Sony Ericsson S500i

release date: July 2007

colours:

mysterious green

ice purple

contrasted copper

spring yellow

Review
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Sony Ericsson Phones

RATING

Pros

Battery life

Cons

Keypad
Back cover

SUMMARY

Very average. No 3G, questionable keypad durability, no FM radio and a hard-to-remove back cover. It does look pretty though, when its side-lights glow.

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Review

The Sony Ericsson S500i was released around the same time as the Sony Ericsson W580i. The W580i had big problems.

The W580i back cover was very difficult to remove, the keys cracked and the memory card slot was a swine to open. Both the W580i and S500i feel a little cheap. We could snap the W580i in half - it was very easy to bend. Yes, kneel before Zod.

Design

The S500i has the same design and build quality as the W580i. So you know how this review is going to go.

Reasonably lightweight and made of plastic. Feels cheap. The slider slides up OK, although there is a gap - for the pretty light effects on the side of the phone.

Keypad: Many people have experienced keys cracking. We don't know if this problem has been fixed in later batches. Apparently, it was a 'paint' problem. We think it's a design problem. The keys are big enough, but they're like a see saw - press one side of they key and the other side shoots up into the air.

The keys themselves are thin. It's not surprising the keys are prone to cracking. The material between each row of keys is soft - the keypad seems fragile. Sony Ericsson experiment a lot with keypads - rice-shaped keys, circular buttons, see-saw keys...

S500i Keypad

Back cover: Winner of 'lousiest back cover in existence' award. Very difficult to remove. We tested an early version of the S500i, so we don't know if this problem has been fixed. From what we've read on other Web sites - nope, still naff.

Features

2 MP camera

Average. Slide the phone up - the camera is positioned at the top on the back of the phone. Take shots in portrait mode. Shoot mode, picture size, night mode, self-timer, effects, white balance...

The S500i camera is OK. There's no auto focus and no flash. Image quality and video quality are OK for a 2 MP camera on a phone. Photos are taken in portrait view.

Connector

Ideally, all the mobile manufacturers would dump their proprietary ports. Use 3.5 mm audio jacks and mini-USB. Unfortunately, profit comes first, so you're forced to buy adapters and Sony Ericsson accessories.

Light effects: There are 2 lights - one on each side of the S500i. The light shines through the translucent select, back and cancel key, as well the side of the phone. Navigate to menu > settings > sound and alerts > light effects > call light, to change the colour of the light effects. As with W580i, the lights come on when receiving a call or text message.

16 colour options: apricot, disco, fire, glimmering pulse, green, ice, lantern, love, orange, pink, purple, red, sony ericsson, turquoise, tutti frutti and yellow. Select 'play' to see each light effect in action. You can assign a different light effect to each contact in the address book.

Music player

Simple stuff. Artists, tracks, playlists, play mode, equalizer, stereo widening. The included headset is OK. Loudspeaker is loud enough too.

Other features

The S500i does not have a pedometer - unlike the Sony Ericsson W580i. Video capture at 176 x 144 resolution. You get all the organizer tools - calculator, calendar and so on. There's no FM radio.

Web browsing

2.1-inch screen and EDGE. Not great for Web browsing. The NetFront Web browser is OK. Text input is typically slow without a QWERTY keyboard.

Sony Ericsson W580i vs S500i

The W580i has a pedometer and FM radio. The W580i also has shake control, trackID, fitness application and a slightly better music player. The W580i is a little more expensive than the S500i.

Summary

Lots of reports of cracking keys. We don't know if this has been fixed. Feature-wise, the Sony Ericsson S500i is very average. No 3G, questionable keypad durability, no FM radio and a hard-to-remove back cover. It does look pretty though, when its side-lights glow.

Have a look at the S500i out in a mobile phone shop before deciding to buy. Certainly not one of the best slider phones.