A Review of Sony Ericsson's W710i Mobile Phone

Sony Ericsson is one of the leading phone manufacturers of the 21st century. The W710i is a clamshell phone that has a grey and dark grey finishing. It has a media player that can play MP3 files, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+. It is also equipped with a FM radio, speaker phones and stereo handsfree kit.

The W710i has a sporty look and is essentially designed for the fitness-conscious people. The mobile phone is equipped with a pedometer or step-counter that counts each step that a person makes. The pedometer is ideal when a person wants to clock his distance in his daily jog, measure his running speed and calories burnt in his workout. Furthermore the device comes with an armband where you can actually fasten the W710i to your arm or simply clip in on your waist.

The edges on the top cover appear to be rubberized to help absorb shocks if the phone accidentally falls on the ground. Because of the rubberized nature, I find it easier to hold on to the phone - with extra grip.

Although the phone comes with an internal memory size of 10MB, you can actually expand the memory through the expansion slot. In my case, I slot in a 512MB Memory Stick Micro. I could store almost an unlimited number of MP3 files into the phone. During my morning exercise, this device served as an ideal companion as I can use it to listen to my favorite MP3 files as well as tune in to my favorite local FM radio station.

I find it hard to believe that the manual have stated that the phone lets you have 10 hours of talk time. I did put this to the test and I only managed to clock in average of 3 to 5 hours of talk time. I guess the higher powered Li-Ion battery enables me to chat more than 3 hours straight.

As a clamshell, it's pretty tiny for its size. The phone width is only 48mm, while the thickness is 24.5mm and 88mm for the height. Although it's tiny, the onboard camera is a whooping 2.0 megapixels camera. And like many other Sony Ericsson phones, the camera produces decent to good quality pictures. Furthermore, the 2 inch 256K color LCD managed to display these pictures crisp and sharp.

The W710i is a practical phone for those who exercise regularly. One the other hand, it might not be that appealing when you compare this phone to the W950i. Nevertheless it is still a sporty looking phone.