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The talking walkman
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A quarter century after it transformed the way we listened to music, Sony has erased the walkman's separate entity by merging it with a mobile phone
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Having downloaded songs from your computer to the phone, you can sort it by artiste, track name or create a favourites list of your own
In the summer of 1979, Japanese electronics giant, Sony, launched a portable cassette player, whose name — Walkman — soon became a synonym for music on the move. Having gone through many avatars and survived many imitations including CD versions and Net-enabled solid memory models, the walkman has finally self-erased its separate status and merged seamlessly with the 21st century's most compelling personal device — the mobile phone. Encashing its tie-up with hand set maker, Ericsson, Sony has added the trademark `W' logo of the walkman to the Swedish giant's latest cell phone model to create the Sony Ericsson 800i Phone-Walkman.
Last week, the phone was nationally launched in India, simultaneously with releases in the Middle East and Asia Pacific — and thanks to a piece made available for evaluation, MetroPlus brings you a report on this quintessential `convergence' device.
Unique features
What makes the W800i different from other MP3-type music phones is the equalizer tool which allows you to increase or decrease the bass/treble ratios: it looks very much like the tool you find in Winamp or other desktop music players. Having downloaded your favourite songs from your PC to the phone, you can sort it by artiste, track name or create a favourites list of your own. The smooth transition from one track to another and preset equalizer functions for individual genres of music are add-on functions that are unique to the W800i.
When you switch on the phone, it gives you an option to start it as a walkman or a phone. If you start it as a walkman, you do not access the phone capabilities, and use it just as a music player. But this does not make much sense since even in the phone mode, you can access the music player function at the single click of a button. Why would you not multi-task the machine as a mobile phone and a music player rather than a player only? It is an interesting experience when you do not have to pause the music even while you are typing your short message, changing that wallpaper or even clicking that snap.
The camera in itself is one of the best in the league. With a two-megapixel resolution, the quality is good enough to make post card-sized prints, and under good taking conditions, it will be difficult to make out if the picture comes from a camera phone or a digital camera. Sony Ericsson has finally done away with the jerks and dots in the cameras of the T610 series and gone a step further with the W800i. The digital zoom is smooth and instant, making the entire cam experience highly satisfying. The separate lens cover, which can be operated by a cute little manual switch, makes you forget for a second that the camera is actually part of a phone. Add to this an extremely smooth and clear video recording feature, and the phone is a photography enthusiast's delight.
At the end of the day, the W800i is, at its best, a music phone, which goes a step further than others in its league, by having individual switches for volume control and play/pause/stop buttons. The cost? You'll get just five rupees change for Rs. 25,000.
A. VISHNU
vishnua@hotmail.com
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