Introduction The Sony Ericsson W580i was released in mid 2007 and was one of the best looking walkman phones available at the time. The phone has a lot of good features and a few cool features such as the Shake Control and the Pedometer which is built in. However, there were several rumours which soon became a lot of bad reviews about this phone having a serious problem with its keypad. Apparently the buttons are prone to cracking and a lot of people say that you shouldn’t bother with this phone. However, apparently not all the handsets are flawed in this way so you’ll have to make up your own mind as to whether or not you risk it. Specifications The W580i has a nice set of features and at the time of its release was a mid range phone – most people would now say that the W580i is a low end phone. The phone is equipped with the obvious for a walkman phone such as the Walkman Player version 2.0 from Sony Ericsson and it’s very good. The phone also has a nice set of messaging features including email and MMS. You can browse the web on this phone as it has a good internet connection – nothing warp speed but it’ll do the job if you like to browse and download the occasional ringtone or whatever. The phone also has a few added extras such as a Pedometer which is quite handy if you like to keep fit and exercise as it also has a calorie counter. The phone is also equipped with an FM radio which is handy if you want to listen to your favourite radio station while you’re on the go. You can also take advantage of the Bluetooth and USB connections which come in handy for sharing files or transferring files from your PC to your phone and vice versa. All in all, the phone has a nice set of features. The W580i will probably be listed in the low end range of mobile phones now because it is over a year old and there are many more walkman phones available. At the time of its release the W580i was said to be the best looking walkman phone available but since then many more have been released and most of them are better looking and have better features. Overall, the features of the W580i are typical of that year and the phone was usually rated as average because of the keypad problem and the ok features. Looks As I said before, when the phone was released it was said to be the best looking walkman phone available. However, since then a lot of newer models have been released and I think that the W580i is still one of the best looking. It has the classic walkman slide phone design and is probably still one of the best looking phones available from Sony Ericsson. The phone measures in at 99mm by 47mm by 14mm so is very slim line and sleek for a walkman phone. However, it doesn’t have that classy and sleek finish that most of the newer models have and you can tell it’s an old phone. The phone is available in several colours which is always a bonus in my book. You can choose from Style White, Urban Grey, Boulevard Black, Metro Pink, Jungle Green and Velvet Red and the phone only weighs 94 grams which is very light for a mobile phone of this design. Overall, I’d say the looks of the W580i are good and I think that a lot of people will still appreciate the design of this phone – it has a nice sleek and slim line feel to it and looks the part of a walkman phone from Sony Ericsson. Design Ok, so many people reported problems with this phone in that the keypad was faulty and tended to break and crack very quickly. I’ve got to say that Sony Ericsson aren’t usually the best at creating keypads; out of all the reviews I’ve written for mobile phones I’ve noticed that Sony Ericsson are the people who always have problems with keypad design. It didn’t seem to be a major problem at first but as time went by more and more people were complaining of this design flaw and I think it hampered the sales of this phone in a big way. However, not all the handsets were affected so I think it’s a matter of luck with this detail. Overall All in all, the Sony Ericsson W580i is a good phone but I think it’s going to be down to personal opinion as to whether people buy this phone or not and especially so due to the keypad problem. I think it’s a real shame that this was the case with this phone because otherwise it probably would have been a best seller, but once word got round I think people started to veer away from Sony Ericsson all together which is a real shame because on paper this phone was fantastic for the time it was released all the way back in mid 2007. The phone’s main features of the media player and the slim line design are very good and I think a lot of people will be able to appreciate that this phone definitely has a lot to offer users. However, because of the keypad problem I’d suggest you look elsewhere – unless you’re willing to risk that your handset will be one of the lucky ones. Honestly, I don’t think it happened to that many handsets but as with most things you only hear/read the bad opinions and reviews about something. It’s a great phone and I think for people who were lucky and didn’t experience problems with the keypad will recommend this phone. Overall, the Sony Ericsson W580i may have had its problems but on paper it’s a great phone. It has a nice design and the keypad is very easy to use – unlike some of the walkman phones. Whether or not you buy one is up to you entirely and I’d suggest that you make sure you get a warranty with your phone just incase if you do decide to purchase this phone. All in all, a great phone with a really nice set of features – it’s just a shame about the keypad problem.