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I have been an owner of the Sony Ericson K800i for around 6 months now so I thought I'd write a review for anyone considering one. The first thing to point out is that I have been, for many years, a dedicated Nokia user. I found the switch the Sony Ericson somewhat difficult until I learnt their way of working. In particular, the text function is different with the space character in a different place, futhermore the predictive text works somewhat differently but is deffinantly better when you get used to it.
Apart from it's good looks, the main selling point of the phone has got to be it's 3.2MP camera with real flash. I have used this camera for many purposes, including nights out, copying documents, taking pictures of things - including close up and I have to say that the quality is better than the first digital camera I owned many years ago. There are, however a few cavets... The first of which is the flash, it works really well for close up shots and can even be overly strong but in low light situations, taking pictures of anything over 1M away is impossible. The next negative is the time taken for the camera to auto focus, it can be quite frustrating to get a good focused image. The final one is that the red eye reduction isn't very good.
Build quality is very good, the screen is tough and over the time that I have used mine, it has sustained little damage to the screen. The casing doesn't scratch at all that I've noticed. The one weak point is the camera slider. The slider covers the lens but the paint has began to flake away, also the slide comes open causing the camera interface to load and take pictures while the phone is still in your pocket. This wastes battery life but hasn't been a major issue for me.
The battery life is very good and even after 6months will still go several days without a charge depending on use. The built in speaker is OK but I have heard louder ones. I have yet to try 3G on the phone but the interface looks clean and easy to use if you make 3G calls.
The bluetooth on the phone works really well and has a decent range. If you have a Mac then you will need an inexpensive add on to be able to use iSync. The phone can also be used as a remote control for your computer which is very cool. The phone is missing the ability to send text notes over bluetooth (Symbian 60 on Nokia can do this).
Wap/web browsing is very good with many sites including google, ebay and facebook usable to some extent. The joystick is very good for navigating the phone but isn't as 'definative' as the up/down/left/right keys on Nokia's so mistakes can easily be made when trying to select menu functions. The joystick is clever in that if you hold it in a direction for some time it moves faster through the options making scrolling easier.
I do not know about unlocking this phone, but obviously you should be aware if the phone is unlocked and ready to use with your chosen SIM. Java apps work well on this phone but internet based ones such as MSN may require some setting modifications.
Apart from it's good looks, the main selling point of the phone has got to be it's 3.2MP camera with real flash. I have used this camera for many purposes, including nights out, copying documents, taking pictures of things - including close up and I have to say that the quality is better than the first digital camera I owned many years ago. There are, however a few cavets... The first of which is the flash, it works really well for close up shots and can even be overly strong but in low light situations, taking pictures of anything over 1M away is impossible. The next negative is the time taken for the camera to auto focus, it can be quite frustrating to get a good focused image. The final one is that the red eye reduction isn't very good.
Build quality is very good, the screen is tough and over the time that I have used mine, it has sustained little damage to the screen. The casing doesn't scratch at all that I've noticed. The one weak point is the camera slider. The slider covers the lens but the paint has began to flake away, also the slide comes open causing the camera interface to load and take pictures while the phone is still in your pocket. This wastes battery life but hasn't been a major issue for me.
The battery life is very good and even after 6months will still go several days without a charge depending on use. The built in speaker is OK but I have heard louder ones. I have yet to try 3G on the phone but the interface looks clean and easy to use if you make 3G calls.
The bluetooth on the phone works really well and has a decent range. If you have a Mac then you will need an inexpensive add on to be able to use iSync. The phone can also be used as a remote control for your computer which is very cool. The phone is missing the ability to send text notes over bluetooth (Symbian 60 on Nokia can do this).
Wap/web browsing is very good with many sites including google, ebay and facebook usable to some extent. The joystick is very good for navigating the phone but isn't as 'definative' as the up/down/left/right keys on Nokia's so mistakes can easily be made when trying to select menu functions. The joystick is clever in that if you hold it in a direction for some time it moves faster through the options making scrolling easier.
I do not know about unlocking this phone, but obviously you should be aware if the phone is unlocked and ready to use with your chosen SIM. Java apps work well on this phone but internet based ones such as MSN may require some setting modifications.
Guide created: 25/03/07 (updated 22/06/08)
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