[Review] Sony Ericsson K810i

[SMH]

Sony Ericsson K810i

Orange UK

Main features (For full spec click here)

• 3.2 Megapixel 'Auto Focus' Cybershot Camera, autofocus, video(QCIF), xenon flash
  
• Secondary videocall camera
  
• 3G, 384 kbps
  
• Bluetooth: v2.0 with A2DP
  
• USB v2.0
  
• Picture editor
  
• Picture blogging
  
• 64mb Internal Memory
  
• Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2)
  
• Dimensions: 106 x 48 x 17 mm
  
• Weight: 115 g
  

Upgrading from the W810i my first thoughts were the K810i is a little big and bulky, however I've owned a number of bulky phones in the past including the W900i so it's just a case of getting used to change. The dimensions are somewhat of an improvement on the K800i with the phone being 5mm thinner although somehow they've managed to add 1mm in width and height.

The phone has a mirror-like finish which looks very good indeed but can be prone to fingerprint marks (but nothing compared to an iPod). The keypad is rather unusual especially for Sony Ericsson with new rounded metallic keys, these are extremely comfortable and easy to press (great for texting). I'm not a fan of joysticks on mobiles and it's the same with the K810i, it feels rather awkward to press and just feels like it's just a matter of time before it breaks. However I've heard little about joystick problems with the K800i I just hope it's the same for this model. The buttons around the joystick are pretty much standard now on Sony Ericsson models with the two select buttons (top left, right) and the back button (bottom left) and 'C' button (bottom right) which is found of virtually every mobile these days. The button on the far right connects you straight to your mobile net homepage and the opposite one on the right opens up the main menu, in my opinion this button could be put to better use. It's just another way to access the menu which can be done by the right select button or even pressing the centre of the joystick. The two buttons at the top of the phone are shortcuts to your camera photo's one left giving you a full screen view of each photo and the right giving a 3x3/5x5 thumbnail view.

Images from

SE-Community.

Located on the bottom of the phone is the 'Fast Port' found of all new Sony Ericsson's which the mains adaptor, headphones etc are connected. There is also a small eyelet for attaching a wrist strap (included in the box). On the right of the phone is the camera shutter along with the infrared port and volume keys. Located on the left side is the memory card slot (M2) and a short cut radio key. The on/off button is located at the top. On the reverse of the phone is the 3.2 MP camera which has a lens cover to stop dust and other dirt from your pocket and elsewhere from getting lodged in there. I was told the K800i lens cover was sensitive and opened too easily, thus far I've had no problems with the cover opening on it's own accord. Like the K800i the lens cover opens the cyber-shot application when the cover slides to take those quick snaps.

Images from

SE-Community

The screen display is very good with upto 262K colors, TFT display and a 240x320 pixel resolution. Nice and bright and easy to see both in the sunlight and the dark, this can be adjusted to increase standby time (it's personal preference but I always decrease it to 70-80%).

The user interface is a standard Sony Ericsson which is very user friendly, you can set up shortcuts for your most used features via a single joystick movement on the standby screen to save time. The phone book entries can get a little complicated in terms of how many contacts you can store, 1000 contacts (up to 5 numbers in each contact) can be stored, however the number of phone numbers which can be stored is limited to 2500. Nevertheless that's enough space I don't know of anyone who will come close to filling that.

You have four options text message, picture message, voice message and email in messaging. I cannot comment on anything other than text message as it's the only option I have used. Text messaging is pretty much the same as other Sony Ericssons with the T9 dictionary option with a choice of 7 languages and standard abc and numbers (long press #). There is a copy and paste option (no explanation needed surely) and an option to add a small picture or animation (if texting another Sony Ericsson phone). There is also a new feature which predicts your next word before you even start typing (eg. 'What time are you...'), this is a cool feature however I must concede I never use it (it can be turned off).

Images from

GSM Arena

The main feature on the phone is obviously the camera. There's a 3.2-mega pixel camera with auto-focus and a xenon flash which is far superior than any other phone I've come across. As for the camera software you can shoot videos as well as pictures, change the shoot mode including Best Pic??€ž? mode were you can shoot 9 pictures in quick succession and choose the best. There are a number of other software features including scenes, picture size, focus, flash, self timer, effects, white balance, metering mode and picture quality. All in all there is no real upgrade from the K800i apart from a feature called Photo Fix which automatically adjusts balance, brightness and contrast. Regardless this is still the best camera phone on the market to date.

