The slider form factor debuts in the company's S line and in fact, this is the first Sony Ericsson slider that's not a Walkman. Speaking of which, Sony Ericsson S500 is a W580 in disguise. And some disguise it is: with this slim slider almost everything is staked on design. Nature-inspired patterns, audacious paintjobs and light effects all make sure the S500 won't go unnoticed.

Size: 99 x 47 x 14 mm, 94 g

Slim slider body

Appealing design and color options

Dynamic themes and wallpaper animation

Light effects

Good keypad

Good 256K-color QVGA display

M2 memory card support, up to 2GB

2-megapixel camera

Email client and RSS-feed reader

A2DP enabled Bluetooth

Quad band support, GPRS and EDGE Class 10

Only 12MB of integrated memory

No indicator of missed events

Not operable without SIM

No autofocus and flash

No FM radio

Awkward handling of SIM card and rear cover

The Sony Ericsson S line was until now reserved for the not so usual swivel handsets. A typical representative was the once hugely successful Sony Ericsson S700. Back then it was one of the first mobile phones to offer a memory card slot, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a QVGA display. It was only a couple of years ago that this phone was sold for approximately 700 Euros. Today, however, its high price topped with its huge size would have been a sure fiasco.

Sony Ericsson S500 has an complete twin in the Walkman Series, the W580. Both share the same size and form factor. A great number of their functions are identical too. The differences - kind of - boil down to the Walkman logo. Take that one away, and the music player that goes with it, and you wouldn't tell the two handsets apart, was it not for the conspicuous exterior.

Sony Ericsson S500 measures 99 x 47 x 14 mm when closed and weighs 94 g, quite pleasing both ways. The handset is a pleasure to hold and operate and, once again, the 14-mm slimness is worth commending for a slider. The backward curve at the bottom does give the handset's body an edge of excitement.

Sony Ericsson has put an extra effort to set this device apart by offering unusual color combinations and visual patterns. Our S500 unit was the Mysterious Green variety, which has a silver-framed black body and a green keypad. A combination of gold and white is also on offer with the Spring Yellow handset. Contrasted Copper and Ice Purple are the other colors available.

The phone is entirely made of plastic, but even so it is very solid. Its rear cover holds firmly in place but, if pressed a bit stronger, it will give a few creaks here and there. On the other side, the sliding construction is worth a compliment. Its only fault is a tiny wobble, observed when the phone is slid open. It is practically of no issue to daily use. The rim of the navigation key provides a comfortable pushing point to slide the handset open, the spring-loaded case making things even better. Using the elevated navigation key for sliding will save the screen from fingerprints, but there's not much you can do about the glossy plastic surface on the front.

Let us now have a look at the silvery sides of our handset. On the left you will find a silver volume rocker, which also operates the zoom when shoting. On the right is the Fast port connector for charger, headset and USB cable. The bottom features nothing but a wrist-strap eyelet. Memory Stick Micro memory cards are inserted in a slot on the top side of the device, protected by a plastic cover. Sony Ericsson S500 comes with no memory card enclosed in the retail package though.

Just like in W580, light effect LEDs are embedded all along the dividing line of the two parts of the slider. They flash in various colors to alert of incoming calls. In addition, a special light effect can be assigned to each contact in your phonebook. Pity the diodes cannot be used as alerts for missed calls or received messages as the speed and pace of blinking aren't user-configurable.

Part of the rear side surface is dot-patterned, the same design is also seen beneath the D-pad. The manufacturer logo, as well as a tiny switch-off key at the top (also used for switching between ringing profiles), are also found rearside. The lens of the 2-megapixel camera is at the back of the slider, which has a pleasing green lining. The battery cover is quite difficult to remove; underneath it is the 930 mAh Li-Pol battery. The same unit supplies the W580, said to provide up to 370 hours of stand-by or 540 minutes of talk time. The SIM card is inserted into the phone body right above the battery bed. Another W580 deja vu, removing and inserting it is quite a feat.

The D-pad is dominated by the four-directional navigation control with a press function. Exactly as in W580, beneath the confirming center of the navigation key is the loudspeaker. The navigation control is surrounded by 6 other keys: the back key, clear key, Internet key the Activity menu key, and the two silver selection keys. The latter are the only control elements that require some practice. Otherwise, the D-pad is very comfortable and user-friendly.

The D-pad is quite easy to use except for the slim context keys

The alphanumeric keypad is green like the surface that surrounds it. Although a bit narrow and featuring a low uplift, typing is comfortable on the user-friendly keys. Touch orientation is good too. There have been complaints about the keys on some earlier pieces breaking in two. Nevertheless we believe this fault has already been sorted.

All keypad legends are illuminated in intensive white, save for the navigation key, which is green.

Display: small size, fine image

The display is the same as in W580, of course. It offers QVGA resolution and 256K colors. Given its small size (31 x 41 mm) the image is especially fine and detailed. Colors are so deep, that they look almost unnatural. Brightness can be adjusted and display legibility under direct sunlight is ok.

Not a very big screen • the image is of especially fine detail • earpiece above the screen

As we already complained in the section on color effects, the display enters power saving mode after a certain time of inactivity. You are left with no other option of checking missed events but powering it back up.

