The unfavoured successor with the Sony Ericsson K600i (Sony Ericsson K600i)

Member Name: tomshanks

Product:	Sony Ericsson K600i
Date:	16/05/07 (517 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 3G technology, good menu system, very complete sales package, small for a 3G phone

Disadvantages: Camera inferior to the K750i, no memory card slot, keypad too recessed, larger than the K750i

The phenomenal success of the K750i upon its release in the early summer of 2005 somewhat overshadowed the appearance of another potential winner from the Japanese-Swedish conglomerate. Known variously as the K600i (principally on Orange), the V600i (on Vodafone) and the K608i, Sony Ericsson's new third-generation offering was very similar to the K750i in many respects.

Both the K600i and K750i have exactly the same screen (176x220 pixels, 262,000 colours), both have infra-red and Bluetooth version two and both have FM radios and basic MP3 players. They even share the same type of battery. Here, the similarities end, however.

The K600i is taller than the K750i, although it is ever so slightly thinner, and it looks entirely different. The number keys are separated, unlike on the second generation model, and they are recessed, which is similar to a flip phone. The joystick is also very different, and actually seems easier to use than the one on the K750i. I am not quite sure why this is, but this is how it seemed to me, using the K600i and K750i concurrently. There is also a different port on the bottom of the phone. The K600i uses the good old fashioned Ericsson connector, which was found on every Ericsson and Sony Ericsson model from the old T28 (or possibly even earliee) until the K750i came out. This means that things like car chargers and handsfree kits from models before this will work, but the principal reason why there was a change seems to be that there were innumerable cases of the old type of charger failing even within the warranty period. Needless to say, all types of Sony Ericsson phone now use this charger.

The K600i also came with a data cable in the box, but this is actually incompatible with every other Sony Ericsson model being a mini USB type (unless of course one happens to own a K608i or V600i as well), and it cannot be used for software updates, unlike the K750i type. (There is a way of performing software updates on a K600i by using an older type of data cable, such as the official desk stand which was released for the K700i, but I will not go there). The phone also has no memory card slot, which was surprising for a phone with an initially much higher price tag than the K750i, which came with a 64MB Memory card in the box, and only a 1.3 Megapixel camera as opposed to the 2 Megapixel unit with autofocus on the K750i. So why would anyone actually get the K600i over the K750i when, in most important respects anyway, the third generation model seems to be inferior to the second generation one?

There are two possible reasons. The first is that 3G connectivity is needed in order for Internet on the move. Including a data cable, software and handsfree kit with the K600i, and also bestowing it with the rare ability to charge the phone, use the handsfree kit and plug the data cable in all at once would seem to mark this out as a business phone, and the 3G data speeds are much faster than what the K750i can manage. I can therefore see the K600i being designed for busy professionals who need every possible method of connectivity available, without missing out on essential features, such as a radio, fairly decent camera and a small capacity MP3 player. It is thus that the K600i begins to make more sense. Many more people, however, who would want to use the phone for pleasure, rather than business, would probably choose a K750i, due to the better camera, memory card slot and smaller size. This is probably the reason why the phone was designed by Sony Ericsson, and one may even see the K750i and K600i as dual replacements for the K700i. In many ways the K700i is actually closer to the K600i than the K750i. There is one much more convincing reason than this, however.

The Three network in Britain only supports third generation models. The K750i, as a second generation model, was not available on Three. However, Three needed a big seller on the scale of the K750i, and thus had their own version of the K600i customised for them by Sony Ericsson. The K608i had a much more unified design, being completely silver, rather than partly silver and partly black, and the keypad was much easier to use, not being so recessed. When the phone came out, it was one of the easiest models to sell that we had in the shop where I worked, and for good reason. Three had some very attractive contracts on the K608i, much more attractive at the time than the deals available on Vodafone, O2 and T-Mobile for the K750i and similar D750i. The two peculiar buttons on the side of the screen of the phone were also put to good use, being employed as a video calling button and one touch 'Planet Three' access button. Throughout my entire ownership of the K600i I cannot say that I used either of those buttons once: they simply used to get in the way when taking the phone in and out of the pocket. This is all well and good, but what was the K600i actually like to use as a phone?

Calling on the K600i (of the conventional kind anyway) is rather simple. This uses the same system as the K750i, K700i and any number of other Sony Ericsson models. Call quality is a little peculiar, due to the strange positioning of the loudspeaker on the left hand side of the top of the phone rather than in the middle, with the opposite side being used for the video calling camera. Thus, the volume can seem a little bit more reduced than is normal until on gets used to the positioning of the loudspeaker. The alternative, of course, is to use the speakerphone or included handsfree kit, although the handsfree does have a tendency to come out of the slot unintentionally. The phone also works well with a Bluetooth headset, as one would expect with a Sony Ericsson business phone. The ring volume from the speaker on the reverse of the phone is loud enough, whether an MP3 or MIDI ringtone is being used: a welcome surprise for such a phone. It is also possible to use either SIM or phone contacts as the default contacts, unlike many older Sony Ericsson models. I seem to remember that the phone can store up to 1000 numbers.

Text messaging, aside from the troubles with the recessed keypad, is just as fast and convenient as the K750i. Everything from toggling between predictive text and multitap mode, inserting symbols, changing to numeric mode and sending to more than one number can be handled with consummate ease. One of my old bugbears with older Sony Ericsson models and many other phones is the lack of a custom message alert tone, but this is not the case with the K600i, which gives the ability of adding whatever one likes to this function, such as an MP3, WAV, AMR or MIDI file. Multi-Media Messaging, once the phone is properly set up, is also just as simple.

Other multi-media functions are just as good. The MP3 player will handle playlists, although not quite as well as the Sony Ericsson Walkman range, and display track information such as artist name, album and song title. The player is limited, however, to as many songs as the 32MB of memory in the phone will hold, as there is no memory card slot. The radio works perfectly well, as long as the handsfree stays in, and the camera is by no means the worst I have ever seen. With a 1.3 Megapixel resolution, maybe one does not expect much these days, and it was certainly inferior to the camera on the Sharp 550SH which I had, which shares the same resolution as the K600i, but it was not that bad. The video function was a complete gimmick, as was the video calling, but then this is a similar problem on many Three phones.

Sharing the same battery as the K750i, which is well known for exceptionally good standby times, the K600i normally lasts 3-4 days between charges. The phone also seems to share its excellent signal quality and build quality, which is ensured by the very effective way of clamping the back cover down by having the clips holding it on the sides of the phone rather than at the bottom, as is usual practice. Mind you, the non-removable front cover did seem to come a little bit loose towards the end of my time, but this was not at all serious. The phone also never crashed or broke down, which was excellent, and even the infamous Sony Ericsson joysticks did not seem to have so many problems as those on the K750i.

Despite seeming like a superfluous entry to the range in some respects, especially when considered against the excellent K750i, the K600i has a character all of its own. It is easy to use, well-built and contains just about every connectivity option known to man. Truth be told, it is not as small as other Sony Ericsson models, has the old type of connector and no memory card slot, but, as seen with the phenomenal success of the K608i, the phone will do what the majority of people need and a lot more besides.

Summary: Living in the shadow of the industry standard K750i, the K600i nevertheless good in its own right

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