vB Easy Archive - K850i review

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K850i review
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Posted by: pdagal

Hi guys and gals. I've posted a very detailed review of the Sony Ericsson K850i here: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/pho...csson-K850i.htm . There are comparison photos of it and the N95 (actually N95-3) together, as well as several photos taken by each camera for comparison. You can click on the sample photos to see the original full res files (big files-- 1.4 megs each).

I've also made an iSync 2.4 plugin for Mac OS X users which you can download for free-- look for it under the "Horsepower, Applications and Syncing" section of the review.

cheers,
Lisa

Posted by: angelm713

Thoroughly enjoyed your review! Thanks!

Posted by: mdwsta4

appreciate the download app for fellow mac users!

and nice write up

Posted by: Ender17

nice review, a lot of good info, thanks

one thing, could you include some higher resolution pictures?
all the ones on the page are very small - thumbnail size, I kept clicking them, expecting the full size photo

also, under closing thoughts, I found a typo

Quote:

Do you need WiFi or a GPS? If the answer to these questions is yes, the the N95 is your animal.

Posted by: Prom1

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdwsta4

appreciate the download app for fellow mac users!

I must second this!

Can the full 3.5G (network bandwidth restrictions aside) be fully used, as a modem for OS X ??

thanks.

Posted by: phanbot

Yes, you can use the N95-3 as a modem in mac OS X, I use it all the time tethered to my MacBook Pro whenever an open wifi connection isn't available. Just go to Ross Barkman's website and grab the Nokia HSPDA scripts and install them in the proper library folder and you're all set. I used a RAZR2 V9 before the N95-3 came out and it blows compared to the Nokia phone.

Posted by: Tehy

Nice review with great photos!

Good work!

Posted by: Blakthorn

nice review...id like to see a future comparison between the k850i and the n95 8gb

Posted by: christyxcore

Nice review. Lots of info. Will be getting this..

Posted by: lets_be_friends

great info, good that there were a lot of comprasions between the n95, really torn between these 2 phones, somebody help me!!!!

Posted by: darkninja

Very good review. I think you just swayed me to get this phone again

Posted by: adam_nguyen

Informative review there....love the velvet blue version

Posted by: pdagal

Click on any of the sample photos in the review to see the full, original image (about 1.4 megs each).

Thanks for catching the typo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ender17

nice review, a lot of good info, thanks

one thing, could you include some higher resolution pictures?
all the ones on the page are very small - thumbnail size, I kept clicking them, expecting the full size photo

also, under closing thoughts, I found a typo

Posted by: pdagal

Yes, the Mac sees the K850i as a high speed modem and you can use it for DUN.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prom1

I must second this!

Can the full 3.5G (network bandwidth restrictions aside) be fully used, as a modem for OS X ??

thanks.

Posted by: Ender17

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdagal

Click on any of the sample photos in the review to see the full, original image (about 1.4 megs each).

Thanks for catching the typo

I'm talking about the pictures of the phones, not the sample pictures.

Posted by: nicktuso

Good review. I have given myself one more week to decide which phone to get. The K850 is 1st on my list though.

Posted by: Rodent

Nice Review...those cameras make me want to buy a new phone already lol but I think I will wait for it to drop 100$

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

GREAT REVIEW, what i do find funny is the different opinions of the camera on each review site,on this review it has to be the first i ever seen where the k850i actually has more robust color than the n95.

Posted by: pdagal

THETRUTH#34-- I hear you! I've looked at other reviews and seen quite varied results just eyeballing the images themselves. Though some were pre-release K850i's and that may have something to do with it. I was quite surprised at the color saturation as well, though there was only 1 image where I'd say it significantly saturated more than the N95 (the pool photo). I do wonder about QC and parts changes in manufacture. For example: I've had three N95s: two N95-1 phones and an N95-3. None took identical images to the others. And the two N95-1's were running the same firmware version.

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdagal

THETRUTH#34-- I hear you! I've looked at other reviews and seen quite varied results just eyeballing the images themselves. Though some were pre-release K850i's and that may have something to do with it. I was quite surprised at the color saturation as well, though there was only 1 image where I'd say it significantly saturated more than the N95 (the pool photo). I do wonder about QC and parts changes in manufacture. For example: I've had three N95s: two N95-1 phones and an N95-3. None took identical images to the others. And the two N95-1's were running the same firmware version.

YES I HEAR YOU, GO FIGURE, great review though.1 question music quality between both phones, do you give the edge to the sony.

Posted by: pdagal

Music quality on the K850i through headphones (both wired and Bluetooth) is definitely better. The stereo speakers on the N95 win for speaker playback, but I'm not sure many folks care about this. The N95 is very good through headphones, but the K850i is great.

Posted by: nicktuso

Quote:

Originally Posted by THETRUTH#34

GREAT REVIEW, what i do find funny is the different opinions of the camera on each review site,on this review it has to be the first i ever seen where the k850i actually has more robust color than the n95.

You mean actual color. Every other review I have seen on the comparison of the two phones states that the N95 and K850 take somewhat comparable pictures but the N95's color in the pics is more of an artistic look than actual color. The K850 takes more realistic photos.

IMO about the two phones, I have had the N95 in my hands just once and played with it for about 10 minutes, I loved it. Its not really for me though, I have no used the K850 but I need a camera phone way more than I need wifi or gps. Thats just me.

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicktuso

yes thats what i meant, in the link i posted in another thread, the n95 took so much more color rich photos, while the K850 took more natural even washed out in my opinion. The was a picture of spiderman there and with the k850 his costume looks almost pink and light blue so thats where i determined washed out even more than natural.

Posted by: bothfly

Great review, but you haven't help me decide between the two.
I read where the SE cannot open PDF files sent via email. True or not True??
I don't need WIFI, but also read where the N95's web browser is more of a full broswer, and the SE is a WAP browser. I need a broswer that can handle pop up's from my company site.
I think the N95-3 is better for me, but I'd rather have the K850, but I think I need a few more bells.

Posted by: pdagal

The SE can't open PDF files (nor MS Office docs while we're at it).

The SE browser is a full HTML browser, not just a WAP browser, but the Nokia S60 browser beats all other mobile browsers (except the iPhone which is on equal footing in that department).

Posted by: Ender17

incase you missed my question, I'll repeat it

could you include some higher resolution pictures?
all the ones on the page are very small - thumbnail size, I kept clicking them, expecting the full size photo
I'm talking about the pictures of the phones, not the sample pictures

Posted by: dobiegillis

Great review. Although I've never really been interested in the N95 due to its size. I just sold my k790a and switched back to a k750i and I'm really liking the 0.5 oz weight savings and honestly I never really saw that much difference in the k790's pics except for the xenon in the dark and even then night mode w/o the flash seemed more difficult than on my w800.

I'm still interested in the k850, however, but I can't justify shelling out all that cash for it sight unseen. LOVE the looks, but I'm still nervous about daily usability of the keypad, especially for texting and general nav using the d-pad and soft touch keys. I'm going to wait until they get it in at Sony Style in the mall and then spend a hour monopolizing it to get a real feel before I buy. Even then if I like it I might just spend the extra $$ and buy it from Sony so I can return it easily if I can't live with the keypad. Actually I wish I could play with the N95 a bit but I think they closed the Nokia Experience Center we used to have here...I am getting more interested in mobile web now that everyone can easily get on web pages with their iphone...and that would be a weakness of the k850...hmmm...

Posted by: angelm713

Pdagal (or anyone with a K850i that can test this),
Question about the Video Resume feature...

I noticed on the SE website under "Try the Phone" section it shows there is a "Resume" under the Video folder.

I would like to know that if you start to watch a video - say a TV show, then stop watching about halfway through, will you be able to later return to the Video Resume and it picked up where you left off - even AFTER you've listened to music? It would be so sweet if the placeholder on Video stayed there even after listening to music.

Thanks for any info!

Posted by: pdagal

Yes it does resume where you left off, even if you exit the music app, or switch to music, then return to video.

Posted by: mdwsta4

BTW, something i haven't seen mentioned in reviews...
how's the speaker?!?! i'm assuming it's the small slit on the back which seems terribly small. the k790's speaker was adequate although not near as loud as a razr. since i've been using an iphone the last few months i've realized how important a usable speaker is!
how does it sound?
is it easily muffled?
how is the sound when placed on a flat surface (as there's no hump like the k790 to raise it up a bit)? or in your pocket?

