hey but you asked 3.2mp! cheat!

are the samsung phones reliable btw? durable, hardy, whatever...

Buying this make sense only if you intend to send/receive mails on the go, the keypad is very tiny nontheless its boost of a full QWERTY keypad.

K790i-No more available.
K810i-A bit out of my budget at 11.2 k considering 10 k was a stretch.
Nok6300-Its tiny (read girlish) look was hard for me to stomach.

So settled for this one and the most important reason my wife really liked it.

The one i have bought got a complete stainless steel body or it seems so, holding it give you a feeling that it can last for eternity.

My Di is using a SGH E-250 for last two years (torturing would be more apt) and its still going strong.

Am a sony ericsson Walkman phone fan all the way...any suggestions till 6-7k??

Guys, I was gone for exams ...

@ sudipta roy: Things have now changed! Currently, Sony Ericcson have gone down in Music Quality. They don't invest in DSP (Dedicated Sound processors). SE just uses Software Simulation to attempt good sound, but it works very artificially & inferior to Nokia, LG, Samsung, etc...
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@ Streethawk@7: I read reviews of 5800, & it's BEST in Music quality from Nokia. Camera is not quite upto the mark though, despite Carl Zeiss Lens on it.
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@ BANDHAV: Well, I was suggesting U600, a great performance phone. But, since you already purchased ... Sorry I was late in suggesting!

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@ me is rossi: Well, W350i should do the purpose. W200i should save up even more ..
In Nokia, the closest match is 5320 XpressMusic, but I'm unsure about PRICE. If it matches in price, select it over the Walkmans anyday ... It's overall better!
Otherwise, even 5070 might be good for you ...

Sorry to hijack the thread (again), but the whole DSP thing is a misconception. All DSPs do is as the name sugests: Digital signal processing. It's awesome if you like equalizing and adding fake, boomy bass to your songs etc. But if you're an audiophile that prefers a clean signal (Especially classic rock and such), they don't make an ounce of difference.

The only area where SE phones are lacking is proper amplification. Their volume levels are painfully low.

Incidentally, the W980 is the reigning music phone of the year, as per EISA.

There are no proper "Lenses" in cellphone cameras. It's just a piece of plastic with branding.

hey!!

i was lookin forward to buying a touch screen phone and just cant get touch diamond off my mind ,,budget is not an issue,,,,any suggestions apart from iphone

Get one of the HTC models, or the 5800 Xpress Music phone, from Nokia. I have been using the HTC touch since the past two years or so. It is a lovely phone, but as with all touch-screen devices, it can sometimes be a little frustrating, especially when you need to message or do something real fast. So much so that currently I'm using a Nokia 1100. It might be pre-historic, but the simplicity that this cell phone provides is ABSOLUTELY unmatchable.

I meant Dedicated Sound Processor. You say DSP is not needed? Then why did Nokia introduce a DSP into N96 & N91? Increasing Expenses huh?

or Samsung into U600/ D900, the same DSP which it sells to Apple for it's iPhone! (True!)

Secondly, Here's the first proof about DSP & Sony Ericcson's Approach at Truthful sites:-->

Mobile-review.com Spillikins #8 - editorial policy

Second proof is latest SE reviews on gsmarena.com. Leaving XPERIA, none of the any Ericsson sets have Audio Quality reviewed, whereas all Nokias, Samsungs, are reviewed properly. Obviously, due to SE's interference, again proved by Mobile-Reivew link above ... You can Check yourself.

about optics = plastic, I say Material anyways is irrevelant, Quality matters, & in case of 5800, camera is not special ... Again I can prove anything I typed here ..

Thirdly, Why should I lie to Xbhp members? I moderate 3.5 Lac members, in a site with "VERY Lenient" Rules, compared to Xbhp. My word means something yaar!

I know SE had/has fans, but if they drop quality, Should I hide this fact? Clearly, I won't.

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@ Harmeet: I say try 5800 Xpressmusic, for it's OS & Touch Input. If you can wait a bit, N97 matches all your needs ...

If you need an 8 Megapixel, you can still go for LG KC910 Renior, but this LG won;t support many softwares then. It's the only set to have Dolby Digital though ... You can make your choice.

DSP dicsussion is so LOL. Please. Google.

What is a DSP? FYI

Samarth: Go over to Mobile-review forums. You'll see quite a few threads where I have exposed Eldar's "fairness" (or the lack of it) with quotes. I had ripped on that EXACT column after it was posted. Also, Go to eldar's livejournal. You'll see the reason why he isn't too hot on SEs.

