My old LG phone decided to die on me in March 2008 (it wouldn't turn off when closed, so the battery ran out quickly). So, I checked Cingular / AT&T to see if I could get, what used to be called, a "free" upgrade (since I had the LG for about 2 years). They told me that as of April 4th, I could. So, I waited until April 5th just to make sure. I went to the website and there actually were a couple of old-school phones that were "re-furbished" and free. The "refurbished" word scared me a bit… so I started just looking for a phone that fit my main needs.
What I wanted out of the phone was the ability to have a wired headset, because that way I could do handsfree for the car. My state is passing the law of handsfree devices only in the car, but that isn't the whole reason that I want a wired handsfree device. I do not want to have microwaves/RF right next to my head. Cell phones and Bluetooth headsets both have a level of Microwaves/RF, so I don't like to hold them up to my ear. If you buy a new cell phone nowadays, you will get a warning pamphlet about this that states the research on it "goes both ways"… Meaning some research says it is harmful, and other research says that some of the harmful research is unrepeatable in a laboratory… It seems to say if you already have brain cancer it will accelerate it, and if you don't have brain cancer, animal testing is inconclusive on if it causes it (so, I guess they have animals in cages with cell phones or Bluetooth headsets strapped to their heads!?). It further states that if you have a warming sensation in or around your ear, to stop using the phone for awhile, and it recommends only using it for short periods of time to reduce microwave/RF exposure. Anyway, if any research and testing says it could be bad to hold a cell phone up to your ear, I don't want to do it. So I want a wired handsfree listening and talking piece, and NOT a wireless Bluetooth one. Almost all of the modern phones do not have a wired hands-free earpiece jack on them. So, they are all Bluetooth or some other wireless headset only (maybe Bluetooth gives them a grant for this as a part of a monopoly scheme).
I also wanted at least a 2.0 mega pixels camera. All of the refurbished phones that were available were less then 2.0mp.
I saw a phone I liked that looked like it had a wired headset that came with it called the Sony Ericsson W580i (walkman), but it would have cost me $289.00 online, even with my "free upgrade"! They, however, did have the W580i listed with the refurbished ones that were labeled as "free", but they were not in stock (and probably never are…this phone was the only "modern" phone listed in the refurbished section). So, I went to my local "Authorized Retail" shops. All of them had the W580i listed as $89.00 - $99.00 regular price, and then $50.00 off with a two year contract.
I had them open it and show me the features. I was told that I could put my MP3's on it and use them as my ringtones (not exaclty, read on). This sounded AWESOME! I could hand pick from all my music what I wanted every person calling me to sound like… "Jaws theme" for when daycare calls to say my child has pink eye, "Diane" by Guster for when Diane calls me, etc… I was told that the headphones that came with it could be used for handsfree calling and for listening to music (Very hard to figure out). I asked about refurbished because of what I saw on the AT&T site, and I was told that there were no usual problems with the phone and that "refurbished" ones would just be because someone returned it for a different phone (nope). He also refused to let me buy a magnetized horizontal hip case for it. He would not take it out of the glass display case, and he would not let me even read its box. He said "I won't let you buy that because there are problems with it and the magnet unlocks the phone instead of locking it like it is supposed to do…there might be a recall on the case" (unconfirmed)
HEADPHONES THAT COME FREE WITH PHONE DID NOT SEEM to be HANDSFREE: Now, don't get me wrong, I like the phone, but I couldn't use it to talk in the car because the headphones, as far as I could at first tell, were for listening to music only, and did not have a microphone attached. I received a call while wearing them and I could not hear the person talking through the headphones. I tried to call out with them attached, nothing. They are great for music though, and it is stereo sound. The jack on the phone is a unique one inch wide one that takes a special huge stereo plug in... it is also the recharge plug in. So, you can't recharge and listen to music through headphones at the same time. See "well documented problems" for info about battery life. I eventually figured out that this phone had "modes" that you could set it to, one of these was "Handsfree mode" after going through the menus and selecting this, the heaphones worked as handsfree. I can picture myself driving and getting a call, putting the headphones in, and then going through the menu to select handsfree, and then answering...twenty minutes or one car crash later. I guess I have to prepare for a phone call before I start my car.
