Photos: Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson W760i

We got a treat late last Friday. It didn't involve naked midgets, knives or blindfolds as we'd hoped, but instead it was something far, far more enjoyable: a Sony Ericsson W760i.

And how welcome it was too. After having just checked out the Motorola Rokr E8 and Sony Ericsson W350i, we were ready for something that went up to 11, something that had guts, something that could be used to beat Amy Winehouse to death. Oh, what? You like her again because she actually made it to Glastonbury? Damn, you lot are soft.

Anyway, we've spent our first weekend with this mobile and after just a few days we love it. This is one of the smartest Sony Ericssons we've used in a while, and is bordering on being as lovable as the W890i -- something of a favourite around these parts.

It's a pretty high-end Walkman camera phone, featuring a 3.2-megapixel camera, quad-band compatibility, 3G and HSDPA data connectivity, stereo Bluetooth, GPS navigation, integrated RSS feed reader, a super-crisp 240x320-pixel screen and a 40MB internal memory, which is expandable with Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards.

We've loved using this handset -- the keypad is extremely pleasant to use, the slick menus make browsing and using music, photos and video a delight, and the camera takes terrific pictures, though we would have liked a xenon flash.

We would also have liked an integrated 3.5mm headphone socket but -- what a surprise -- Sony Ericsson has used its typical proprietary nonsense, meaning you'll have to use the bundled adaptor if you want to use your own headphones.

Sound quality is fairly good, though we'll be testing this to breaking point during our review, which you can expect very soon.

For now, browse through our extensive gallery of photos for massive close-ups, screenshots, examples of the camera's capabilities and physical comparisons to other handsets. It's out now with contracts from Orange and O2. -Nate Lanxon

Update: Read our full Sony Ericsson W760i review. 

Closed up, the W760i is still a gorgeous handset, if a little chunky.

Notice the navigational applications have a dedicated access button, identifiable by a GPS satellite logo (above the play button).

Speed texting on the soft keypad is easy with just minutes of practice.

Micro speakers sit behind a grille on the face of the W760i's keypad.

But just look at that ugly, useless, annoying proprietary USB/headphone socket.

The memory card slot sits right on the top of the handset.

And here it is being used!

This would be a dedicated volume key. We're in favour of these, as opposed to having to use navigation keys.

Sadly, the lack of a flash means low-light photography won't be happening.

The W760i's enclosure features this semi-perforated rear.

The back portion of the display isn't as unsightly as some when expanded.

Compared to Nokia's N95 8GB and Apple's original iPhone, the W760i appears to be the most compact.

But compared to Samsung's U600, it's noticeably larger.

We strongly advise installing the Opera Mini Web browser -- it makes the W760i a terrific handset for browsing the Web on the move.

Google Maps comes preinstalled, meaning you can be using GPS to navigate your way around town within a few minutes.

Sony Ericsson's Walkman application is slick and easy to use, though without a 3.5mm headphone socket as standard, it's no competitor for a dedicated MP3 player.

Even the dedicated media application is slick, and also handles RSS feeds for keeping up to date with news quickly on the go.

Finally, while the screen might be a touch small for getting a clear idea of what your photos are going to look like...

...the end result is great. Click here for the full-resolution photo of the shot taken above.