Posted by: darkninja

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdwsta4

BTW, something i haven't seen mentioned in reviews...
how's the speaker?!?! i'm assuming it's the small slit on the back which seems terribly small. the k790's speaker was adequate although not near as loud as a razr. since i've been using an iphone the last few months i've realized how important a usable speaker is!
how does it sound?
is it easily muffled?
how is the sound when placed on a flat surface (as there's no hump like the k790 to raise it up a bit)? or in your pocket?

I can't comment on the volume of the external speaker as of yet, but i did see a video, i think on www.mobile-review.com of just how easy it is to cover it up. On the video he covers the speaker with his thumb and completely kills the sound.

Posted by: pdagal

The volume seems average to me. Certainly not as loud as the N95's stereo side-firing speakers but a bit louder than the K790i. You could cover up the speaker slit but it's almost smack in the center (left to right) and not the easiest thing to do (at least not easy to do by accident).

Posted by: mdwsta4

thanks. here's the direct link
http://www.mobile-review.com/review/a200-se-en.shtml

as long as it's as loud as the k790 i'll be satisfied. anything is better than the iphone's 'speaker'

Posted by: lets_be_friends

any more reviews like this?

Posted by: otamywy1

Can anyone confirm if the K850i supports 4GB micro SD? Anything 4GB or higher is SDHC (SD High Capacity), which I know my camera doesn't support, only up to 2GB. Given the choice b/w m2 and sd micro, I'd rather go with SD, since it's more generic, but I also want 4 GB.

Thanks.

Posted by: Chissu

Yes, I do believe that it does support 4GB microSD. I think it can use even the 8GB ones.. But not sure.. ;D

PS. I also rather microSD. Cheaper.. and yes, more generic.

Posted by: vkwan

i see a 6gb microsdhc.. i'd be interested to see if that makes any difference or if it is supported at all. I saw that there is some lag when my 2gb Sandisk card was near full.

Posted by: hdizzo

Nice review OP! Maybe when this phone comes way down in price I can think about upgrading.

Posted by: MarcoC

I don't understand why K850i camera beats the N95 camera. Colors may be a little off sometimes for the N95, but in terms of details the N95 wins easily. Details tend to get a bit blurry with the K850i while the N95 pics do not. For me, that's more important than 'the right colors'.

Posted by: christomapher

I am curious, can you use both memory card formats at the same time?

Posted by: Arne Anka

MarcoC

It apperas N95 requires lot of light to show all details. Otherwise N95 pictures tend to look like paintings as in the picture below (look at the trees).

http://publish.it168.com/shouji/sho...icid=653134.jpg

For K850, plenty of good pictures can be found here.

http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=156144

Posted by: dopke

Does the phone make a shutter sound when it phone is in silent mode? Like the w810i does?

Posted by: ericxd

will rogers release this phone???

Posted by: JP

Thx for the review.

Wish you posted it here though

Posted by: dannie520

Good points are it looks good, good camera, good all-round features, loud-speaker is relatively loud & clear, camera features are excellent, touch buttons are a good addition, but I have yet to experience any problems as far as their sensitivity yet. Fingers crossed.

Bad points are I do not like the buttons, too far apart & raised too high from the phone. Texting can be difficult as a result, but am getting used to it. The software can sometimes lock up or be a bit slow, but this has only happened on a couple of occasions. Finger prints on black don't look good.

Conclusions is it's a good solid all round phone. If you are a serial text messenger & are constantly sending messages, this is probably best avoided as a result of the annoying buttons. However the camera makes up for this minor annoyance.

8 marks out of 10.

Posted by: laufefe2122

1. camera cover will not open 3 of 10 times I turn on the camera.

2. if the memory card taken out and in to the phone ( without switching off the phone), afterward, the phone will run very very very slow-motioned. ( no improvement after you re-boot the phone, you need to switch off the phone, remove the battery, and plug it in again, then will work fine again)

3. after checking e-mail or sending email, the earth icon on the top of the screen won't turn off itself, I need to go to the email dialogue and then go to the main page, then it will turn off.

4. writing sms is super-slowwwwwwwwwwwwwww

5. finger-print collector, good for the rcmp to collect your fingerprint from the mon and the back of the phone

6. no more at this moment......

Posted by: darkriderz

Nice review..... great work