Manage updates with the Download AppSony Ericsson S500i - mysterious green (unlocked)
Manufacturer: Sony Ericsson Part number: S500iGREEN
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Sony Ericsson S500i is a stylish phone with a lot of sex appeal plus a decent feature set, but its high price and iffy controls make it less than desirable.
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CNET editors' review
Sony Ericsson S500i - mysterious green (unlocked) price range: $79.99
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Reviewed on: 11/05/2007
The good: The Sony Ericsson S500i is a beautifully designed handset with a slew of multimedia features that include a 2-megapixel camera plus a music player. Performance was great, as well.
The bad: The Sony Ericsson S500i has a rather fragile keypad, plus it's on the expensive side.
The bottom line: The Sony Ericsson S500i is a stylish phone with a lot of sex appeal plus a decent feature set, but its high price and iffy controls make it less than desirable.
User reviews
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Good for looks. Lacks quality I expect from Sony Ericsson.
by SpartacusXIII on October 30, 2007
Pros: Fantastic looking phone. Catches everyone's eye.
Cons: Every key cracked within 4 weeks. I have some sort of short.
Summary: This is my 5th Sony Ericsson and I have to say that this one has been a disappointment to me.
From my regular use, every key has cracked in the ...Summary: This is my 5th Sony Ericsson and I have to say that this one has been a disappointment to me.
From my regular use, every key has cracked in the middle. I believe this is a design flaw. The keys are probably over twice as long as they are high, made of some hard plastic-like material. From what I can tell, there is only one support/sensor under each key, this support is placed in the center of the key which is right where every crack is.
The short causes the lights on the side of the phone to be odd colors, for example, right now the light on the right side of the phone is a light blue while the one on the left is a deep purple. I also occasionally have extremes of dark green and dark red.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Small size, big impression. *Myths dispelled*
by sweets_s5i on March 14, 2009
Pros: Nature-inspired design (green and black version) - admirable & refreshing in a materialistic world, feels sturdy/well-built, colorful screen, clear/loud calls, Very Loud ringer, Keypad is not hard to press, though not the most sensitive.
Cons: Loud ringer...even the lowest setting would barely suffice as a "low" ring. Buttons are even tinier than I expected. Kind of hard to slide up since its a narrow and short phone, the front is slick, and the slide is feels resistant.
Summary: I cant give much of a review right now, since I just got the S500i in the mail just a few hours ago. But I wanted to correct some misinformation ...
Summary: I cant give much of a review right now, since I just got the S500i in the mail just a few hours ago. But I wanted to correct some misinformation that you may have read at websites. Before purchasing, I referenced not only the phone's specs shown online but also expert reviews and now that I have the phone I see that some people really didnt do their homework...and I dont want you to pass up this phone due to that.
One complaint was that there is no "silent mode" on the camera. This is true, in a way. But as I suspected, if you set the phone itself to "silent mode" then when you take a pic, it is totally silent. Problem solved. One reviewer said that it would be a better phone if you could assign lights to people's names. Well, from what I've read, you can...although I havent attempted it yet. I like the light effects, but I dont see how assigning them to a name is that big of a deal. Yet another reviewer said that the d-pad was difficult because of the metal ring being immovable. It felt that way when I used it, but then I looked closer. Actually, the metal part Does move (I pressed down with my fingernail to verify). It is the plastic hill of the faceplate surrounding the d-pad which keeps the movement limited to the half and inch or so wide circle. Personally, I didnt love it, but it wasnt a "problem". Im thinking the raised edge is to help prevent you from accidentally pressing one of the nearby tiny "clear", "back", etc. keys by keeping your finger within the circle. And when outside of the circle, to keep you from accidentally clicking the d-pad. As long as there's logic, I usually dont complain. A reviewer said that there is a slight vibration when making a menu selection and that its mandatory...its not. All you have to do is go to Menu, Settings, Sounds & Alerts, Vibrating Alert : Off. Simple.
