The Sony Ericsson W205 is an old school offering in a world of social mobiles, unlimited music downloads, and smartphones entering mid-tier price ranges. It’s a tiny phone that aims to just make calls and play your tunes on the commute. Is that enough anymore? Read on and find out in our Sony Ericsson W205 review.
Unfortunately, no. We have no problem with budget phones, but that doesn’t mean they have to feel like a slapdash affair from yesteryear. The only word to describe the Sony Ericsson W205′s build is shonky.
The screen is a pitiful, postage stamp 128×160 affair with a massive bezel. The T9 keyboard is cramped, and depresses so little when pushed that texting is a nightmare, while the slide mechanism is next to non existent. There’s no snap, so you have to remember to push it up or down all the way, every time, and it’s loose on its rails too. The 1.3 megapixel camera isn’t too bad in daylight, but it’s too low resolution to do anything with beyond a mobile screen.
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The Sony Ericsson W205 is also a regression from the steps Sony Ericsson has made towards common sense of late. Is there a 3.5mm audio port on this music mobile? Nope. Is there a microSD slot for storing tunes? Nope, we’re back with Sony’s limited Memory Stick Micro format.
To be fair to Sony Ericsson, there’s nothing truly wrong with the software on board. The company’s simple OS layout couldn’t make basic tasks on the Sony Ericsson W205 any easier. But it’s not any faster or more customisable than any random cheap candybar from the company circa 2005. Aside from the useful TrackID tune recognition software, and ability to record from the radio as a ringtone, nothing has changed.
The Sony Ericsson W205 is a cheap phone, sure, but it feels that way too. When you can pick up a blower with unlimited internet, a solid build and PC music syncing for just £15 per month or £99 on PAYG (See the INQ Chat 3G), we just don’t see any point in Sony Ericsson pushing these dull, dumb phones anymore. If you want a cheap music player, go buy an Archos Clipper instead.
