Oh K 530, I have it! (Sony Ericsson K530i)

Name: TheChocolateLady

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Sony Ericsson K530i
Date:	26.04.08 (396 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All around good phone with lots of features

Disadvantages: Battery life isn't great

My son has this Sony Ericsson phone and I thought he could help me write this review for him. Let's get the important stuff out of the way first - how this phone works as a phone.

Firstly, the calling sound quality of this phone is excellent. Even when reception isn't great, I can always hear him and he seems to be able to hear me. Making calls is also easy. There are speed-dial options, as well as a fast access to the last people called right on the main menu. There's also a fast entry with the joystick's toggle ring that you can program for your most used sections, like to the phone book, date book or whatever you want. The phone book is easy to use and you can put several numbers onto each contact as well as lots of other things like their email address, birthday, and even program a special ring for them. My son finds this very easy to use and helpful to him for keeping track of all his friends and family.

The last essential thing about this phone is its battery life. My son says the battery life depends a good deal on how much you use the other features like the camera, MP4 player or games. That he likes to recharge it almost every day isn't what is recommended but he only has it into the electricity for about 30 minutes and its full. Mind you, he says it takes about 2.5 hours to go from empty to full. I'm thinking that he would empty it in about 3-4 days if he didn't top it off so often under regular use, and 2-3 days if he uses the extra features a lot. Neither he nor I think that this is particularly good.

This phone is a plain candy-bar model that is very slim. The keys are metal and so far (since December) they're not at all worn down (and he uses it a whole lot). They aren't terribly sensitive so you won't suddenly find they've dialled some random number after its been in your pocket, but not too difficult to push when you make calls or are typing text messages. There are buttons on the side for things like adjusting the volume, access to the camera and its zoom and getting the phone's status (battery strength, phone book entries, memory on the card, etc.). What is really nice about this is that the screen seems pretty large and is very clear, but like many phones today, gets smudged easily. One thing that's really good is that even in bright sunlight you can still see what's on the screen (which is the problem I have with my Nokia), although you might need to adjust the contrast to do so (but with my test without any adjustments, I could see everything beautifully). All told, this is a very attractive phone and looks quite sleek.

Navigating the menus couldn't be easier and the icons are truly beautiful and easy to understand, with the text above being large enough to see clearly as well. Its also pretty cool how the icons get chubby when you switch between them, making it very easy to see what option you're on even if you don't look at the text at the top.

As do many phones these days, this one has a camera, MP3/MP4 player and games. It also can connect to the Internet and has Bluetooth and a USB cable. While I can do without these features, my son uses the MP3/MP4 player all the time and has had some occasions to use the camera. I personally think the sound on the MP player is slightly on the tinny side and needs more bass, even when he adjusts it with the equalizer. As for the camera, he took some lovely pictures of Jerusalem in the snow that are pretty clear looking, even when they were downloaded onto the computer. Apparently, there's a motion adjuster on this camera that keeps the lens steady even if you hand isn't, which certainly contributes to the clarity of any pictures you take with it.

In general, this is a very nice phone with enough bells and whistles for those who are looking for that kind of thing, but also works very well just as a phone and looks pretty to boot. My son is really happy with it and if he's happy, then I'm happy! My son gives it a full five stars and highly recommends it.

Thanks for reading!

Davida Chazan © April 2008

PS: About the memory card here - this phone doesn't come with a memory card (at least the one he got didn't), but it does have a slot for one and you can buy these to extend the memory of this phone (check the URL below or click on the technical details above for information about the memory on this machine). My son says that you use it to save downloaded games, pictures, MP3 songs, MP4 movies and that sort of thing. But what do I know, I think a phone should be used as a phone.

~~~~~
Technical Stuff:

You can get all the specifications and information about this phone from http://tinyurl.com/67gjgg which is also the portal for entering the Internet for things like downloading everything your heart's desire (games, wallpapers, ring tones, etc.). From this site, you can virtually check this phone before you buy it - which is pretty cool!

I found this phone available free from Mobile Express with all sorts of deals at http://tinyurl.com/65mdzg so buy now, while the supplies last!
~~~~~

Summary: This Sony Ericsson phone is just wonderful - or so my son says!

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Sound quality:
Variety of features: