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Pros Vs Cons

The grand successor to the K800i, Sony Ericsson’s K850i arrived in the market place and has received many plaudits since. Its five megapixel camera puts the K850i into direct competition with the Nokia N95 and it is fair to say they are very evenly matched. In terms of looks the K850i stays faithful to the same bar form as the K810 and K800i. However the edges of the handset are slightly softer and more curved than its predecessors. But the basic form is really the only relation the K850i has to its older relatives. For starters the K850i has a new directional pad layout that dispenses with the much maligned joystick. The pad is an improvement and makes navigation through the various menus a much less frustrating experience.

The large 2.2” TFT display eats up most of the space on the front panel of the K850i so it is to be expected that the keypad looks a little bit cramped. Some odd design decisions also undo the good work of the directional pad. For instance the confirmation key is located above the d-pad which can get a bit tricky to handle. The three soft keys work well but, like the rest of the keys, suffer by being crammed beneath the large display. Fortunately the soft keys make up for this but being incredibly responsive. They offer a novel way of navigating around the menus and if you are used to Sony Ericsson handsets they will feel like a refreshing change.

The five megapixel camera is obviously the headline grabbing feature on the K850i. The usual cyber shot imaging software is included which gives you access to useful functions such as white balance and the image stabilizer. The ‘Best-Pic’ feature on the K800i was exceptionally well implemented and it makes a welcome return on the Sony Ericsson K850i. The user interface software has also had a bit of a shake up with new pop up menus that have been liberally sprinkled with icons and even embedded colour photos so the overall experience of using the camera has been improved. A xenon flash is also included so even difficult lighting conditions should not be an issue.

The MP3 player on the K850i is much improved from the version that was on its predecessor. TrackID music recognition software has been included (similar to the walkman phones) and the universally praised disc2phone software makes another appearance. It may not be as good as iTunes but the software included with the Sony Ericsson K850i certainly has the edge over some PC to phone packages. HSDPA compatibility enables over the air downloads. Although the K850i only has 40MB of internal memory a M2 memory card slot is available for further expansion.

All in all the Sony Ericsson K850i is a well appointed handset that looks good and has a great roster of features. The K800i was a huge hit for Sony Ericsson and the K850i looks set to follow suit. The K850i is the first true rival to the N95's crown as the best mobile on the market. If you pick the K850i, you won't look back.

Sony Ericsson K850I Reviews

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K850i

Review by: cadle from Oxon, 18th December 2007

Worst phone I Have ever had, wish I hadn't upgraded and kept my K800i. Camera quality is shocking - automatic flash that works at the wrong times. Phone turns itself off - wish I had waited and got a N95

cadle from Oxon gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Not Recommended

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K850i review

Review by: emily from andover, 8th January 2008

I think the K850i is a great little phone. Camera is great and even the camcorder mode is good - for a phone!

The new touch sensitive buttons take a bit of getting used to and the keys are quite small, but overall the K850i is a good upgrade.

emily from andover gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Recommended

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miss

Review by: arriane from birmingham, 28th March 2008

it ok phone but have to charge it every day the camera keeps going off and i have only had it 1 month

arriane from birmingham gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Not Recommended

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sony k850i

Review by: lildev666 from Plymouth, 28th March 2008

I received my phone today after dropping my other phone down the loo i didint have no insurance!! After usung the n95 i am finding this phone a little awkwrd with the touch sensitive buttons, the number pad is small. Its full of fancy gadgets, the camera seems good. I wasnt impressed with the ear phones supplied as I cant fit them in my ears they are not the bud type you get with the older version od sony ericsson phones, but the normal round ear phones. For a phone so expensive I would have thought they would have made the effort and put decent ear phones in. So far im not impressed...

lildev666 from Plymouth gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Not Recommended

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mr rod

Review by: rroodd from wales, 10th June 2008

good allround phone with good added extras

rroodd from wales gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Recommended

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Sony Ericsson K850i

Review by: Teeneex from Glasgow, 10th June 2008

This is the best picture phone i've had yet it is easily damaged and keeps turning itself off. It deletes my phone numbers every now and again and i have to back them up on the sim so i have my regular numbers. And NOW the memory card isnt reading on the phone so i can save things on the memory i just cant view, use or delete them. Not the best phone in the world but it is a really good camera phone if your the type of person that likes to take pictures alot.

Teeneex from Glasgow gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Not Recommended

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Poor Battery Life

Review by: Charvette from Kent, 10th June 2008

I have had this phone now for nearly 10 months. Over this period the battery life has got shorter and shorter. To be quite blunt, its rubbish. I have never had a phone that I have to charge at least once a day. I wouldnt mind, but I hardly use the thing. It just chews up the battery for no reason. Obviously a poor design. If you are thinking of getting this phone, think twice, there are much better phones out there. In fairness I cant knock the phone features... the camera is as great as it first appears... pictures are grainy and certainly not the quality of a 5Meg camera... more like a 2/3. Anyway... role another 14 months when I can upgrade again!

Charvette from Kent gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Not Recommended

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K850i

Review by: Ginag80 from Essex, 10th June 2008

I think this is the worst phone I could have layed my hands on, upgraded 5 months ago and since then I have had to turn my phone off every day, remove the battery and sim card just to see if I can stop this phone from continuesley freezing, swithing its self off whilst mid conversation, and NO signal.
Wished I hadnt bothered to upgarde!

Ginag80 from Essex gave the Sony Ericsson K850I a Not Recommended

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