Sony Ericsson W508 review: Above the fold

Gsmarena have posted their review of the Sony Ericsson W508. Here are the key features, main disadvantages and final impression.

Key features:
Quad-band GSM and 3G with HSDPA support
3.15 megapixel camera
2.2" 256K-color TFT display with 240 x 320 pixel resolution
Scratch resistant secondary monochrome OLED external display
Touch sensitive external music control keys
Hot-swappable M2 card slot (up to 16 GB), 1 GB included
Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
Walkman music player with Shake control and SensMe
FM radio with RDS
Gesture control

Accelerometer for screen rotation
Basic multi-tasking support
Smart dialing
Threaded messaging
Exchangeable StyleUp covers

Main disadvantages:
Camera doesn't have auto focus or LED flash
Low-grade video recording (QVGA@15fps)
No web browser screen auto rotate
No document viewer

The Sony Ericsson W508 is the first Walkman flip since the Sony Ericsson W980 and the two have a lot in common. It's sure welcome that the new Walkman midranger almost matches the specs of the high-end W980 that was released almost a year ago.

While the W508 doesn't have the roomy 8 GB internal storage of its spiritual forefather, it supports M2 cards of up to 16 GB, giving it even more storage potential as the W980 doesn't even have a card slot.

The FM transmitter is missing (it's still a strictly high-end feature), there are no stereo speakers and the external display is monochrome, but the W508 has a much more attractive price tag.

Online stores are currently accepting pre-orders for W508 at under 130 euro (180 US dollars) and the price will probably drop even further once the handset becomes available.

But the story of W508 won't be complete without its T-series twin. The Sony Ericsson T707, which we recently reviewed, is similarly spec'd but trades the Walkman moniker for a slight design edge. The T707 omits an accelerometer and the Walkman goodies but has some really cool light effects. Other than that, the two are pretty much identical in terms of hardware.

Basically, you shouldn't have any second thoughts about these two mainstream phones, as Sony Ericsson have come up with two rather capable mid-rangers in their ranks. However, the way we see it, the concept of an affordable style-driven phone (T707) is somewhat questionable. But an affordable music phone - which gets the real high-end Walkman treatment (W508) - sounds just right.