Sony Ericsson W850i

Status: 🔴 Jammed battery cover, unable to place SIM inside

Specs

Launch date: 2006
Software platform: Sony Ericsson proprietary (A100 platform)
Display: 240 x 320 pixels, 262K colors
Connectivity: GSM, UMTS (3G), GPRS, Bluetooth 2.0, Infrared, USB
Storage: 16 MB internal, Memory Stick PRO Duo up to 4 GB
Camera: 2 MP
Third party apps: Java MIDP 2.0
Internet: WAP 2.0, HTML (NetFront browser)
Other notable features: Walkman 2.0 music player, TrackID, flight mode, stereo FM radio with RDS

I clearly remember walking into some shopping mall—just to kill time, wander around, check out the latest tech, maybe even get to touch some of it. And back then, there was actually something worth seeing: not just a sea of identical bricks with screens, but a whole variety of devices. Sony Ericsson had released phones in this format before, but those were rotators that opened using a swivel mechanism. The W850i, however, was their first proper slider. And it had something to show off.

One particularly unusual feature of this device was the D-pad: it was a solid plate covering the entire navigation block, with just four arrow points protruding from it. But that wasn’t even the main highlight. The phone seemed to have borrowed the musical lighting effect from the Motorola E398, embedded it under a semi-transparent matte plastic panel, and made it smooth and fluid—almost liquid. It felt like you were holding a miniature lava lamp in your hands. The player interface kept up with the vibe too, featuring a ton of improvements. One glance at Walkman 2.0 was enough to make you say, “It’s a Sony.”

I also clearly remember that I managed to grab wallpapers from this phone via Bluetooth—only a few manufacturers back then would slap DRM protection on built-in content. Sony was clearly aiming at the then-trendy emo subculture. You know, all those stenciled swirls, paint splashes, an explosion of colors—except instead of pink, it was orange, in signature Walkman style.

All photos from Vintage Cellphone and PDA Museum by TiredSysadmin are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.