Sony Ericsson W595 (Mobile Phones & Smartphones)

Any different to other Walkman handsets?

Get past the music and video features and the phone is rather basic. Great if that's all you want.

Get past the music and video features and the phone is rather basic. Great if that's all you want.

This is a solid phone, aside from its lack of a real headphone socket. But if you're expecting anything radically new, you might want to wait a little while for Sony Ericsson to start innovating before you upgrade

Easy to use ; Good sound quality ; Decent resolution camera ; Battery life ; Screen

No 3.5mm headphone socket ; No camera flash

The W595 delivers good call quality and an altogether solid user experience. It's by no means an advanced phone or -- especially these days -- an innovative one. But if there's one thing Sony Ericsson (and Nokia, for that matter) can do, it's rejigging...

Sandra checks out Sony Ericsson's W595 Walkman handset and is suitably impressed.

This is a very nicely built handset with a strong range of features. Sony Ericsson has proved that mid-range handsets can be very competent. Anyone producing mediocre fare in this segment of the market needs to look and learn.

If you're a fan of pop music, and like to keep your library fresh, a MusicStation mobile well worth investigating

Feels good in the hand ; smart interface ; MusicStation software has plenty of appeal ; decent sound

Variable MusicStation file sizes ; no headphone jack ; could be slightly more intuitive

A simple touch of the walkman button takes you straight to a clean and crisp media manager interface.

If you're after a phone for making calls, sending text messages and listening to the odd song then the W595 will serve well enough. If you're serious about music though, or taking pictures, then we wouldn't go near the W595 as Sony Ericsson had much...

A typical Sony Ericsson, meaning it's a great handset, but won't be winning awards for innovation.

Easy to use; good sound quality; decent resolution camera; battery life; screen

No 3.5mm headphone socket; no camera flash

With all this in mind, we're happy to conclude that this is a solid, fun phone--aside from its lack of a real headphone socket and its poor video functionality. But if you're expecting anything radically new, you might want to wait a little while for...

When the choice of colours is Lava Black, Jungle Grey, Cosmopolitan White or Active Blue, then you should have a fairly good idea that the subject mater will be a Sony Ericsson mobile phone.

In this case the phone belongs to the Walkman series and bears the W595 designation. The combination of the Active blue colouring with silver trimmings and slopping curves at the top and bottom of the unit give this handset a stylish appearance.

Sony Ericsson doesn't always get the design of its mobiles right. Most significantly, buttons can be too small and fiddly for the average finger to get to grips with. And then there is the ridiculous shake ...

Sony Ericsson proves it can do good design with this handset and it is a very neat mid-range option. Just don't expect perfect photos every time, or that the headphones will slip into the tiniest of pockets.

A music phone for the style conscious

Stylish design, good display, good quality stereo loudspeakers, dual headphone jack-in headset, accelerometer

Average camera quality, slow UI

Share your favourite sounds through the built-in stereo speakers or let a friend listen in from an additional headset via the stereo Share jack. The W595 is all about music featuring shake control technology.

If you enjoy music on the go and having a camera handy, but can't be bothered carting several different devices about, then this is the phone for the job.