The guy commented on a phone's build quality after viewing spy pictures of it, for god's sakes. (They edited out that part of the preview when i pointed it out in the forum)


End of the day, i find it hard to take the words of someone who blasts SE for the W302 for "Taking an expensive phone (W890), ripping off the expensive bits and repackaging it as a copy-paste budget phone" and praising Nokia for the XM5730 for "trying to sell the same phone and form-factor in two different flavors(E75 and XM5730) so as to win as big a share as possible." as neutral.

Say what?

Sony Ericsson W980 Walkman review: 8 gigs of character - GSMArena.com

(That's the last walkman they have reviewed, IIRC).

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Also, read Tau's post. DSP doesn't stand for "Dedicated sound processor". It stands for "Digital signal processing". Top end Nokias and Samsungs use a separate chip to process audio to offload some of the burden from the main CPU when it comes to playing music. Which is essential because the phones in question are smart phones and slowing the CPU down is not gonna help their case. Most SE phones use a non-smart OS that is much less demanding on the resources and hence, can use the main CPU for both tasks. In addition, SE phones have a separate chip for Java processing which frees up the main CPU further.


However, as I mentioned earlier, those handsets DO offer MUCH better amplification than SEs. Which is one thing SE can learn from them.

Again, if you like artificially enhanced sound and perceive it as better "Quality", by all means, go ahead. I like my signal clean (Hell, I don't even use equalization or Mega BASS or anything of that sort) and for that, SE handsets work mighty well. ALso, the ease of use of the media player factors in and here, SE phones are miles better than the rest.

BTW, I still prefer a Creative Zen to ANY phone when it comes to playing music.


I don't doubt your intentions. But your info is all sketchy, my friend.

But, what did your comment on a forum justify? or prove? I'll check them ...

and what about other sets like G705, C905, etc.?? Why can't GSMArena leave a Foot note, rather than completely ignoring this stuff :-->>

C905 : Sony Ericsson C905 review: Cyber shot, cyber hot - GSMArena.com

Maybe I did miss DSP's full form (my fault), but my meaning is EXACTLY what you said about DSP. I personally own an N91, I heard W800, W550, etc. and I didn't like their quality. and this is not internet Copy paste, It's practical experience. DSP would have been better, and yes, it does make a difference. and it's not aritificial by any means... never!

End of the day - The leaders of Audio Phones are not SE, despite their long experience. It is Samsung (for the same reasons you mentioned, pure "audio signal quality" that is) and maybe Apple ...

BTW Discussion with you is quite knowledgeable after all. But, practical experiences are more comment-able I feel...


Lastly, I would love SE if they combine "Walkman" & "Cybershot" into one set, without any mistakes. But, they won't ... That's where sets like N96, N85, N79, U600, etc. make it!

My comments on the MR forum? Didn't justify a thing. But it DID expose the bias they had while reviewing handsets. And if you compare the last reviews they did, they toned down the language a LOT. In fact, Eldar actually handed over the SE testing duties to another guy because quite a few people noticed the bias.


About the GSMArena deal, it's because the G705 and C905 largely use the same audio processing as the sets they have already reviewed. Whenever there is a significant change in the algorithm, they re-evaluate it. Like the W980 test. If you've been reading the GSMArena tests regularly, you'd know it by now.

About practical experience: don't wanna brag or anything, but I have used more phones than the average dude out there, includes phones that will never see the light of the day on a production line. Better known as prototypes. So yeah, I do have some practical experience.

Do you realize that even simple equalization is artificially enhancing the original signal?

I never said that Samsungs have bad audio quality. In fact, they are very good. But click that link again. See how similar the W980's audio quality graph is to the iPod (It's not the best MP3 player, but it's still better than every single phone out there). See how close the frequency response is. Finally, Get hold of a W980 yourself and LISTEN to it. THEN come back here and post your thoughts.

BTW, SE DOES have a phone with a good camera under the Walkman brand. It's called the W902. Also, wait for the MWC this month. The company is expected to announce some significant new handsets there.

^ I was watching how it would unfold at MR with great interest. Will there be a 2.0 ?

Don't think so.


From the looks of it, MR guys have understood that the criticism towards their bias is very real and started writing much better reviews. I mean, one of their SE reviews from a while ago started with the words "It should have been canceled"! Compare that with the recent review of the T700 and you'll see that critics of MR (including me) have achieved our goal.

Of all discussions about SE, Samsung and Nokia, I seriously feel SE needs to have a look at their service network. My SE K850i's display went kaput(thanx to all 1 hr+ the telephonic interviews) and I gave it for service on 13/12/2008. After all arguing, shoutings, threatenings I finally got the phone today. The buggers would not even tell me a tentative date. I thought this was because mine was a rare hi-end phone but found that these guys do the same for even the W200i. Am actually out of words.

In that aspect Nokia atleast is better. I gave my dad's E71 with the same problem and the guy quoted 15 days. They were prompt enough to call me on the 14th day to say that it will be delayed by a week. And I got it back on the promised date!