I dont like how the backlight turns off within about 30 seconds of you not using the phone. I read someone complain about that, saying Sony Ericsson should let us decide if we want to conserve the battery life. I agree...although the setting is understandable. I think that person was right in saying that it cant be changed...sucks. What clued me to that was the fact that when I changed the phone screen brightness, a message popped up saying "increasing brightness will shorten backlight time", seeming to signify that the backlight is automatic. I guess thats how it gets the 9 hours huh? lol About sliding the phone, when you slide it up halfway, the spring does the rest of the work, when you are sliding down, it does the same. But it seems that thats why there is "resistance" when pushing up (maybe this is pretty much all slider phones...this is my first slider)...the force that works to slide the phone down for you, is the same thing making it kind of hard to push it up...you see? If I start to push it up a tiny bit, then let go, it snaps back down quickly and firmly. Its not "hard to open" really...just something to get used to. I was thinking the side lights were only going to come on during calls/alerts, but it has stayed on as I've configured my phone and I havent found a setting to turn it off. Well, atleast the vibration wasnt a permanent setting. I like how the interface looks and responds quickly. I hate T9, so I was glad I could turn that off. Another correction: A reviewer said this phone wouldnt be good for texting because you have to wait about 3 seconds between letters. That kind of worried me. Well, he/she was wrong. The only time you have to wait is when you are going to select a letter that is on the same key as the previous letter (like if you're typing B..then A, you must wait 2 seconds because otherwise the phone will think you want to change the B to a C). Thats with every cell phone that I've used. And actually the S500i only makes you wait 2 seconds, my other phones were 3 or 4 seconds. But if you're spelling B...E, you can immediately click the E after the B, no waiting.
I think the key sizes are a bit ridiculous, and I dont like that there is only 1 port for charging, ear piece, data cable...so you can only do 1 at a time (unless you hunt down an adapter).
Oh, I read before buying the phone that some users' keypads cracked. But since I also read that it didnt stop the keys from working and that it is very easy to repair on your own, and only $14 for a new keypad online (including shipping), I figured I'd give the phone a shot (since that was the only real down side). My keypad looks like a darker/more intense green than I saw online in any pics, and the keys dont feel thin, but dense/thick...so maybe I have a better version of the keypad...if not oh well. I think being informed and having realistic expectations is the key to being satisfied with any purchase. Got this phone for $134...since it retails at like $300 and has tons of features/specs in line with what I wanted, I dont anticipate regret, but I'll let you know.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not the best, but definitely the prettiest.
by ef0411 on September 28, 2008
Pros: Beautiful sleek design, sturdy slide, slim design, Everchanging theme is GORGEOUS, glowing LEDs on the side are impressive.
Cons: Terrible speakers, flaky keypad, few games. Not much to do if you don't like to browse the internet on your phone.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Cool phone with great features but is a piece of crap!!
by jende8 on August 29, 2008
Pros: It has good features and has great graffics. The camera has many cool options with fun accesories. The camera has a micro sd card so you can have many pictures in the phone. The is the capibilty to blog right from your phone and the internet is great
Cons: The keys cracked with in six months after the Sony Ericsson guy promised me the wouldn't. The interal parts of the phone flaked out for the second time causing the screen to go blank, flip upside down and do weird colors and lines on the screen.
Summary: Bottom line is that the phone is really appealing online and for the first few months but overall it is a piece of crap and i will never buy a ...
Summary: Bottom line is that the phone is really appealing online and for the first few months but overall it is a piece of crap and i will never buy a Sony Ericsson phone again! I had a Sony Ericsson before that and it was amazing, it lasted for 3 years and i didn't want to give it up, so i thought this one would be great also but it did not meet any of my expectations. The interal parts of the phone are horribly made and i must send my phone in to be fixed for the second time. The first time i sent it in the said i may or may not send me my own phone back. I did infact get my own phone back but they had to clear my memory and had cracked a few of my keys and had put a scratch in the screen. Sony Ericsson does not supply you a loaner phone while they fix yours leaving you with out a phone for several weeks. After they fixed it, it worked fine for a couple of months but it has started to do the same thing again and i can't stand it. Over all this phone looks cool and has some awesome features but is a piece of crap!!!!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best Un-Walkman Phone you can find!
by God of Devices on March 27, 2008
Pros: Themes; Side Leds; Compact; Slim Slider.
