Sony Ericsson W580i Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Alfredo Padilla Published on September 24, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (6.14)
To see how easy it is to type on the W580i's keypad we timed how long it took to type out a standard test sentence using predictive text and two hands. We repeated this test five times and took the average for our score. It took an average of 31.3 seconds for us to type out our test sentence on the W580i, which works out to 30.7 words per minute (WPM). This is not a particularly good score. We found the keypad on the W580i was a little too small to use with two hands, and our fingers kept on getting stuck on the lip at the bottom of the keypad and bumping the bottom of the top part of the slider at the top of the keypad. | Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 30.70 | 6.14 |
| Helio Fin | 31.70 | 6.34 |
| Razr2 V9m (Sprint) | 42.90 | 8.58 |
| Samsung Upstage | 37.50 | 7.50 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 38.49 | 7.70 |
| Samsung Blast | 37.54 | 7.51 |
T9 and Auto Complete (5.0)
The W580i supports predictive text using T9, but not word completion.
One Hand Usability (6.90)
To see how well the W580i's keypad handles typing using only a single hand we ran our words per minute (WPM) test again using only a single hand. We did five repetitions and took the average, just as we did in the first test. As is common among phones with small keypads, we did significantly better with one hand than with two on the W580i, and were able to type at 34.5 WPM. This score compares much more favorably with other phones than its two-handed score did.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 34.5 | 6.90 |
| Helio Fin | 32.7 | 6.54 |
| Razr2 V9m (Sprint) | 36.7 | 7.34 |
| Samsung Upstage | 32.7 | 6.54 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 29.8 | 5.96 |
| Samsung Blast | 29.23 | 5.85 |
Keypad Backlighting (3.0)
The W580i's keypad backlight is white and does a good job illuminating numbers and characters. Unfortunately it also leaks out on the edge of the keys, which makes it look a little cheap and messy. There are no controls for how bright the keypad light is or how long it stays on. In our test it stayed on for 20 seconds. There's also no light sensor for the keypad.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (5.0)
The W580i's d-pad is a little small and plasticky, but aside from these issues does an admirable job. We found it to be very accurate while moving through the interface, with few mistaken presses. It also provides a reasonable amount of travel and tactile feedback, although the latter could be a little better. It compares well with the d-pad on the Razr2, and is perhaps a little better for those with smaller hands. It's certainly much better than the terrible d-pad on the Helio Fin. Touch Screen (0.0)
The W580i does not have a touch screen.
Jog Dial (0.0)
The W580i does not have a jog dial.
Soft Buttons (3.0)
The W580i's soft buttons are located on a button they share with the back and clear buttons. We found they were a little small and squishy, and occasionally we hit the other button when we were going for the soft keys. We've definitely seen better here.
Volume Control (4.0)
The volume control on the W580i is located on the left side of the phone on the upper part of the slider. It's a rocker key, like most volume controls, however there isn't any tactile differentiation between up and down. It's also a little squishy and doesn't have very much travel when pressed. That being said we didn't have many problems using it, and we've seen worse on other phones.
Power and Standby (5.0)
The power button on the W580i is located on the top of the phone on the lower part of the slider. It's slightly recessed and is not easy to press, which we consider to be a good thing for a power button. A single press will bring up a Profiles menu, while a long press will shut the phone down. A long press is also required to turn the phone back on again. It does its job well, neither better nor worse than other phones.
Other Buttons (4.0)
In addition to the buttons described above, the W580i has a few additional control keys. Beneath each of the soft keys are a back and clear button. The back button takes you to the previous screen in the interface, while the clear button acts as a backspace when entering text. There is also a dedicated button for the Walkman and another that takes you to the Web browser. None of these buttons have secondary functions, but we found them useful and easy to use.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The W580i's screen is QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) resolution. This has become standard for cell phones and should prove sufficient for most purposes. On the W580i we found that for the most part the interface doesn't take advantage of the full resolution. Fonts and graphics are a little overly large, making it it almost feel like you're using an older 176 x 144-resolution phone.
| Cell Phone | Resolution | Score |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Helio Fin | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Razr2 V9m (Sprint) | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Samsung Upstage | 176 x 144 | 4.00 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Samsung Blast | 176 x 144 | 4.00 |
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (10.00)
The W580i's screen packs 200 pixels into every inch, which is a very good score. This makes for rich colors and sharp edges on the screen. Part of the reason it does so well in this test, however, is because it has a rather small 2-inch display.
| Cell Phone | Pixels Per Inch | Score |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 200.0 | 10.00 |
| Helio Fin | 173.9 | 8.70 |
| Razr2 V9m (Sprint) | 181.8 | 9.09 |
| Samsung Upstage | 137.5 | 6.88 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 200.0 | 10.00 |
| Samsung Blast | 127.0 | 6.35 |
Screen Physical Size (5.00)
As we mentioned below the W580i's screen measures 2 inches diagonal. This is at the low end of what we see on phones, and with some handsets boasting 2.4-inch screens we have to say it looks a little small. There definitely seems to be room in the casing to pack a larger screen, and we wish Sony Ericsson had done so.
| Cell Phone | Size Diagonal (inches) | Score |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 2 | 5.00 |
| Helio Fin | 2.3 | 5.75 |
| Razr2 V9m (Sprint) | 2.2 | 5.50 |
| Samsung Upstage | 2.07 | 5.18 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Samsung Blast | 2.1 | 5.25 |
Screen Brightness (6.75)
To measure screen brightness we turned the brightness up to maximum and pointed the phone's browser at a blank white page. We then used a lux meter to measure how bright the screen was. The W580i scored a reasonable 85 lux in our test, which is much better than some comparison handsets. What isn't better is that although you can control how bright the screen gets, you don't have any control over how long the backlight stays on, nor is there a light sensor.
| Cell Phone | Brightness (lux) | Score |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 85 | 6.75 |
| Helio Fin | 78 | 5.15 |
| Razr2 V9m (Sprint) | 48 | 5.40 |
| Samsung Upstage | 44 | 2.20 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 55 | 3.15 |
| Samsung Blast | 92 | 5.85 |
Screen Bright Light Performance (7.0)
To find out how the W580i's screen handled bright light situations we shined 3000 lux onto the screen and judged how legible it is. We were pleased to see the W580i handled this situation well, with the interface still very navigable and readable. This isn't to say you won't do a little squinting in really bright sunshine, but it's much better than many of the phone's we've looked at.
Color Depth (8.00)
The W580i displays 262,144 colors on its screen. This is better than the 65,000 color standard we've seen on cell phones this year, although that's beginning to change. The additional colors make for a better viewing experience, especially when looking at photos with subtle color differences.
| Cell Phone | Colors (thousands) | Score |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 262 | 8.00 |
| Helio Fin | 262 | 8.00 |
| Razr2 V9m (Sprint) | 65 | 6.00 |
| Samsung Upstage | 262 | 8.00 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 262 | 8.00 |
| Samsung Blast | 262 | 8.00 |
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (2.0)
The W580i uses a proprietary port for data and power. We've seen proprietary ports on many phones, and we like this one no better than any other. Thankfully the phone manufacturers seem to have gotten together to agree on a standard for the future, but in the meantime you're stuck with it.
Headphone & Jack Compatibility (6.0)
The W580i uses the same proprietary port used for power and data for headsets as well. Thankfully the phone ships with an adapter that includes a microphone that can convert any 3.5mm headphone into a headset. The W580i also supports stereo Bluetooth headphones for listening to music wirelessly.
Internal Storage (1.0)
The W580i has only 12 MB of internal storage. This should be sufficient for contacts, but if you start to store even a small amount of photos, videos, or music on the device it will be used up very rapidly. We recommend you invest in an external memory card if you want to use the W580i's multimedia features.
Expansion Slot & Format (5.0)
The W580i uses Sony Ericsson's Memory Stick Micro cards, with support up to 2 GB of storage. We're not a fan of Sony's proprietary format when every other phone manufacturer seems to have agreed on MicroSD as a standard. The memory card slot is on the top of the phone, protected by a slightly fiddly cover. It is thankfully spring loaded, however, so getting the card in and out once the cover has been removed is fairly easy.
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