Am back with a review on my new one Sony Ericsson K550i. I have not been idle though. I was busy losing my mobile and then collecting all the numbers that I lost. In a way losing your telephone book is more expensive than the mobile itself. The second best thing I was busy with was marriage….MINE! That’s right folks the damage has been finally done…
The mobile I lost was the one I wrote a review about; the Sony Ericsson W700i(sob sob I loved that phone) and the new one I bought is that Sony Ericsson K550. Yes… I am a die hard Sony Ericsson fan.
Anyways that brings me to this review!
The look: However sleek and stylish it looks, the K550 does not have a drop dead gorgeous looks that will turn heads wherever you go. I somehow fell in luv with its look and anyways beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder right?For me it is one hell of a scorcher!
The features: Camera: The K550 comes with a very handy cyber shot camera with 2 Mega-pixel resolution. Even though this has become a standard feature in most mobiles, the features and clarity of photos this camera gives is far better than any other mobile manufacturers I have seen in the same capacity. It also has auto focus and macros(well it may be good for people who know about it, me, I am a novice!)This apart it has the options of adding effects to the snaps such as Sepia, B&W, Negative and Solarize. The flash light option is again one thing that sets the Sony Ericsson apart from other phones and of course the placement of the capture button that is similar to a digital camera. The flash can also be used as a torch.
Music: Even though its not a walkman phone such as the other series, it’s as good as one. The sound quality is good and clear in a relatively silent surrounding. It comes equipped with Mega-bass that does good justice to the music. If not you always have the Sony Ericsson trademark ear phones that is near perfect in cutting out background noise.So what if the other phones have a button to start the walkman. I have an option in K550 to make that shortcut!
Video Camera: The Video Camera is typical Sony Ericsson, brilliant. It has a good zoom and can be used in effectively in dark places too. The playback after downloading was amazing as well. Its stored in Mp4 format
Battery Backup: The battery backup is awesome and even though I have a habit of charging my phone everyday, I have noticed that it comes to about three days without charge and if used as a regular mobile. It has a talktime of about 6 hrs and 350 hrs standby time. Music lovers please omit this section!
Games: I am not a mobile game addict but then there is only one game in the K550 which leaves you with not many options! Its an interesting jigsaw game which lets you capture pictures of your choice and jigsaw it up
Applications: The applications too are reduced compared to its other models. This phone has only three applications one of which is more like a manual on using the camera. There is another interesting application called face-warp that lets you distort faces of any subject that you photograph. This phone lets you take prints of your photos from a Bluetooth enabled printer at the press of a button. Now that is a cool application!
Photo, Music and Video DJ: These are again good to pass your time but cannot be used as a USP for this phone
TrackID: Now this is an amazing feature that I came across that lets you get information about a particular song you are hearing in the radio. You can record a short sample of the song and send this to the Sony Ericsson website to get the complete information of the song such as the album and singer etc. You will need to have internet enabled in your phone though
Networking(Bluetooth, Infrared): Strictly no nonsense and does what it’s supposed to do, transfer data!
The keypad: The keypad feels a bit weird compared to the other models. It takes time getting used to since its these thin metal keys rather than the regular sized keypad. The navigation keys are quite user friendly and ergonomically made. That apart, there is this internet connectivity button that is kept for convenience but is more of a hindrance. It keeps coming in the way when you receive calls. Left-handers beware! The keys might not be as comfortable
Receptivity: The receptivity is very good and the voice quite clear. I sometimes use the loudspeaker from quite a distance but I haven’t got any complaints from the other end *
The Conclusion**: Overall I must say it’s a no nonsense phone that feels good when you hold and meets most of the requirements that it’s expected to do. I do not need to c movies and neither do I have to read pdf ebooks on my phone. What I need is a phone, for others I can use a PC! Call me old fashioned but thats me. I am pretty happy with my K550! As for the person who stole my W700, I hope he atleast reads my review on W700!
