Time sure does fly when you're having fun. It only seems like five minutes ago that we put the Walkman-based light show that was the W580 through its paces and yet here we have its natural successor to contend with. Clearly in the mobile phone arena, evolution is swift and merciless.
However, such a rapid rate of change isn't always for the best; the speed with which the W595 has ousted its predecessor has resulted in some rather undesirable shortcomings. Regardless of what the official promotional material might have you believe, this is more a negligible upgrade than an entirely fresh proposition – elements of the W580's design have been augmented and improved but not to such a degree that the causal user would notice.
Before we take the W595 down a peg or two, let's at least give it a fair crack of the whip and investigate the positive aspects of the phone. First, the external design is a definite advancement over its aforementioned ancestor. It's thinner and feels noticeably less cheap; the case is also pleasingly stout and the phone possesses a considerable weight which only goes to reinforce the impression that you're getting a solid and dependable device.
The 2.2-inch TFT screen is also an indisputable high point; it's bright, colourful and pin-sharp. We'd have liked to have seen something a little larger but at least the display looks a little more comfortable in the W595's slim casing – the W580 possessed an almost identical screen but it was unfortunately dwarfed by the phone's chunky body.
Sony Ericsson's latest Walkman software makes a welcome appearance and it's just as feature-rich and pleasurable to use as ever, but we continue to be completely perplexed (not to mention somewhat angry) that the company still refuses to equip its handsets with a 3.5mm headphone jack as standard.
However, we've come to the realisation that while we can stamp our feet and gnash our teeth as much as we want in indignation, it's unlikely to have any discernable effect on Sony Ericsson company policy, so we'll begrudgingly bite our tongues for the time being. It's clear that the multipurpose 'Fast Port' solution is to remain with us for the foreseeable future, at least.
Indeed, instead of addressing this most pressing issue Sony Ericsson has decided to tackle a slightly less urgent problem – the ability to share music with others. The W595 allows you to plug in two pairs of headphones (naturally using the accursed 'Fast Port' 3.5mm adapter rather than interfacing with the phone directly). It's certainly a neat idea but we feel it's more likely to appeal to youngsters than serious music fans, and the fact that using the adapter results in so much additional loose cabling continues to give us sleepless nights.
Now onto the slightly less positive aspects of the W595, with our first significant bugbear being the D-pad and button interface. While the horseshoe-shaped keys might look visually alluring they're not quite as practical as we would have hoped; it's far too easy to inadvertently brush your finger on the 'Call/End Call' keys whilst innocently attempting to press the left and right selection buttons.
Also, the D-pad sits too low down in the body of the phone, and pushing left and right often means your finger (or thumb, based on personal preference) bashes against the adjacent buttons. The undesirable situation is made ever less palatable by the fact that the central 'Select' button (which sits inside the D-pad) is also the same height as all the other keys. During especially rigorous game play it's far too easy to press the wrong thing, and the pad itself is unforgivably spongy and indistinct.
Bearing this in mind, it's unsurprising that the W595 and portable gaming don't make idyllic bedfellows. This is a bit of a shame as the phone handles 3D Java titles with ease and the pre-loaded games do a good job of showing off the phone's entertainment potential. The inclusion of an accelerometer goes some way to alleviating this thorny issue but as we've seen time and time again over the years, when a phone lacks a solid D-pad then its appeal as a gaming device is severely curtailed.
Budding mobile photographers are also likely to be rather browned off with the W595. Although the 3.2-megapixel camera is technically better that the poor two-megapixel variant witnessed on the W580, it still lacks flash and auto focus. Photo quality is lamentably run of the mill and when placed alongside similar megapixel snappers in the Cyber-shot range the difference really is remarkable. The recently-reviewed W902 made us fervently believe that Walkman handsets had turned the corner and could now offer the best of both worlds, but the W595 brings us back down to earth with a bump in this respect.
It's a little too easy to brand the W595 as a lazy revision of existing hardware. There are unquestionably elements here that make the handset an attractive proposition – the inclusion of 3G data transfer makes browsing the web a breeze and as we mentioned previously, the design of the casing is definitely superior – but we can't help feeling that Sony Ericsson should have left this particular 'update' in the oven for a little longer.
Sony Ericsson W595
Although it's a bit easier on the eye than the W580, Sony Ericsson's latest Walkman phone is more of a minor evolution than a major revolution and in our opinion doesn't offer enough in the way of new features to be considered a truly viable upgrade
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.