A great little phoney from Sony! (Sony Ericsson K800i)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Sony Ericsson K800i
Date:	14/01/08 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fully features, easy to use, small and light

Disadvantages: Can be difficult to see screen in bright conditions, keys a little cramped

My last two phones have been Sony Ericsson and very reliable they have proved to be. So, when my last phone died, I didn't look very far for a replacement - simply upgrading from the K700i to the K800i. A few minor niggles aside, it's a decision I've never regretted.

Size
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Forget what some people say, size IS important. The days when you wanted to be lugging a house brick round with you are long gone. Yet, at the same time, the increased multi-functionality of phones means they have to be big enough for you to use them comfortably. The K800i just about gets it right in this department. It measures 105mm high, by 46 mm wide and 22 mm deep, weighing just 115g. It will sit comfortably in a shirt pocket, without looking bulky or making your pocket sag. The 2 inch TFT colour screen gives a reasonably large, crystal clear display most of the time, although it can get a bit difficult to view in bright sunlight.

Usability
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Using the phone is pretty easy to pick up and use. A small joystick in the centre of the phone used to move around and select options, and on screen help always makes it clear which key selects a particular option. One of my criticisms of the K700i was that the joystick was occasionally a little over sensitive, and the slightest touch could send it whizzing past the option you wanted to select. This seems to have been fixed with the K800i, which is far more responsive and easy to control. One problem that remains, though, is that the joystick is the only means of moving around and I have heard of instances where the joystick has snapped off, rendering the menus unusable. I've never experienced this myself, but it does raise a few concerns about the phone's durability.

In order to accommodate the large screen, compromises have been made on the keypad, which is a little on the small side. As such, the keys feel a little cramped and it can sometimes be easy to hit the wrong one - particularly when trying to type quickly. Certainly people with larger fingers may find it a little uncomfortable and a little awkward to use.

This is particularly a problem with the key to connect to the internet, which sits next to the "Go back" button. I've lost count of the number of times that I've inadvertently hit the internet key instead, and looked at my phone a later to see my credit draining slowly away, because I'm viewing a web page. I'm now in the habit of locking the keypad and making sure I'm not connected to the internet before I put the phone away!

Calling
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As you would expect with a modern phone, call quality and reception is excellent. The address book and a list of recent calls are easily accessible from the main screen, making quick calls straightforward and it's easy to see who's calling you thanks to the clear display. Sound quality is superb - even when switched to speaker phone, it doesn't seem to suffer from the same level of distortion that you get on some phones.

Camera
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The camera is probably the area where I noticed the single biggest improvement over the K700i. Whereas that phone only had a VGA camera, the K800i has a 3.2 mega pixel Sony Cybershot camera built it. The difference is incredible - you're basically looking at a phone which takes pictures on a level with many full sized digital cameras of a just a couple of years ago. The autofocus mode really helps you to get good shots and it's very easy to snap some great pictures. Thanks to the large screen, it's also easy to take (and view) reasonably high quality videos. OK, you're not going to be making the next Hollywood blockbuster on this phone, but the camera option is good enough to save you having to lug a standard digital camera around with you all the time.

The downside is the shutter on the back which protects the lens. It's far too easy to accidentally catch this and open it, starting the camera automatically and even taking a few unwanted snaps of the inside of your pocket! A better catch mechanism would have removed this minor irritation.

Memory
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The K800i comes equipped with 64Mb of memory, which is generous enough for many needs. However, this is expandable via a standard memory card, so if you need more, it's available. This also makes transferring information to your PC easier, as you can simply remove the card from the phone and put it into a standard card reader.

FM Radio
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The built in FM radio is another great idea, as it saves the need to carry around a separate MP3 player if you just want to listen to music. The downside is that you need to use the earpiece provided (this acts as the aerial), so you need to remember to carry it with you. The radio is limited in what stations it can receive, but the autoscan feature seems to have improved over the K700i (it previously failed to find a single station, but picked them up on a manual scan. Now, it does at least pick some up on autoscan.) When you do find a station, reception is generally good.

Battery Life
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Battery life on the phone is excellent. Most of the time, I only use it for the basics of making/receiving calls and sending texts and I'm a fairly light user of even these limited features. As such, I find I only need to charge the phone once a week or less. Heavier users will obviously need to charge it more regularly, but even so, Sony estimates a fairly reasonable battery life of 350 hours standby and 7 hours talk time.

Robustness
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I'm pretty good at dropping, bashing, or otherwise trying to destroy my phones, so am well-placed to test the robustness of the K800i. I've had this particular one for a few months now, and inevitably, it's taken a few tumbles. Despite this, it is remarkably free of scratches and any other damage. With the old K700i, each time I dropped it, another scratch or scuff mark appeared. I'm not saying this won't happen with this one eventually - the knocks are bound to take their toll - but it does seem tougher than its little brother, which is a welcome development.

Overall, the K800i is an excellent phone which I would recommend to anyone. It's fully featured (this overview doesn't even scratch the surface of what it can do), easy to use, tough and durable. A few minor niggles aside (some of which have apparently been addressed in the upgraded K810i), it's an excellent phone offering really good value for money. Amazon are currently offering it for £187, but I picked mine up on Pay As You Go for £80 a few months ago, so if you shop around, you can grab a great phone at a great price.

Technical Stuff
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256k Colour 2 inch TFT screen (240x320 pixels)
3.2 Mega pixel camera for stills and video
Bluetooth, WAP, 3G and GSM enabled
FM radio
Expandable memory
Calendar, notes, stopwatch, timer and alarm features
Sound recorder & Music Player
Voice activated features

© Copyright SWSt 2008

Summary: Never regretted owning one.

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