New phone choices, w810i? - your advice

[Chunkers]

Wifey would like a new phone, she wants :

- Small size <-- she won't accept a brick!
- A decent camera (2 or 3 Mp is fine)
- Ability to take video clips
- FM radio
- Battery life
- Storage and connectivity options (i.e. memory, BT, USB etc)

Nice to have :

- MP3 player
- Docking station
- Handsfree

She will not be using 3G or internet access and will just be texting, calling on a PAYG sim (BT cellnet?). The camera is for snaps and video of the kids so needs to look decent.

I'm not much good on phones, my research suggest the Sony Ericsson w810i is the best bet but would be grateful for steerage from more knowledge-able HEXUSers.

Budget is flexible and would be grateful on any hints as to where the best place is to buy.

Chks

[fat jez]

The W180i fits all those criteria, except the docking station, but I think you might be able to buy one separately, although it comes with a USB cable.

I've had one for about 8 months now and I love it still. Easy to use, light, reliable (unlike some Nokia's I could mention).

I was a firm Nokia fan until I got this and I would have to say I am converted!

Cheers,
Stephen

[Funkstar]

You get a Fastport USB cable with all the SE phones now, but you can get a desk stand too if you want.

http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?...e=pp&pid=10262

A good thing about the W810 is the lack of a joystick and dedicated media player controls on the front.

[Chunkers]

Thanks for the comments, appreciated.

Can anyone recommend a good (and cheap) retailer to buy one online or highstreet?

Cheers

Chks

[Funkstar]

You are looking at about &#163;140 - &#163;150 (only looked on www.thelink.com so far though).

How much is she likely to use every month?

say its &#163;10 a month then the total cost for a year will be about &#163;270.

For &#163;240 (&#163;20/month) you could get the phone for free and a shed load of free texts and minutes. The only thing is the second years costs will be quite different if are not going to replace the hand set.

Something to think about at least.

[Chunkers]

She makes almost no calls - I call her from work or my mobile.

She sends a fair few texts, best bet is stick with the PAYG sim she has and buy a sim-free unlocked phone.

Thanks!

Chks

[MadduckUK]

the one thing about the w810i is the lack of a cover on the camera lense, while the k750i and w800i had this. as far as i can see its just a bit of an annoying step backwards from sony

[hsncool]

get it on orange PAYG
http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/show/h.../pay_as_you_go

for £145. u get 20 credit thrown in for free, so its only actually £125.

and evrytym she tops up a tenna, she'll get 300 free texts! perfect.


by the way, instead of the W810, the K750 will do exactly ther same things, u just dont have a "walkman" branded media player, u get 1 without a name, and no orange. they more or less, same fone.
and it will only cost u £90. u get tenna credit, so only actually £80!

by the way, missprint on the orange website.....
battery life of....
W810 - standby=350hrs, talktime=8hrs
K750 - standby =400hrs, talktime=9hrs

so if anything, the k750 better for u

[Gordy]

Just got the w810i to replace my k750i and its great. I looked at lots of other phones but this is the best I found for the price and specs as well as the size.

Only complaints so far is the lack of camera lens cover which I found great on my old phone.

[Chunkers]

Thanks guys great advice, will check this stuff out.

Chks

[Spud1]

Take a look at the Nokia 6233 - similar price on PAYG, small, candy bar design, has all the features you listed (and I think nokia sell a compatable dock - not sure).

For a bit less money than the SE one you get the superior nokia interface, and a really nice phone..

[Vini]

D900 fits the bill and is very feminine (smally and generally 'girly')

Absolutely hate Samsung though.

d900 vs w810

[Chunkers]

The plan is that I will take her to a local shop and let her look at each option and then she will decide in the usual feminine 'intuitive' way i.e. probably not much to do with the features

I think having read the reviews and links you guys have sent it still looks like a white w810i, I know she won't go for a swivel or slide phone. Personally I think the D900 looks really nice but no radio, tut.

Amazon sell the w810i sim-free for a reasonable price so might just go there once we've looked at one together.

Thanks for all your help guys

Chks

[ArcticFox]

I had a w800 and i dont really like Sony phones, the mp3 player portion is a bit crap.

[Vini]

Sony have the best phones & software on the market.

Nokia's are dated. I used to be a total fanboy.

Moto's are pants.

LG never played with but dont hold out much hope.

Samsungs, god damn awful.

How about the SE Z610i... it doesnt have walkman software, but has mp3 playback etc...

[Gordy]

I agree vini.

My girlfriend has a moto and while it looks ok, its terrible spec'd and the os is awful. My old house mate also had moto's and they were truly awful phones.

The nokia's just seem to look old, I used to swear by them, but after my first sony I've not looked back.

Never really looked at lg's or samsungs so can't comment on them.

The only reservation I was thinking about when getting my new Sony was I cannot stand sony the company and I don't wish to put anymore money their way grrr. Mind you I just bought a sony hd camcorder as well, but I'm not going to cut off my nose to spite my face when the do have good products