Sony Ericsson K800i review

Features
Now for the camera -- the 3.2 megapixels are the headline but they are by no means all that make this camera special. The flash, for example, is a proper one like that found in 'real' cameras and low light and indoor photographs are of a higher quality than you'd usually get from a phone camera.

There is a massive 16x digital zoom, but you should be wary of digital zooms -- the closer you get to the action, the more fuzzy and blurred images become. A more useful feature is the autofocus, which makes shots appear much sharper.

Another handy setting is BestPic. This lets you take nine photos in quick succession when you press the shutter button. You can then browse the lot and choose the one you want to keep, which could be handy for situations like group shots where the subject is quite fluid.

Then there is the easy-to-use photo blog -- you just choose to 'blog this' when you've taken a shot you like. The first time you do this you are automatically set up with a Web site and your own login, which you receive as an SMS. Send this to others and they can access your blog, as can you thanks to the built in Web browser.

Camera aside there is an organiser section, complete with calendar, tasks manager, notes taker, alarms and a calculator, and you get the PC Suite software for managing synchronising information, like your diary with a PC.

Entertainment is very important for this handset. To that end there is an FM radio, and if you don't like the provided ringtones you can create your own using MusicDJ. You also get three games: Mini Golf Castles, which switches the screen format into landscape and has a Bluetooth multiplayer option; Foto Quest Fishing, which sees you trying to snap at underwater life; and a tennis game which shows off the fast processor and 3G graphics capability of the handset particularly well.

Of course, the K800i boasts music playback of good quality. But sadly you have to use the provided earbud headphones, which share a proprietary connector to the handset with the mains power adaptor and PC connection cable.

Performance
We had no problems with voice and video calls. We could hear and see the caller and they could hear and see us, and the speakerphone was loud enough for most calls.

Music playback was good in the volume department and pretty good in the quality department too -- certainly good enough for everyday commuting.

Camera image quality was impressive. There is no substitute for solid autofocus. In bright sunlight colours were rather washed out, but indoor pictures were surprisingly sharp even without using the flash.

Battery life was good enough to get us through several days at a time on standby, though if you are a heavy video caller, user of the camera flash, Bluetooth user or music fan you may find more regular charging is required.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Kate Macefield