Sony Ericsson K810i review

Sony Ericsson K810i Review

Reviewed by: Andrew Lim

Reviewed on: 20 April 2007

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

There is one small hardware feature change, but again it's not the improvement we expected. When you activate the camera, the 1, 4, 7 and asterisk keys turn into camera hard keys and give you direct access to some of the camera settings. These are marked out by small blue backlit icons. You can adjust picture quality, macro mode on/off, timer and flash.

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 adaptor. 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 auto-focus. Or you could simply wait to see what's next from Sony Ericsson, since there'll definitely be more camera phones to come.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Nick Hide