Basic Features

The W580i is a quad-band world phone, transmitting at GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz frequencies. Unlocked, the handset makes calls on compatible GSM networks throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

The phone offers standard features such as address book, calendar, voice command, alarm clock, handsfree, conference calling and speakerphone.

Contacts can be stored either in the phone's address book or on a smart chip. Storing information on a smart chip allows the user to transfer contacts easily to another phone. Each new contact in the 1,000-capacity address book has room for five phone numbers, email and web addresses, plus a photo, personal ringtone and a special light effect.

Another useful feature is the airplane "Flight Mode" function, which turns off phone transmitters during flights while enabling users to crank up the tunes on their Walkman.

At low and medium volumes, the speakerphone produces a robust sound. Turn the volume up to high, and the feedback on the speakerphone creates a slight buzzing sound.

For those who hate dialing, voice control enables users to create custom vocal commands that direct the phone to dial, answer or reject calls. The W580i will even play the vocal tag to announce an incoming call from a contact, for a personalized touch.

In the phone's "My Stuff" menu, users can select wallpaper and browse downloaded ringtones, games, graphics, as well as saved chats.

True to the Sony Walkman's original use as an exercise tool, the Walkman phone includes a fitness pedometer that tracks running and walking workouts, including time, step count and calories burned for each run or walk. Fitness nuts can keep track of their daily treks and store the results in a designated file, which can be transferred to a computer for future reference.

Although the W580i's battery life is rated at nine hours of talk time and 15 days of standby time, using the phone for surfing the net drains the batter faster, putting the rate of active use at seven or eight hours.

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