For several years we have been using a Motorola as the phone while on the move (well that and a Nokia, but that was not replaced). Finally though, its junk interface and keys designed for people with less than normal hands, demanded replacing before I lost my mind totally.

Searching for a new phone that would meet my demanding applications (read: to be small yet usable and strong enough to be treated like crap) though was easier said than done. I am by no means a phone-o-phile, in fact I think the phone lust that goes on these days is just daft…. it’s a PHONE, get over it. So the myriad of functions and options available on phones these days, mostly at the sacrifice of my main criteria, left me somewhat cold.

To keep it short, I discounted any Nokia after being told by the dude at Virgin Mobile (my carrier) that despite being a die hard Nokia guy himself, Nokia has the highest defect return rate of any phone they deal. The Korean offerings (Samsung and LG) while looking good, seemed like they would break if you breathed on them the wrong way and we don’t talk about Motorola as they all suffer form crap GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces). Also most of the higher end phones, from all players, seem to have either grown in bulk and/or have things that slide or hinge; the product designer in me says stay away from things that slide or hinge as they all tend to wear out and die nasty deaths.

Let me introduce you to the Sony Ericsson W880i.

After looking for some time my attention was drawn to the W880i. It’s small, has key bars (meaning it’s hard to double key while texting) and has a stainless steel case, or half of it does in anyway. I umm’d and ahhh’d about it for some time as some had told me that the Sony Ericsson phones were yuk, but considering the offerings out there and the basic appeal of this phone, I was willing to give it a go.

So, what did I end up with? The W880i is small, no doubt. 45mm x 100mm and 8mm thick, it’s small yet not stupid (slightly smaller that the Motorola it’s replaced). The face is a black stainless steel and the back is a rubber textured plastic (why no SS on the back??) which feels nice and non slippy. A big plus is that while the buttons are small, they are widely spaced and very difficult to double press; I would even describe the keypad a sweet! The screen is amazingly clear, crisp and hi def. and with the black face, easy to see. There are also a raft of other features that I am not sure I’ll never use… a full on MP3 Walkman, a 2Mp camera (with zoom), WAP, bla, bla, bla…. you get the idea - all of the features you’d ever want on a higher end phone. See them here.

The true test came when I turned it on. What was the GUI like? Well, without any reference to the instruction book I found everything I wanted to. The phone kicks off with a basic set up wizard and from there figuring out the rest of the phone’s functions could not be easier. All the on-screen functions are soft animated, thoughtfully represented and easy to use. While a phone can be small, or feature packed, unless it has a solid and friendly GUI, to me it’s junk - no excuses for design teams to create stuff that is difficult for the end user to use in this day and age. All in all I could not be happier with the way the phone FUNCTIONS, which is the second key reason I ditched the Motorola, the first being its daft keypad.

All up I am totally chuffed with the W880i. While most of its big features may well never be used, it’s simple, thoughtful design and great GUI make it a pleasure to own and use.

Our criteria for a good GUI…

Instinctive to navigate: One should not have to read a manual with screen based media to execute basic functions.

Straight forward symbols: Don’t expect one to guess what a symbol means and don’t try to make a symbol for every function when a bit of text works just as well.

Repeat locations: Don’t have key menu functions change position.

Cautiously playful: The technology is there to animate and ‘liven’ the navigation experience. Don’t go stupid with it, just a hint of life goes a long way to making something easy and fun to use.