Cons: Navigation wheel hard to use; 3.5mm earphone input.
Summary: A huge boost for the people of Sony Ericsson, this phone should be the start to the Sony Ericsson 'S Series', not the last.
It has great sound quality and ...Summary: A huge boost for the people of Sony Ericsson, this phone should be the start to the Sony Ericsson 'S Series', not the last.
It has great sound quality and the 3gp and Mpeg4 video formats show in a bright and seamless colour.
To not own this phone, is to not own a phone, cause this is the best compact slim slider on the market!
9/10 - God of Devices.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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An average phone , regret buying this phone....
by lil_azn_a55a5in on April 16, 2011
Pros: - Exellent music player - Very responsive interface
- Very easy to use - Good quality screen
- Attractive designCons: - Awful camera especially the video recording ( pixelated )
- No fm radio
-web browsing is slow and a waste of time and money
-reception is very poor when in a shopping centre
-build quality feels cheapSummary: The camera is absolutely dreadful, no flash and no autofocus. Web browsing on the phone is not worth it, a complete waste of time and money as it is very ...
Summary: The camera is absolutely dreadful, no flash and no autofocus. Web browsing on the phone is not worth it, a complete waste of time and money as it is very slow. The keypad feels cheap especially when you push down on the buttons as you can see the keypad become uneven. The reception is attrocious in shopping centres. The video playback is also crap.
On the positive side of things it does have an exellent music player, the sound quality is great. The interface is very simple to navigate around. It has a loud ringer, text messenging is fairly simple.
Overall I wouldn't recommend this phone to someone who is looking for more but if your someone who doesn't care too much about the stuff i said in the cons section then this may be the phone for you! -
Phone turns heads, but is lacking in performance
by metallicadebater on February 6, 2009
Pros: The s500i supports a lot of my music, and plays it well, and can be customized to fit almost anyone with the ability to change themes. Also, the ability to play with pictures and create your own songs in photodj and musicdj is great when you're bored
Cons: The random opening of the web browser, 1/2-1 second delay on every button press, shutting down on its own from time to time, and the 8 or 9 useless menu items all add up to a big hassle that could have been solved with a few more weeks in development
Summary: I think that if you don't care about dealing with constant errors and lots of repeated mistakes on the part of the phone, the s500i is a great way ...
Summary: I think that if you don't care about dealing with constant errors and lots of repeated mistakes on the part of the phone, the s500i is a great way to get people's attention and say "hey, i have a lot of money, and a lot of patience"
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Best phone for me so far
by daantjuh11 on October 24, 2008
Pros: - Fast internet (using the GPRS network in the Netherlands)
- Very good quality of screen
- Nice illumination with side LED-colorlights
- Nice themes for phone interface
- Good applications available for phone
- Fast and good response
- Good feelCons: You need to get used to the keyboard, which feels a little cheap. Also, do not buy a phone carrying bag with this phone, because you can accidentally press keys when the phone is ringing.
The PC software is resource-hogging, instead I use Bluetooth.Summary: Good features, including a very good music player, good support for alot of applications, has alot of features including a huge phone book.
Organizer is very complete, with the applications ...Summary: Good features, including a very good music player, good support for alot of applications, has alot of features including a huge phone book.
Organizer is very complete, with the applications menu, a calendar, a task list, notitions, synchronisation options, a timer, a stopwatch, a calculator and a codememo.
Good file manager, pretty good camera, with correction software (PhotoDJ) installed on the phone itself.
