Sony Ericsson K810i Cyber-shot
It's a good camera phone, but it lacks the wow factor of its predecessors. If you already own a K800i then it's not worth upgrading, although others will want to check it out.
| The good | Auto-focus and xenon flash on camera; new and improved camera cover. |
|---|---|
| The bad | Keys are a little too small on the keypad; Web browser could be better; no killer extra features over predecessor. |
CNET Editors' Rating
-
CNET Editors' rating
-
Rating breakdown
Sony Ericsson's camera-phone range has revolutionized the market and consistently pushed the boundaries between mobile phones and standalone digital cameras. From the K750i's autofocus capabilities to the K800i's xenon flash, Sony Ericsson has hit the nail on the head when it comes to giving users what they want. Given its pedigree, it's no wonder that we had high expectations for the K800i's successor, the Sony Ericsson K810i. What would Sony Ericsson bring to the table this time round? And would this handset get closer to giving us the best of both camera and mobile worlds, or would it leave us yearning for more?
| Editors' note:
This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.co.uk. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some other products or telcos in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.
|
 |
The unusual circular keys are striking to look at, but aren't particularly easy to use. |
| |
We were rather underwhelmed by the keys, which feel too small and too far apart, making texting less enjoyable than it could be. The navigation joystick also left us a little deflated, as it's rather awkward to press--it doesn't stick out enough and in contrast to the keys on the keypad doesn't have enough space around it.
Other than that, it's still a candybar phone with a large color screen, a keypad and a camera on the back. The new one is 5mm slimmer, though, due to a new and improved camera cover. This is set in between two ridges to stop it opening in your pocket, a problem many K800i users will be familiar with.
Features
There's no doubt that the camera on the K810i is good, as it has the same spec camera as the K800i. There's a 3.2-megapixel sensor, autofocus and a xenon flash, which left us puzzled since we frankly expected a little bit more from the K800i's successor.
|
The K810i offers an improved camera cover over its predecessor, a small but useful improvement. |
| |
You can also shoot photos using BestPic mode, which lets you take nine photos in quick succession when you press the shutter button and then choose the one you want to keep. The only real difference in terms of camera software options is something called Photo Fix that automatically adjusts light balance, brightness and contrast.
We were disappointed that Sony Ericsson hasn't updated the Web browser, because it simply can't cope with non-WAP Web sites and doesn't have a desktop mode, so you can't view pages as you would on your computer's Web browser. An alternative is to download Opera mini on to the K810i--it's a much better browser. Performance
The camera performs identically to the K800i's, producing great shots (relative to other camera phones), particularly in low light using the xenon flash. The only problem we had is there's a small amount of shutter lag when you take a shot, which causes blurring if you don't hold the camera still until it's finished.
|
When you activate the camera the 1, 4, 7 and asterisk keys turn into camera hard keys that give you direct access to some of the camera settings. |
| |
Most of the other features on the K810i are pretty straightforward and again identical to the ones found on the K800i. There's Bluetooth (including support for A2DP), infrared and 3G connectivity, a VGA camera on the front for video calling, an MP3 player, an expandable Memory Stick Micro M2 slot, support for POP3 and IMAP4 email accounts, an RSS feed reader, an FM radio and a Web browser.
The MP3 player sounds good, as does the FM radio. Unfortunately, you don't get a 3.5mm headphone adaptor in the box so you can't plug in your own pair, but you could always buy an adapter. You can also listen to music wirelessly via a pair of stereo Bluetooth headphones, which also sounded good.
The speakerphone mode works as expected. Battery life is good, lasting for over two days of moderate use before we needed to recharge it. Sony Ericsson quotes up to 400 hours of standby time and 10 hours of talk time. We did find that the battery life drained faster using 3G, but you do have the option to switch to GSM only.
Conclusion
Aside from the awkward keypad, which might not suit everyone's texting tastes, this is a good camera phone--but there's something missing. Yes, it has a better camera cover than the K800i, some fancy blue lights and a glossy makeover, but that's the problem--it's only a makeover and nothing has really changed.
We rated the K800i as being one of the best camera phones we had seen so far--and gave it an Editor's Choice award--and we expected its successor to blow it out of the water with some new fancy features, which the K810i hasn't produced. Basically, if you own a K800i then you might as well keep it.