Display is alive

A novel feature seen in S500 is the Dynamic Themes which transform the menu themes, patterns and animated wallpapers as day turns night, or as the seasons change. We first saw that feature on the Sony Ericsson T650, however the S500 was made market available earlier than the T650. During the day, for example, butterflies hover over flowers, while at night fireflies set the scene alight. The main menu changes at night too. What's more, at night the side LEDs turn from green to blue. The themes and backgrounds will change with the seasons too. We had the display showing light rainfall, while the day before, leaves were falling on the ground. Looks like fireworks on New Year's Eve guaranteed...

Different view of the main menu with the three pre-installed schemes

The other dynamic theme is not so elaborate. The only visible change here is the change of background color in stand-by from white to black when day turns night. When you apply this theme, the main menu opens as a horizontal band of big icons. Each move inside the menu is marked by a vibration. The other themes work with menus organized in a grid.

The theme background changes from white to black • a big clock can be displayed on the stand-by screen

Another application worth mentioning is the activity menu. It has its own dedicated key and consists of 4 tabs. The first one gives access to new events, the second tab is Running Apps, allowing multitasking of Java applications. The third tab is called My Shortcuts and it's where users can add, delete or change the order of shortcuts to selected features and functions. The last tab holds the Internet bookmarks..

Submenus are identical no matter which theme is active; the only element that changes is the background

Most of the functions and features in Sony Ericsson S500, are fully identical to those of W580, therefore they're only touched briefly in this review. If you still would like a detailed description, you're welcome to revisit our Sony Ericsson W580 review. The phonebook can store up to 1000 multi-field entries, but the count of phone numbers it can memorize is still no higher than 2500. The contacts in the phone memory and the SIM card cannot be displayed simultaneously.

Phonebook • editing a contact with available fields • phonebook menu

Note: Some display screenshots are taken from the Sony Ericsson W580 review, as its menu, user interface and functions are virtually identical to those in S500.

There are no novelties in the message menu, either. Plenty of users would have welcomed the option to change font size, but it's still not available. Messages are typed and read in 8 lines. A character counter only appears when you're only 20 characters short of the limit. MMS limit size is 300 KB and can contain virtually anything. An email client and RSS-feed reader known from previous models are available too.

The organizing functions are headlined by a detailed calendar, offering repeat options for the entries. The calendar can be easily synchronized with Outlook. The alarm clock has its own icon in the main menu and offers 5 separate alarm slots and independent repeat patterns. The S500 also offers a Tasks application, text notes, a simple calculator, stopwatch, countdown timer, voice recorder, and the Code memo feature. Among Java applications users will find AccuWeather and Audible. Both of these applications were featured in Sony Ericsson K530.

S500 has a 2-megapixel camera, providing maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels. The image quality won't surprise, but won't disappoint either. The camera would've definitely been better with a LED flash and autofocus, none of these is available unfortunately. Setup options are extensive as usual, including night mode, white balance, panoramic pictures, and user-configurable exposure compensation. One thing that hasn't changed is the video resolution. Videos are recorded in 3GP format, with resolution at the mere 176 x 144 pixels.

The S500 music player filters music files by ID3 tags and is compatible with virtually all available formats. Running in the background is not a problem for it, either. Loop and Shuffle modes are available, as well as a stereo enhancement and equalizer setting. It is not a Walkman player though, so don't be looking for the shake control. Track ID is missing too. The biggest letdown is the absence of an FM radio. Comparison here is totally in favor of the Sony Ericsson W580 Walkman.

The earphones enclosed in the retail package are standard quality. We regret to say they stand no comparison to the headset that ships with the W580 Walkman phone. Should you want to use a headset of your own, you will need to buy a 3.5mm jack adapter.

Another entertainment feature is the standard video player. It plays videos in 3GP and MP4 format and supports full-screen mode. Already standard inclusion features for Sony Ericsson, the MusicDJ, PhotoDJ è VideoDJ applications are also at hand in the S500, allowing users to play with pictures and video recordings, and create custom polyphonic ringtones. The phone also offers two Java games: a version of the famous Tetris and a game that tests your ability to quickly calculate various geometric patterns.

Another key difference from the Walkman W580, Sony Ericsson S500 lacks the fitness application and pedometer.

The data technologies S500 supports are GPRS and EDGE, both Class 10. Bluetooth and the enclosed data cable are the data transfer alternatives. Mass Storage mode is available too. A CD with software is included in the retail package, offering PC Suite used for synchronization, Disc2Phone for transferring music, a video player, and a photo editing application. The Sony Ericsson offers a standard Access NetFront internet browser.

Sony Ericsson S500 is a mid-range slider of slim design and daring exterior, which offers very standard, not to say unoriginal, functionality. Available for around 225 Euro, the S500 is easily challenged by a number of Sony Ericsson models offering respectable functions in this price range. Which way you will go is just up to you.

The S500 will easily appeal to the senses, but the Walkman W580 could well be the more reasonable option. FM radio, fitness application, superior headset, and a 512-MB memory card are enough features to make the Walkman phone worth the additional investment.