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The music player isn't all that different from the Walkman players in the W### series. The player supports MP3, M4A, ACC, AMR, MIDI, IMY, EMY and WAV. You browse through your music via artist or track name or make a playlist.

I've only made a hand full of video calls so far but I'm happy with what I saw. You can switch between the front and back camera including zoom in and out, adjust the brightness or switch on night mode, edit the sound options, change the answer/audio options and video quality and also edit the layout of the call.

The alarm has also undergone a small upgrade. You can now set up to five different alarm times with the choice of a different sound for each alarm, recurrent option, choose a text or picture or even choose a silent alarm.

The main connectivity feature is obviously Bluetooth. It uses Bluetooth version 2.0 (more info) which in a nutshell enhances transfer speeds and add's a number of new features including HID Profile, SyncML OBEX binding, JSR-82 Java API and A2DP. There are also a number of other connectivity options including infrared, USB, sync, device management, mobile networks etc...

Everything else is pretty much standard for a Sony Ericsson with minor upgrades such as radio, games, video/music player, video/music/photo DJ, remote control (via Bluetooth), sound recorder, calender, task/note list, sync, timer, stopwatch and calculator.

[centImages from GSM Arena/i>

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In conclusion the phone is very good and is without a doubt the best camera phone and up with the best phones out to date. If you don't mind those few extra millimeters I would definitely recommend this phone especially to a texter like myself as the round buttons are easy to push and very comfortable. In comparison to the K800i there is no major difference apart from the design and a few minor software upgrades so if you do switch from the K800i don't expect any major changes. I'm told prices sim free are in the region of ?240 which is a lot of money however if your due an upgrade or are willing to take out a pay monthly contract most UK networks will offer the phone for free. Obviously like any phone there is room for improvement one of the main things I would suggest changing in future models is the joystick and may be knocking a few extra millimetres off the phone, although as I said this phone is 5mm thinner than it's predecessor so I can't fault Sony EricssoFinal verdict: 8.9 / 10

Thanks for reading.

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Edit 03/06/07 - Found that Play (UK) are selling the K810i on T-Mobile PAYG for ?189.99 which in my opinion is a very reasonable price for this phone even if you have to splash an extra tenner to unlock it. Click the smilie for a direct link .

Edited July 13, 2007 by SMH

[Johnston]

Compared to the k800i is there any difference,apart from the new photo feature,and the look of the phone?Everything you have listed the k800i already has. Great review tho :)

[rajputwarrior]

i don't like the look of the thing, the buttons really annoy me.

[Martyn]

Good review (Y)

The only difference between the K800i and the K810i is the aesthetics.

And hell is the K810i fit :D

[inStereo]

Good review man. I have one of these beauties, i can't see why people hate those buttons. They look as sweet as little silver apple pies planted on the phone, and there is no loss of functionality they are very easy to text/dial with. A lot of people have been commenting on the joystick saying that it is unresponsive at times although i have had my phone for a couple of weeks now and i have to say that everything is very smooth, no waiting or having to "really" press the buttons hard. Thanks for the review! i would say 9/10 though!

[Rappy Veteran]

Good Review mate (Y)

[sundayx Veteran]

Ugly phone.

[PT 13]

Sexyness :D

This will be my next phone (Y)

[TheElite]

Actually, it is NOT the best camera phone on the market to date. The Nokia N95 is 5MP.

EDIT: Maybe I misread, I thought you were talking about just the camera, and not the overall capability.

[inStereo]

Actually, it is NOT the best camera phone on the market to date. The Nokia N95 is 5MP.

EDIT: Maybe I misread, I thought you were talking about just the camera, and not the overall capability.

And just remember that more mega pixels doesn't actually make a better camera!

[+.Vamp Subscriber²]

I've just ordered myself one of these sexy lil pieces of technology from ebuyer, it does cost ?240 sim free, which is a lot of money! But I did a lot of overtime at work last month, earning myself an extra ?500 on top of my salar:D:D so i treated myself.

