Is The Sony Erricson W580i a usefull phone?

Answer 1

For entertainment, yes. For long emails, no.

The phone IS a Sony Walkman after all. The one-touch access is very convenient when you want to play music. With the included earbuds, the sound is great. Add the MegaBass and Stereo Widening for a very nice music listening experience.

The phone doesn't get the best reception (in the mountains).

Games, Apps, videos, and texting all work.

Video resolution is 320x240. TV shows, video clips, and even movies can be watched, although the screen size is relatively small compared to a laptop screen.

Texting is only available via a non-QWERTY keyboard.

Phone COULD get cracked key pads. Several forums have discussions about cracked keyboards. If you're into heavy texting, keys may have this issue. It does not (so far) effect the functionality of those keys.

Surfing the web via the Opera browser is a little awkward and slow, but it's a phone, not a laptop. A touch screen would be nice, but not necessary. Sony states 2GB is the largest size M2 Micro SD card it can support, but 8GB works fine.

If unlocked from the AT&T network, the right side button pulls up a list of customizable shortcuts.