REGULAR MP3s CAN NOT BE USED AS RINGTONES: I bought a 1 GB card for it and put my favorite songs on it for ringtones. When I told the phone to use them, it said "CANNOT USE THIS FILE" as a ringtone. This is a common thing, as I found online. You CAN NOT use a regular MP3 file as a ringtone with the W580i. According to a little bit of Internet research, you can "edit" you Mp3 file so it is about 30-32 seconds, and about 599 kb for it to work, but you will have to download software like Audacity or something else in order to do it. Audacity is free, but it will take a little work to get your phone to play "Heigh Ho" when your cheating ex calls about wanting their black t-shirt back. I have yet to download the software and finagle the MP3s for my phone, so I can not confirm that this works. I had Audacity before on my previous computer (that died on me) because I was recording audio books for Librivox in my spare time. It is pretty easy to use. Oh, and the adapter that came with the 1GB card didn't really fit any of my slots on my computer perfectly. It finally went into one of the really big ones, and my computer recognized it. I put my MP3s in the "Ringtones" folder (they still didn't work)
"Refurbished", WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEMS WITH THIS PHONE: According to Amazon reviews and other places, the number keys on the keypad crack and break easily! Sometimes within days! This would be why the phones would be getting refurbished. I don't text and I got my numbers transferred from my old phone to this one…so, I won't be using my keypad much. If you are a text-aholic, then sorry, the keys on this phone might break on you. Your provider won't fix it because it is a physical phone problem, and not their fault. If it is still under warranty, then you can pay the shipping, send it in for 6-8 weeks, and they will fix it for "free" (but you will also be "free" of a phone for awhile too, eek). If your warranty has expired, you might just have to buy a new phone, because each key replaced may be $25.00 plus $50.00 per hour of labor. There is also talk on the Internet about a really low battery life on this phone too. The official site just talks about talk time, and non-use-sitting-on-the-shelf time. It doesn't talk about ring time and listening to music time. I have had my phone for three days, I haven't experienced any battery problems yet, or cracked any keys.
MAGNATIZED HIP CASE: I can't find any info about this. The cheap-o soft leather one he sold me is very non-compatible with the phone. I can answer and talk through the case, but it doesn't immediately auto lock afterward because it can not be slid open or closed while it is in the protector. I have already pocket dialed and accidentally got on the net with it just from sitting down and standing up. I did eventually discover that the phone has two auto-lock modes. One is for when you slide it closed, and the other will auto-lock it after a few seconds of total non-use. I am now using it to protect me from erroneous charges. I have read that because the unlock is push one button on side and then another button on the other side, that it can still unlock easily in your pocket… but I don't carry mine in my pocket. Another problem with this case is in order to use the keypad I have to fully remove it from the soft tight leather case. The phone sticks to the case and is very hard to remove after being in there for a couple of days. The other magnetized case was just a holder that when you take the phone out of it, you have just your phone and no need to take it out anything. Which also has its drawbacks as far as screen protection and stuff goes, but they make static cling screen saver things for that. If you drop your phone that is another story. The tight leather case he sold me was $19.99, and according to the Internet, the Magnetized Hip Pouch cases are about $11.99. Yeah, he just wanted more money. As far as recalls go, I haven't seen any evidence of that either.
If you don't have an iPod, then this phone can work with up to 2 GB extra memory (for $69.99, or 1 GB for $39.99) for a few of your favorite songs. The documentation with the phone says it only takes up to 2 Gigabytes, but some Internet sources mention 4 GB. Who knows? So I spent $159.98 for my phone and accessories, with a $50.00 mail in rebate (for a $50.00 Visa card) . I traded in my old broken LG for $9.98, and they gave me a five dollar accessory price break. That gives me a total of $95.00 for my $89.00-$99.00 (retail) phone. Not horrible, but not what I expected for my “Free Upgrade.” Now if I want a car charger, insurance, a hands free device, etc. We are talking mayb $200 plus. Sony Ericsson is releasing a Bluetooth Car Speakerphone called the HCB-150. I am guessing that it will cost about $150.00, but at least you won’t be microwaving your brain.
Tags: at&t, battery, cell phone, cellphone, cingular, hands free, headphones, headset, lies, locking, mp3, phone, ringtones, sony ericsson, upgrade, w580i, walkman, wired, wireless
Current Location: Phoneland, USA
Current Mood: 
disappointed
Current Music: "Heigh Ho" from Disney's Snow White
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