Review: Sony Ericsson W200i - Walkman phone for everyone : Tech Digest

The propaganda

Not everyone wants - or indeed needs - a super phone in their pocket, loaded with features and raring to satisfy any and every multimedia whim at a moment's notice.

Some just want a decent enough camera, a bit of music and the ability to talk and text their friends. Nothing more complex or overblown than that. For that sort of person, the Sony Ericsson W200i will more than suffice.

The good

The W200i is a good, solid phone, first and foremost. It's got enough features to keep you occupied without bundling in so much technology that it pushes you into forking out a massive amount each month to get one free on contract.

Camera snaps are good enough to share with your mates and there's a built-in Walkman music player. The bundled headphones are basic, but you can plug your own into the 3.5mm jack on the hands free kit. The inclusion of a 128MB Memory Stick Micro card in a phone aimed at this market is fairly generous.

The bad

There's no escaping the fact that W200i has a rather utilitarian design. It's solid and sensible, but it's not going to win any design awards. While it's quite small front on, it's a bit thick which makes it feel a somewhat bulky.

The navigation joystick is recessed a little too much, making it difficult to move around menus. The screen stretches to 1.8in and the low resolution of 128x160 pixels feels a little cramped at times.

There's also no Bluetooth, which feels positively antiquated, with wireless communication left to good old infrared instead.

Geek Sheet

Connectivity: 900/1800/1900MHz GSM, USB, infrared

Internal memory: 27MB, 256MB MemoryStick Micro

Display: 1.8in, 128x160 pixels

Camera: 0.3 megapixel

POP3 email client

Battery: 7 hours talk time, 300 hours standby

Dimensions: 44x101x18 mm

Overview

Free phones on contract are great - but if you're not in a position to take one out you may find your handset choice more limited. If you're shopping for a Pay As You Go phone, or need a replacement handset without any ties then the W200i is a reasonable option. It doesn't have all the whizbang features you'll find from the latest models, but with a price tag of around £60 on PAYG it's considerably more affordable too.