[Aperture]

I'll be purchasing this phone tomorrow, your review helped me cement this decision - cheers!

[addc182]

gj on the review

i was thinking of getting one

[Groovedude]

its a k800i in a new shell... i dont see no real big difference really :(

[sy64]

I just ordered me one of these bad boys, should be here on Saturday, can anyone in the know tell me what's in the box? is there a memory card in there or am i supposed to fork out for one of those as well?

I'm going from a K750i, can anyone give me a clue what to expect?

Roll on Saturday!!!!

[inStereo]

I just ordered me one of these bad boys, should be here on Saturday, can anyone in the know tell me what's in the box? is there a memory card in there or am i supposed to fork out for one of those as well?

I'm going from a K750i, can anyone give me a clue what to expect?

Roll on Saturday!!!!

Even though it didn't specifiy, when i purchased the phone i got a free M2 Memory Stick (128Mb) already insterted into the phone. There is the PC manager software, head phones, a USB cable and charger. and also a little thing to attach to the phone so you can swing it around your little finger.

and ofcourse all the manuals etc.

[akaladis Veteran]

overall, it's not much better than my current k800i :) the buttons look a little weird though...

[Martyn]

its a k800i in a new shell... i dont see no real big difference really :(

But it is sexeh!

[sy64]

Only a slight delay but I finally got mine today and and I'm loving it!! people are saying it's the same as the K800i but I've gone from a K750i so for me the difference is noticeable.

The OS seems a lot quicker and easier on the eye. I've not had a chance to go too in depth with it but I'm impressed. I had the option of a K800i or this and went for the K810i after having a bit of a play about in the shop on the demo phones. I like the 810s buttons a lot more than the 800s. The 800s are a bit like the 750s and for me they were a bit awkward and clumsy, it used to take me twice as long to txt people on the old keypad than it does on this new style.

I haven't installed the software yet as I've heard that it isn't compatible with vista so I'll pro0bably keep an eye out for the next release. Can anyone tell me if it's worth installing? the only thing that I used from the k750 software was usb drivers and file transfer for a few mp3s and even then I stopped using that when I got a new comp with a compatible card reader in it.

Conclusion: all I will say is that upgrading from a K750i is well worth it!!!

[Larney]

Ugly phone.

So true. It's ugly as anything.

I will happily be avoiding this phone like the plague!

[sy64]

So true. It's ugly as anything.

I will happily be avoiding this phone like the plague!

Fool!!! No doubt you are a Nokia fanboy anyway!!!! This phone is the ****!!!!

[Larney]

Fool!!! No doubt you are a Nokia fanboy anyway!!!! This phone is the ****!!!!

Stop jumping to conclusions?

Nokia are pathetic at making phones - I will never use/test one until they being out something decent. Currently I have a k800i and it looks 10x better than this ugly phone so I am currently a Sony Ericsson fan despite your rather boring post.

Who's the fool now? Oh yes, it looks like it's you.

[Rappy Veteran]

Stop jumping to conclusions?

Nokia are pathetic at making phones - I will never use/test one until they being out something decent. Currently I have a k800i and it looks 10x better than this ugly phone so I am currently a Sony Ericsson fan despite your rather boring post.

Who's the fool now? Oh yes, it looks like it's you.

I have the same phone as you and I find it amazing...I think Sony Ericsson make good phones...

[sy64]

Stop jumping to conclusions?

Nokia are pathetic at making phones - I will never use/test one until they being out something decent. Currently I have a k800i and it looks 10x better than this ugly phone so I am currently a Sony Ericsson fan despite your rather boring post.

Who's the fool now? Oh yes, it looks like it's you.

So that was me getting my arse kicked and rightly so!! got to apologise for the drunken post, I try and tell myself that posting under the influence is not a good idea and here's the evidence. Put in my place by a fellow Yorkshireman.

So from what I'm reading the K800 and the K810 are the same apart from the wrapper?surely there's got to be some difference or it wouldn't make sense to release the k810

[CrisCr0ss]

this makes my k790a look bad :(

them buttons look hott

anyone recomend a good case for this phone>?