saurav

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excellent value for money

Jan 17, 2009

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
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
Opinion:
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 :)