Alternatively, you could have a look at the Nokia N95 and its whopping 5-megapixel camera, or the Samsung U600, which also boasts a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus. Or you could simply wait to see what's next from Sony Ericsson, since there'll definitely be more camera phones to come.
Latest comments
Pros: Camera is good
Cons: Power consumption is high
Summary: Battery Lifetime is so much borring
Recently I bought this k810i . Everything is ok but it's battery lifetime deppressed me. Without any reason it looses energy.Charge duration only 1 day... is there anyone can tell me abt the highest charging lifetime of it?
Pros: Good Appearance, Better picture quality compared to other brands with 3mp
Cons: Screen easily scratched and camera shoot button small.
Summary: Acceptable Quality with Professional Look
The Sony Ericsson K810i uses are much higher quality camera sensor that captures images in much better quality. The phone itself responses quickly, seldom lags and it works perfectly with high capacity M2 cards like 4GB cards. However, the video recording format and size is same as K750i which is not very good. Music playback is not too bad, just small difference compared to most Walkman phones. If you prefer more of taking photos than listening to music, this is the right phone for you.
Pros: excellent camera for a phone,intuitive and fast responding interface,solid build quality,classic looks
Cons: a little too bulky for my liking,about average speaker sound quality
Summary: excellent value for money
Well here goes...I bought this phone a few months ago. I finally homed on to this model after months of research. For me the main competitors for this model (which i considered during my research also) at present would be the Nokia N73,the Nokia MusicXpress 5610,and i guess the Nokia 3600. First about the bad stuff... >For me, i consider the bulky build factor a bit too uncomfortable for my liking (although i guess the fact that i used a Motorola Slvr before this could have something to do with this opinion of mine...). It hardly fits into any of my pockets; though now i've switched to a leather case with a belt strapper which more or less takes care of things. >The sound quality:Yeah this is something to be noted...i guess i was pretty disappointed by the output of the built in speakers on the k810i The clarity is fine, but the max volume could be a couple of notches higher. But u know....if you're confident about things, you can go for a bit of flashing and...hola...you can have sound output equal to , if not better than it's Walkman cousins (i'm not for it though...atleast not at this stage... :P...too much of a risk for my cute new phone) >I hate having to use the provided SE headphones :/ wanted to use my iPod headphones with it...but you need to buy an adapter to be able to use normal 3.5mm headphones... >Many complain that they have problems with the circular keys on the keypad. For me though, it's just a matter of adjustment...i've got used to it now, and have absolutely no issues with it. On the contrary, the well spaced keys are advantageous in the sense that there is lesser probability of you mistyping a letter that occurs with closely spaced keys. >And well...maybe I shouldn't say this...but maybe,just maybe...this screen could hav been a wee bit bigger...? :P I mean, on this front, i'm a bit envious of the N73 users...but hey, i guess a person can't have everything... >Dunno abt others, but i did have a few minor issues with replacing the SIM card....it's not as easy as on other phones...but maybe regular SE users won't notice this... >Maybe i'm getting a bit too specific now...but i think the play/pause button could've been less recessed, and the camera button cud've been a little bigger...the problem on this front magnifies manifold esp when u use a crystal cover... (i installed 1 today)...then it becomes impossible to press these buttons if u don't have really big nails... >I think this should be mentioned....for those who don't have 3G yet in their area (like me :( ), the K810i doesn't support EDGE, so tough luck...have to contend with GPRS... Enough of the bad things, let's get to the good stuff... :) >THE CAMERA: That's what this phone is all about, isn't it? Yes, the 3.15 megapixel camera on this little bugger is the phone's true USP. And thankfully, it does live up to the Cybershot tag. I've done many comparisons with the N73(the only other notable phone in this category with a comparable camera), and i'm happy to say, the K810i edges out the N73, if only marginally. I mean, under normal lighting, both phones put up a good fight, and are almost neck on neck. But when it comes to dark conditions....well...the K810i is unmatched. Thanks to the Xenon flash, it produces superb pictures even in pitch darkness, easily beating the feeble LED flash on the competing models (including N73). There are a lot of camera settings to play around with, and are much the same as on the Sony Cybershot DSC's.The lens cover protecting the lens is excellently placed and is very compact. It slides horizontally, so there is very little possibility of opening up the camera by mistake. This is a big improvement over its predecessors, the K790i and the K800i, both of which had big protruding lens covers. Also, the dedicated camera keys are a big help. In the Cybershot mode, the two keys on top of the screen and the keys 1,4,7.