To be short: I love this product. As you could see, I could not come up with alot of Cons... -
My first phone and I love it !!
by iPod_Killer on August 21, 2008
Pros: Compact and really cool design, Nice light effects, Great call quality, Great reception, Bright and colorful screen, nice little camera, and easy to use.
Cons: Sort-of-Cheap-feel and cramped keypad, Not-so-great video quality.
Summary: I got my S500i a few days ago and it's a really nice phone overall.
I just love the design of the S500i. It's nice and compact. Everything ...Summary: I got my S500i a few days ago and it's a really nice phone overall.
I just love the design of the S500i. It's nice and compact. Everything is made out of plastic. It feels a bit cheap but it's very sturdy. The light effects are just awesome and the black and green contrast of the phone is really nice. My only complaint is that the keypad feels a bit cheap, the number keys are cramped and it's a bit hard to text message (because I just started to text-message and it's T9) but I'm pretty sure I'll get the hang of it soon.
Call quality is really good. It's clear and loud. No complaints here. Reception is also very strong on the S500i. My friend has a Samsung a640 and when we are underground in the metro, I get reception where his phone doesn't get it at all.
The camera is not the most tricked out but it's a decent one. It takes clear shots on daylight at a maximum resolution of 2MP. But at night even with the "Night Mode" on it's a bit blurry. The camera shoots 30second clips only and the resolution is bad. But that's okay for me because I wasn't expecting much from the video camera.
Overall I just wanted a cool looking phone to make calls and text-message with a bit of taking pictures. I ordered the European Version unlocked at CAD$270 -
great gorgeous phone but a tiny bit flimsy
by danielk16 on June 22, 2008
Pros: gorgeous looking great display light on side are amazing
Cons: feels prety flimsy specially pressing buttons on the right side
Summary: this is a gorgeous phone with many great features and a fantastic design but sony ericsson lack of making this a sturdy phone makes it a bit shy of perfection
Summary: this is a gorgeous phone with many great features and a fantastic design but sony ericsson lack of making this a sturdy phone makes it a bit shy of perfection
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony Ericsson
- Part number: S500iGREEN
- Description: The slim S500i keeps you in harmony with the world around you. Let desktop and menu themes change with the season; or as day turns to night. Slide the S500i open to reveal materials and patterns inspired by nature. See hidden illumination appear when a call comes in. The S500i - it's full of surprises.
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Product Type Cellular phone
- Form Factor Slider
- Phone Design Slider
- Integrated Components Digital camera,
Digital player - Antenna Internal
- Width 1.9 in
- Depth 0.6 in
- Height 3.9 in
- Weight 3.3 oz
- Body Color Mysterious green
- Available Body Colors Mysterious green, spring yellow
Cellular
- Technology GSM
- Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband)
- Service Provider Unlocked
- Software Platforms Supported Java
Messaging & Internet
- Cellular Messaging Services SMS,
MMS - Messaging & Data Features RSS feeds
- Downloadable Content Themes,
Ring tones,
Games Communications
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
- Bluetooth Profiles Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
Phone Features
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Additional Features Melody composer
Media Player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3
- Supported Digital Video Standards MPEG-4
Memory
- User Memory 12 MB
- Supported Flash Memory Cards Memory Stick Duo
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 2 megapixels
- Digital Zoom 4
Display
- Type LCD display - Color
- Technology TFT
- Display Resolution 320 x 240 pixels
- Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)
- Display Illumination Color White
- Multi-language Menu Yes
- Features Wallpaper,
Screensaver Connections
- Connector Type 1 x Data port - Fast Port
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Power adapter
Product series
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Sony Ericsson S500i - mysterious green (unlocked)
Manufacturer: Sony Ericsson
Specs: Unlocked,
GSM,
Up to 540 min,
With digital camera / digital player,
3.3 oz,
2 megapixels
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony Ericsson products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Sony Ericsson
- Address:
7001 Development Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 - Phone: 1-866-766-9374
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