Sony Ericsson W350

Sony Ericsson's W350 is a quirky novelty of a Walkman phone that most reviewers initially expressed high hopes for. At 4.1 inches by .7 inches by .4 inches and 2.6 ounces, the W350's design is a throwback to early cell phones that featured a hinged bottom and upward-swinging flip. (Picture an old-school car phone.) The majority of experts are taken with this, as well as with its slick styling and glossy surfaces. Reviewers are similarly impressed by the lineup of features packed into the W350's tiny casing: Walkman music player, media manager software, web browser, messaging capability, PC syncing, on-board camera, FM radio and Bluetooth. Upon use, however, their enthusiasm wanes. Expert test after expert test reveal applications that underperform and features that are undermined by form factor. Many end their reviews by recommending alternative phones, such as Nokia's 5610, 5310 and N78, and Sony Ericsson's W880, W380 and W580.

The W350 looks like a combination candy bar and flip phone, with a constantly visible 1.8-inch display and, below that, a keypad that is protected by a flip. The outside of the flip offers basic music controls, but experts pan this design, as the external buttons merely press through to the internal navigation, which is where all the advanced features reside, anyway. The flip is universally criticized by professional reviewers and owners as flimsy, prone to bending and easily broken off the hinge. The screen is low-resolution, but critics say it's bright and adequate for text (though not very good for photos or videos). Inside the flip is a keypad that, in reviews, varies from slightly difficult to use to extremely uncomfortable. Some of this difference may come down to an issue that PhoneArena's article highlights, that users with large hands will struggle to operate such a compact phone. Even the most optimistic of reviewers note that they W350's keys have little give and cannot be differentiated from one another by touch alone. On the upside, most experts speak favorably of the user interface -- Mobileburn.com's Brad Kellett goes so far as to call it "basically flawless."

Because the W350 is a Walkman phone, critical attention tends to focus on the W350's abilities as a music player. It is in this area that the phone proves to be the greatest disappointment. Sony Ericsson's Media Manager application performs dismally in tests, making it excessively hard to transfer and manage music files. Sound quality underwhelms, with a notable lack of bass. Experts are particularly critical of Sony Ericsson's headphone options; the bundled headphones are described as low quality, and the company's proprietary headphone jack means that third-party headphones cannot be substituted without using the Sony Ericsson adapter. Trusted Reviews' Sandra Vogel summarizes the headphone adapter as "stupidly large," pointing out that its use causes a 1.6-inch wide phone to take up 2.3 inches of pocket space.