Sony Ericsson K850i

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39030107,49293508,00.htm

Reviewed 22 October 2007

Reviewed by Andrew Lim

Sony Ericsson has created some of the best camera phones ever made, so we were understandably excited when we first heard about the Sony Ericsson's new Cyber-shot phone, the K850i. We find out if Sony Ericsson have cracked it again and produced another shooting star.

The K850i is currently available SIM-free from Sony Ericsson for around £350 or for free on a monthly contract from several major networks.

Design
At first sight, the K850i looks quite chunky but on closer inspection you'll notice that it's about the same size as its predecessor, the K810i. However, unlike the K810i -- or any Sony Ericsson camera phone, for that matter -- the K850i has had a dramatic facelift around the keypad area.

At the top of the keypad section, underneath the screen, are three touch-sensitive sections marked out by white dots. In order to navigate through the phone's menu and select options, you have to tap the white dots with your thumb, which sometimes worked beautifully and other times didn't respond at all, leaving us rather annoyed.

The four-way navigation key is also a little fiddly to press due to the fact that it's set in between the keypad keys rather than on top of them. Then there's the issue of the number keys, which although are relatively easy to press, seem to be a little too small to press confidently, particularly when we were tapping out a very quick text message.

Overlooking our issues with the keypad's design, we think the rest of the phone is attractive and well laid out. We were taken with the camera's layout, in particular. It's the closest experience to using a standalone digital camera that we've seen so far.

There's a good sized shutter button and zoom rocker, an easy-to-use mode switch that changes the camera to video mode or takes you to the gallery, and an on-and-off switch that activates the camera and opens the lens cover.

Unusually, the mechanical lens cover is shielded by a cover itself and we've been told this is to prevent the mechanical cover from being opened accidentally. We're worried, though, that this extra bit could get scratched blocking the lens' view and rendering the automated cover redundant, but only time will tell.

A design aspect we didn't expect but were fond of is a spring-loaded cover at the bottom of the K850i that pops open very easily, making accessing or transferring the battery, memory card or SIM card very straightforward.

Interestingly, you can insert a microSD card or Memory Stick Micro (M2) card into the K850i, which is very useful if you've got a leftover microSD card from an old phone.

Features
It's probably clear by now that the K850i's most captivating feature is its camera, and deservedly so -- this should be called a phone camera rather than a camera phone. The K850i's camera packs a 5-megapixel sensor, autofocus and xenon flash.

All of the above work well and while many will argue the merits of better optics over more megapixels, there is a noticeable difference in quality compared to a 3.2-megapixel camera such as the K810i, for example.

Is it better than the Nokia N95, Samsung G600 or LG KU990 Viewty? If you're taking shots in low light, then yes, as the xenon flash is fantastically bright. In daylight, though, we think it's comparable to them.

A very welcome new feature is an LED photo light that works as a focus assist light and makes sure your shots are in focus in low light levels. In terms of internal settings, all the usual suspects are available, including the ability to adjust ISO levels and Cyber-shot mode that lets you take nine shots in quick succession.

Once you've taken a picture you can view it in gallery mode and the K850i will sense which way you are holding it up, adjusting the large, bright screen to landscape or portrait mode accordingly, similar to how the iPhone photo gallery works.

Sharing your photos and videos is made somewhat easy. We say somewhat because straight after you take a photo or video you can blog it or send it to a friend via a picture message, which is useful, but if you want to Bluetooth it to someone you have to go into the gallery.

Accessing the photo gallery can be done using the mode switch on the camera or from the K850i's start page via the new media menu, which looks a lot like the PSP's menu system and groups together all your music, photos and videos in a simple menu.

Aside from being able to listen to music, watch videos and look at photos, the K850i also comes with an FM radio and java games, including one called Marble Madness 3D that's quite fun and lets you roll a ball around by moving the physically moving the handset around.

The K850i also features HSDPA (3.5G) and a Web browser, which combine to give you fast access to Web sites and RSS feeds. For the most part, the browser works well but we found it a bit clunky when trying to zoom in and out of full-sized pages, which is something the iPhone does very well and a feature we would like to see on more phones.

Performance
Audio quality during calls was loud and clear without any noticeable distortions or muffling. The loudspeaker also sounded very clear. Notably, there are two plastic ridges on the back of the handset that push the loudspeaker off a table, making it sound much better than if it was flat against surface.

Picture quality from the 5-megapixel camera was good in daylight and fantastic in low light due to the very powerful xenon flash. Be warned that your fingers may obstruct the flash at the back and cause pictures in low light to not come out as well, so try and hold it around the edges.

There were tell-tale signs of JPEG compression but overall we were very impressed with the colour depth and clarity of all the shots we took. If you're looking for a stand-alone camera replacement then this is defnitely worth checking out but keep in mind the optics aren't as good as a high-end 5-megapixel camera, such as a the Canon PowerShot S2 IS.

Compared to other 5-megapixel camera phones though, the K850i really exceeds in the low-light department, as it has the best lighting solution we've seen on any camera phone so far.

Battery life is quoted at nine hours talk time and 400 hours standby time on GSM, and three hours 30 minutes talk time and 350 hours standby time using 3G. We found it lasted for over two days when we used it moderately but under a day if we used the Web browser over HSDPA and the camera often.

Conclusion
The Sony Ericsson K850i's camera is very close to being the best camera we have ever seen on a phone and is worthy of adulation. Unfortunately, the fiddly navigation system and keypad takes away from an all round enjoyable experience and while we'd like to give this phone top marks, we sadly can't.

An alternative 5-megapixel camera phone with an easier-to-use keypad and GPS is the Nokia N95 but it doesn't take as good shots in low light. If it's more video features you're after then the LG KU990 Viewty is worth a peek and if it's a slightly thinner camera phone you're after, then the G600 might do the job.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday