The battery runs out quick but the Sony Ericsson S500i is a nice phone. I think it is stylish and I like the background changing colours and music player.

Really love my phone, the only problem is when I want to take pictures at night it is impossible as there is no flash or LED light
I dont want to have to carry a separate digital camera so unfortunatly I am going to have to go in search of a new phone with a light on. I will miss it tho :-(

For once i decided to go for looks rather than brains. Plus I'd heard Sony Erickson had come a long way. The box was very small, but still had the usuals of the manual, charger, cd, headphones, etc. The yellow S500i looked great, and was so slim you could hardly tell it was in my pocket, it was really light too, so didn't feel like it was in there either. The side lights that flash and change color depending on the background or call or text was quite exciting, and fairly unique. Along with the flashing lights was the Ever Changing background, which changed according to time and date, for example there was a creepy background for Halloween. I found these to be a novelty and quite exciting. Also, it had a mini memory stick slot. The only probably is Sony Ericson's have their own memory cards called memory sticks, rather than the more universal SD variations. I took pictures with the 2mp and found them to be ok on the phone, but once i put then up on my computer is was of a quality compare to a 1megapixel camera, and low lit areas were a nightmare. I like to keep all my messages and pictures until it fills up. I do this on any phone. All non-smart phones can cope with me flicking from the end of my messages to the start of them with ease. the smart phones I've had obviously went a bit slower. The speed of the s500i was as bad, if not worse than a smart phone. However, getting through menus is as quick as a normal phone. The build was creaky, the screen didn't seem placed well and one of the buttons started to fail after just 4 months of owning the phone. The battery life was shocking, 2 days max, one of the worst battery life in a phone ive had. Think its worse or on par with Samsungs shocking battery life! I find at the end of my reviews a few times i said i'll be running back to nokia. In this case, i already have. I need a phone that is well built, fast, good battery life and decent camera (not necessarily the best, but decent enough). Sony Ericsson's disappointed me. I'd like to have given this phone 6/10 but i think i am being quite kind with my 5/10. Next time i wont be as shallow!

When my boyfriend saw mine, he sent his N95 back and got one of these S500i's. A much user friendlier phone with sleek lines and cool operating system. I love it. I researched loads of phones and fell for this one when I saw it in CPW. I normally have Samsung or Nokia, but this knocks spots off them both. Buy one now... you wont be sorry.