The S500i is one of the few phones from Sony Ericsson that comes with a slider design, the others being the Sony Ericsson W850i mobile phone and W580i model; it comes with a display screen that supports 256K colors and 240×320 pixel resolution. The navigation controls consisting of several keys like OK, Back, Clear and dedicated Web-access key are underneath the display screen. When you slide open the Sony Ericsson S500i cell phone, you’ll see the numeric keypad with lovely white backlight whenever the phone is being activated. On the left of the phone is the volume control and the charger/headset jack is on the right side. The power button is located on the top of the S500i, together with the memory stick slot.

Sony Ericsson S500i comes with good music entertainment feature. Its has a built-in music player, setting of playlists, stereo widening, and shuffle and loop modes. In addition to that, there is also a flight mode where you can listen to your songs while on an aircraft. Transferring of songs can be done via picture message, email and Bluetooth. A USB cable and software are included for PC interface. The music format supported by the S500i includes MP3, AAC, AAC+, and eAAC+.

The S500i mobile handset features a 2-megapixel camera with various option like the picture quality settings, white balance adjustments, color effects, different shooting modes, a night mode, a self-timer and shutter sounds option. On top of that, the S500i also has a built-in camcorder for recording clips with sound. For phone book storage, Sony Ericsson S500i comes with a 1,000-entry with each entry capable of holding five phone numbers, e-mail notes, and Web addresses. It further allows personal customization like setting of photo, ringtone or even glowing lights display for individual contacts. Other standard feature expected include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, calendar, task list, notepad, timer, speakerphone, and more.

The Sony Ericsson S500i cell phone comes with 9 hours talk time and 15 days standby time.