Sony W810i Dropped Calls Solved

A while back I promised you all an update on whether or not I'd fixed the dropped calls issue on my Sony W810i (or Sony Ericsson W810i if you're being fussy). Turns out the solution I found of flashing your bios - courtesy of Howard Forums - works just fine. Since I followed their detailed instructions I had one dropped call, but none after that, so statistically that looks good to me.

That said, flashing your bios is not for the weak hearted. It's a relatively technical procedure and if you're not happy to do that go talk to your nice local un-locking cellphone shop who will most likely do it for you. Even I had a few problems, in that first time I did it the process froze - luckily the second attempt worked fine (if it happens to you, make sure the 'Play Now' button is checked to be installed).

Of course all these problems would most likely not have happened if I'd bought a nice, properly unlocked cellphone in the first place rather than importing a Vodafone one from the UK. Sometimes it's just not worth saving those few cents for the pain you cause yourself.

Nokia takes on the W810i

After many happy years with my Nokia 6600 I've just moved over to a Sony W810i (officially the Sony Ericsson W810i but with the Walkman brand attached... well, it's a Sony) and I have to say it's a great little phone, with the emphasis on the 'little'.

Now don't get me wrong - I love Nokia, and the Nokia 6600 is still a great phone even at three years old. Good though the W810i is, the Nokia interface still beats it hand down for ease of use on most of the tasks I do regularly, but then the 6600 is a business phone whereas the W810i is definately a fun phone. But now I'm using the W810i and I'm glad I chose it. The photography functions are great and well integrated, the music player is amazing and it's nice to have a phone that really does fit in my pocket without bruising my thigh. It's also black, which is way cool. Unless you want the white one. Which is also way cool, but white.

So why didn't I stay with Nokia? Well the simple reason was they hadn't yet released the N73... So at least I know what phone I want next! The Nokia N73 looks to be their answer to the Sony W810i. It's a similar size, there's a nicely integrated Carl Zeiss 3 megapixel phone and proper music integration. Of course not being Sony they use Mini sD cards rather than Sony's proprietary MemoryStick Duo and also the screen is bigger, which is better for showing photos and videos. I'm looking forward to having a proper play with this when I see one, especially now I've lived with the W810i for a while - I'll let you know my thoughts when that happens.

Sony Ericsson W810i (Walkman Phone)

Just got my 'new' phone toy - a Sony Ericcson W810i, to replace my aged (but much loved) Nokia 6600. First impressions are good, the interface is simple to use, the music player works well and the camera is great. It's also black. Which is way cool.

On the downside the W810i seems to be dropping calls.. After a bit of research it sounds like this is an issue in that it was a UK Vodafone phone originally and is now 'confused' by trying to talk to T-mobile in the US. To prevent the W810i Dropped Calls, apparently a common issue, the recommended approach is to re-install the operating system. Simple. So once I've done that I'll let you know how it goes.