable phone and a good quality walkman.
• Bad Points: The limited camera with no autofocus and no flash (a ‘faux pas’ for a modern phone).
• Others to Consider: Nokia N96, Samsung Steel.
• Free on Contract with: 02, T-Mobile, Orange & 3.