My Sony Ericsson W810i - still churning out tunes....

In this age where handphones are literally replaced faster than rolls of toilet paper, and end up as a major percentage of the world's electronic waste, I'm happy to say that my old and trusty friend, the Sony Ericsson W810i, is still in use, though not exactly for its main purpose.

Now, for those of you who have had, one time or another, used this model before, you'll know that this is from the "W" series of phones from Sony Ericsson, which focuses more on music. One useful feature here is the ability to function as an MP3 player without a SIM card inserted. Coupled with an above-average sound quality coming from its on-board speakers, you can use it as an ultra-portable music box.

It comes with an adapter cable that allows you to use a standard headphone to listen to your music in private. I have this connected to the AUX input of my FD2's ICE system, so I can just plug it in and listen to my music on long journeys.

The W810i uses the proprietary Memory Stick Duo as media, so in essence you are limited to the size of your memory card. However, as the size of your MP3's depends generally on several factors like bit rate and sampling frequency, you may not really be bothered by this. I have already a little over 100 songs taking up less than 500 Megs of space.

Via adaptor cable that plugs into a standard USB port, you can load songs directly onto the W810i from your PC without using a memory card reader, though the transfer speed seems a little slower than with a dedicated reader. I like the fact that while connected to the PC, the phone is charging at the same time. My Nokia N76 can't do this (though I believe most newer phones are already equipped with this feature as standard).

Lastly, though my current handphone comes with an MP3 player, I prefer to use it exclusively as it is originally intended - to make and receive phone calls, and send SMS's. And occasionally snap a quick photo. Listening to music takes a hit on battery life, and the last thing I need is not being able to use my phone (low batt) in case of an emergency.

Well, if I were to improve something, I wish that the camera would work without the SIM too, which is a pity, as the 2.0 Megapixel camera was autofocus capable and in my opinion was a notch above what the rest of the market has to offer!

More info on the Sony Ericsson W810i at their official site : http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/w810i or at Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_W810