* all double up as camera keys to adjust stuff like flash,macro,scene mode,etc.The BestPic mode works well and is very handy. You can also directly print pictures from a printer by connecting it through USB w/o the need of a connecting computer. >The interface: The user interface is very intuitive, and responds very fast (unlike the symbian OS on n73, which is snailpace). It also looks pretty good and pleasing to the eye. >Build quality and ergonomics:-Build quality is top notch. It feels very solid when held in the fist, and contrary to its looks, is not very heavy. The buttons on the keypad give good tactile feedback, and are good to use. Good key spacing reduces mistypes a lot. The camera button works like the one on the Cybershot DSC's- it has two levels...on pressing down one level,it locks the focus and on pressing it down further, takes the shot,firing the flash if necessary. The joystick, though it works fine, could be a little less recessed. >Battery life:Considering that this is a 3G phone, battery life is pretty good. I usually go about 2 days with a single chharge, incorporating about 15 mins of net usage, abt 1 hr talk, and abt 15-20 mins of music. >It's stylish ! Yeah it sure ain't Motorazr slim...but it does have a very cool and contemporary look to it...the rounded metallic buttons on the keypad add to its style statement... I'll end here...in one line i'll say...The SE K810i lives up to its Cybershot reputation, it's a fresh look to the old K800 and K790i phones...get it if you want a decent camera phone and good build....but it's not for those folks with loads of software reqmts...they wud be better of with a symbian set like the N73... So guys...this all in all sums up my views of the Sony Ericsson K810i Cybershot phone...hope this review helps you in making the right choice :)
Pros: the message feature detail is not completed
Cons: i lost some of frequently used in k810i
Summary: excelent
i used to use siemens mobile for long time, and get usual with all the features in it. Now i have se k810i and i lost some of fetures i frequently used in siemens. i usualy let my phone to auto turn off at midnight now i cant. add a number from contats during write sms, now i cant. use a world clock (for many regions), convertions unit, and pick an international call code prefics list, now i cant! why se k810i missed that important items on this hight end model? But the displays, foto/video, and sound are OK.
Pros: Camera and screen is excellent, other function like trimming movie and face warp are also good i guess one of the best mobile i have
Cons: Key pads are small, Keys quality is average
Summary: Excellent Mobile
Over All Excellent Mobile
Pros: good screen
Cons: Key pad and picture quality
Summary: Photo picture quality not that good
Keypad is too small and also get jammed easily. Cant remove the covers to do simple maintanence. This also results that the keypad have no response once pressed. Photos quality not as good as expected. It look nice on the phone screen but looks blur when download onto the computer. Try a few times still the same. Have done the same thing to N73 and it result is better than K810i.
Pros: great camera
Cons: finger prints on the surface
Summary: great cam, lots of features compared to nokia of the same specs
10/10 rating
Pros: sleek design with an excellent 3.2 mega pixel camera
Cons: not much difference from the K800i
Summary: Great phone
Good phone that is dependable specially if your in taking quick snap shots. highly recomended.
Pros: 3.2mp camera with autofocus and xenon flash
Cons: keypad, easily attracts fingerprints
Summary: good camera phone
What the review says is true: if you already have the K800i, it's not worth upgrading to this phone. My mom owns the K800i and my sister has the K810i. But if you don't and you're looking for a good camera phone, this is definitely worth looking at. Other than the keypad, I feel that it's everything that the K800i is, although the photos look a bit nicer on this one.
Pros: the buttons are good to touch, user-friendly functions, nice design, has memory stick, the volume is loud enough
Cons: the camera isn't very good when it is used to take pictures of people.
Summary: its a very good phone! worth the value!
the camera is very sharp and clear (3.2 megapix). but when its used to take photos of people, it captures all the flaws of that person (for example, it highlights dark spots and pimples on the face). the flash is too bright. when its used to take portraits of people, the face may look very bright and oily. hence i feel that the camera captures all flaws of the human face and it doesn't help to make one look more beautiful in a photo.. however the functions are overall very good =)
Join the conversation
Sign In with Facebook or create an account to post a review.
