Sony Ericsson K550 / W610
Average Ratings
Another great phone by Sony Ericsson
The k550i phone from Sony Ericsson is literally a Sony Ericsson w810i minus the dedicated walkman player, and that is a good thing. The phone is lighter and thinner, and built very well with no creaks in the body. The screen is brighter aswell than the w810i at the same itensity level, and colors are nice and vibrant. The UI, which is the same as many other Sony Ericsson phones, is the same, but quite fast. I didn't notice any real lag when switching from menu to menu. The call quality is nice and loud, with no buzz or hiss in the speaker. Same goes for the speakerphone, but it kinda lacks some bass in it, something the w810i triumphs over this phone in that area. One feature I did like was the fact that you can now set up to 5 alarms all which can go off at different times. The camera, which is nice that it has a cover, isn't quite that impressive and have seen better in other phones, nonetheless it'll do it's job. The keypad, probably the most significant change this gen of Sony Ericsson phones is actually quite nice. I was a bit weary because I thought it would be too thin, but turns out to be quite comfortable. They have a nice tactile feel to them, light up evenly in the dark, and to me doesn't cause a problem when texting. If your used to the w810i keypads, these keypads are almost the same with just a little getting used to. Overall I'm satisfied with it...coming from a w810i, which I think was the best bar-shaped phone released by Sony Ericsson since the T616, the k550i is just as good yet lighter and thinner. The w610i is probably the more successor to the w810i than the k550i is, but the price for some reason is about $150 more than the k550i in some places.
Pros:
Small and light, thin
Excellent reception
Loud call quality and clarity from handset and speakerphone
Faster UI
Design (IMO on of the better looking SE phones)
Build quality top notch
Nice screen
Lens cover for 2mp camera
Cons:
Keypad may be too small if you have large fingers
Works Like a Charm
This phone is a blessing. While I ordered a unlocked one, and got the Japaneese version that is not Sony's Fault. Just a bad description on Ebay. This is my 6th Sony Ericsson phone. Having worked in the industry for a long time, I have alwasy felt they provided the best phones.
I now use this phone to record video, and pictures of my life. I then send these to a blog online from the phone. The phone is very stable, and well made.
My only complaint is with the attena. Not that its bad, just not as good as the S710a. This phone still has a better attena than most cell phones and should recieve high marks.
Nice Phone
I was thinking about the W810i and the K790a but when I saw the K550's realease it was perfect. This phone gives you the best of both worlds with good prices.
Pros:
Cyber Shot Camera
Lens Cover
Media Player
FM Radio
QVGA Screen
Rss Feeds
Slim
New Key Design
ETC.
Cons: None
w810 check yourself heres the k550i
this is maybe the sixth sony ericsson I have owned. Sony just keeps raising the bar...I sell sonys like crazy people want the best of the best and sony delivers that request
pros:
flash is great
slim and confortable
great reception
user friendly
great themes
lens cover (thank god its about time)
clear call quality and speaker quality
camera is flawless (sony cyber-shot rules!)
FM radio
crisp screen
cons:
fat people cannot use is with there chunky fingers....motivation to lose some finger fat?
"Bug"
The SE phones remember the numbers you type during a call intentionally. How many times have you had a voicemail on the road or needed to jot down a number someone is giving you but you had no paper? With SE phones you can type the number in during the call and save it right afterwards.
Not an W810I replacement
Overall this phone is decent but it doesnt come close to the W8410i
The biggest problem i've seen with this phone is the reception. I've used and sold them and out of the 5 i sold last month four were returned with dropped calls, and i switched back to the W810 after about three days of the reception problems.
The phone is really feature packed and I like the way it's set up that why it gets a 3 and not a 1. If ericcson can fix the dropped call problem then this would be a great phone.
a successor of W810?
I received this phone about 2 weeks ago from a local store in NYC
the first impression is: slim, it's about 2/3 thickness of W810
initially charged the battery, flashed to Hong Kong version, put SIM in, the phone works right away
the LCD has brighter and better color than W810, but I hear a rumor, that there're 2 different hardware version, mine is black like W810, unable to show clock when the phone is idle
the phone has 64MB of memory, this is more than good enough to put some human tones, the pic taken without memory card, except you want to use the phone as audio player
it has updated OS like Z710i or K790a
you can setup multiple recurring alarms
wireless headphones support (it works with itech R35, Plantronics 590a, Logitech ipod headphones, Grandvue Muses 1.2), no dropoff
streaming realaudio/3gp support (requires unlimited GPRS)
the earpiece and speakerphone are pretty loud, much louder than previous models
the buttons are rather small, and I have hard time to find 5 and press up and down
the battery door is side-open with latches, it uses BST-33, which has longer battery time (I got 5.5 hours of active talking time without bt)
some says the cam is not good as W810, however, after I did some intensive comparison with W810, found the difference is not that much
the phone has good reception like other current SE models, but I found antenna is located on the bottom of the phone, you may lose reception when holding phone bottom
here is the conclusion
pro:
loud earpiece and speakerphone
bright and better color LCD
updated OS
good reception
slim
up to 5.5 hours of talking time with single charge
W810-like cam with cover
the LED can be used as flashlight like W810
quad-band 2.75G
con:
irregular connector and antenna location
small buttons
M2 card support, which is still expensive per MB
the front plate is fingerprint magnet
I give 88/100 (if the antenna is located on the top, this'll be perfect)
(W610i) Nice, but no replacement for a W810i
I've been buying SE products ever since my love affair with the W600i. However, this has been the first SE phone that left me wondering: What were they thinking? I got this phone unlocked (Mediterranean version). Hence the phone doesn't have Spanish or Portuguese which I use often when texting relatives (first let down, but this is not SE's fault) The phone has performed well overall (reception, battery life, features) but there are other things that make it a no-keeper for me.
Pros:
-Beautiful color screen (better than W810i, same as on K790a)
-Thin
-Camera is flush with the phone. Flush surface is very nice (in this case)
-The ability to use BT headphones
-FM radio seems to get better signal than the W810i.
Cons:
-KEYPAD! OMG I find it almost impossible to text on this thing. If you have long finger nails, forget it! I noticed a little improvement after clipping my nails really short though. I clip my nails every two weeks! If I keep this phone I'll have to clip them once a week.
-Voice quality: Muffled. I have to keep the phone at about 80%-85% high. If I raise the volume to 100% it'll sound awful
-Volume and Walkman keys on the sides of the phone are flush with the phone which makes it hard to find/push if you're in the dark or if you're just trying to press them without looking.
-Speakerphone is nice but it could be louder. Stereo speakers would had been nice.
-BUG: The phone won't go back to the home screen after making a phone call and pressing numbers (as in when you call your voicemail and have to press 1 and 7 and 9 etc) I'd hang up and those numbers that I pressed during the phone call would not clear the screen.
-BUG: I downloaded Opera Mini on it, but I've come to realize that it will start slowing down as I navigate until it will completely freeze up. I'll try to download Opera Mini again to see if this fixes this issue.
I'm using this phone cuz I had to have an unlocked phone (roaming overseas) but as soon as I go back to the US in Jan; I'm selling it!
