First Look: Sony Ericsson W960i Phone

When Sony announced the Sony Ericsson W960i back in June, people dubbed this device as Sony Ericsson's iPhone killer. We'll take a look of this new mobile phone from Sony is worthy to be dubbed as an "iPhone killer."

Design

Though the looks of the Sony Ericsson W960i isn't close to being an iPhone killer, it does sport a 2.6 inch touch screen display. The Sony Ericsson W960i isn't all touch screen as you can see from the picture, it has a keypad. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing but I guess it really depends on the user's preference. We all know that iPhone users are complaining about how the QWERTY keypad on the iPhone is hard to use so this may be a welcome note to those who are planning on switching from the iPhone (like that would happen). Below the screen are music control keys and there's also no joystick. I've heard that Sony Ericsson has done away with the joystick in favor of a jog dial.

The Sony Ericsson W960i also sports a glossy black finish, and although the overall look of the Sony Ericsson W960i seems solid, the keypad looks a little bit cramped and flat even from the pictures. I don't know how that would affect the overall use of the Sony Ericsson W960i but I'll leave the keypad alone until after I've actually touched the phone.

Features

Feature-wise the Sony Ericsson W960i may as well be an iPhone killer. While the iPhone operates on EDGE networks, the Sony Ericsson W960i supports 3G networks, has Wireless LAN, and Bluetooth with A2DP profile. The Sony Ericsson W960i also supports video calling features which is lacking on the iPhone. The Sony Ericsson W960i also has an internal 8GB of internal memory but unfortunately, there's also no expansion slot on the Sony Ericsson W960i.

The camera on the Sony Ericsson W960i has a 3.2 mega pixel resolution which is higher compared with the iPhone's 2 mega pixel camera and unlike the iPhone, the Sony Ericsson W960i can record videos, has photo light, auto focus, and a 3.2x digital zoom.

Music wise I think that the Sony Ericsson W960i can give the iPhone a run for its money, after all, it is a Walkman phone. To compete with the iPhone's CoverFlow, the Sony Ericsson W960i has Album Art where you can assign album cover or other images to your music. The Sony Ericsson W960i also supports Bluetooth A2DP profile, which the iPhone lacks, so you can listen to your music through Stereo Bluetooth headsets.

The Sony Ericsson W960i also has different input options; you can use the keypad or the touch screen with the stylus since the Sony Ericsson W960i has handwriting recognition capabilities.

Verdict

Though the Sony Ericsson W960i is not a complete iPhone killer as it still can't compete with the iPhone in terms of design, the Sony Ericsson W960i will be a good choice for those who're looking for better iPhone alternatives, feature-wise.