The name's Sony....Sony Ericsson. (Sony Ericsson K800i James Bond Special Edition with Contract)

Member Name: GuruOnAMountain

Product:	Sony Ericsson K800i James Bond Special Edition with Contract
Date:	09/01/07 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All singing, all dancing.

Disadvantages: Bulky and expensive if bought.

Being on the hunt for a new phone I was drawn to the k800i mainly because of its capacities as a camera phone, but I didn't really like the black edition that was available on pay as you go. I didn't particularly want a contract phone, either, but I did think the limited edition silver version looked a lot nice than the black, and to be perfectly honest, after seeing Casino Royale and loving it, the fact that the phone appeared in the film and also contained James Bond content tempted me.

I eventually signed up on a contract with O2, opting for the 12 month leisure plan contract that offered 500 free texts and 1000 free minutes (only available for use between 7pm and 7am weekdays and all weekend) and 1 MB of internet use per month for £25. This particular phone was only available on O2 and is, as far as I know, available until the end of January and comes with a pack of Casino Royale playing cards and three free Bond DVDs (Goldfinger, The Man With the Golden Gun and Goldeneye).

The phone's main selling point is most definately the camera. I had hoped that I'd be able to ditch my digital camera once I had this phone as it even is equipped with a proper flash. Certainly, as far as camera phones go, this one is fairly impressive with an array of features to choose from including Best Pic mode where pictures are taken before and after you click and you can choose to save as many as you wish. It is fairly easy to use and after fiddling about with it a handful of times you should be familiar with the function and it is ready to use fairly quickly. Both the camera and the video functions are good, but by no means excellent and I don't know if I'd be able to get rid of my digital camera quite yet, although its more than adequate for catching those day to day snaps.

Its a fairly sizeable phone and probably not something that most people could carry around in their pockets without looking like they have a hernia, but despite its size, the screen takes up most of the room and the buttons are squashed down the bottom and it makes it quite awkward to text with, even though I have tiny hands.

It is easy to navigate around the menus, though, and most of its functions are fairly standard for phones these days such as bluetooth, a radio function, some basic games, a calendar/organiser function and an internet capability. You can, however, use it as a Walkman phone as it is able to store MP3 files, but with a fairly limited internal memory you wont be able to store many. However, you can buy a memory card for it which will set you back about another £30 for a 1GB card.

As it is a 3G phone it also has video calling capabilities, but I suppose this is a function that most people probably wouldn't use.

If you are buying this phone specifically for the James Bond content, don't bother. Although it does come with a few themes, a James Bond theme ringtone, some casino themed message alerts and a Casino Royale trailer, you can download most of these off the official Casino Royale website.

A nice touch is the camera lens cover. My previous camera phone didn't have this and the lens was always getting covered in fluff and dirt, but the screen on this K800i is not set into the phone even slightly, so will be easily scratched.

Sony Ericsson does seem to be on the rise these days and seems to be even overshadowing the giant Nokia. My lsat phone was a Nokia and I didn't think I could ever be converted, but I was pleasantly surprised by this phone's ease of use and functionality. However, I would have been extremely disappointed if I had bought the phone on pay as you go for around £250 as I don't think it is a huge improvement on the 3 year old Nokia 7250i I previously owned, or at least not enough of an improvement to justify the price tag. It certainly is all singing and all dancing, but I think it is so costly because it is 3G and I probably wont utilise the 3G functions much.

Summary: New 3G phone from Sony Ericsson.