My Sony Ericsson k850i

Thanks for the kind words Nick, I do try my hardest.

And yes, I must agree, on occasion I catch the middle under-screen button when trying to navigate 'up'. Oh well, minor annoyance in the scheme of things...

I'm loving the photography here btw, especially the composite shot. Beautiful, and all the more amazing knowing it was made with a camera phone.

Check back soon for my follow up, after living with the phone for a couple weeks. I'm finding out new little things every day, it's great :)

I arrived at your site through searching for k850i and Linux.
You're obviously a Linux "user" (don't like the "g" word).
Well - I was wondering if you have connected the k850i to a Linux PC?
If so - which distribution? Which desktop? What packages?
Are you able to access the phone's memory to drop in MP3's etc.?
Your comments would be very, very useful.
Cheers.
Mike

The only PC communication I've done with it so far is via Bluetooth with my Mac Book Pro which is kind of Linux-like is that OSX is Unix based… That went fine! I shall try to dig out the USB cable and plug it into my MBP to see what happens…

hi, are you uing flash with ur k850i, i read a lot of people talking about the pictures being really dark when using flash. im not sure whether this is because of a sync problem or whether people just leave their hands on the back of the phone when taking pictures therefore obstructing the flash!
could i have your opinion please! thanks Steve

I have had a problem with the flash, yes...

I tried it last night and the subject was dark - more like the flash was off!

Could be sync.... Maybe be a light sensor issue?!

Yeh does appear to be pretty dark. BUT go to:

Options > Photo Fix

It does an Auto-levels type thing. Brightens it up anyway.

Let me know if it works for you too.

P.S. Good review

Ah - your comment was useful and perhaps I can add my own.

I own a Sony/Ericsson M600i running Symbian UIQ3.0. This phone syncs with Outlook Express (but it's poor - SO poor... Outlook, I mean...) on XP.

Well anyway - I connected self-same phone to a (relatively old?!? Me think not) Athlon XP2000+, Socket A, USB2.0 M/B running openSuse 10.3.

Now what happens is that in the Phone's File Manager mode the 1GB Memory Card Micro plug-in memory module is made available to the PC and I can transfer files back and forth. Cannot yet synchronise anything else (Contacts/ e-mail/ texts etc. - Time constraints, as ever).

This makes me think that even if I cannot sync any contact information from the K850i I would probably be able to transfer photos - and that would be sufficient given the 5MP camera.

So now I'm adding the k850i to the wishlist.

Apologies to K850i users for mentioning the use of a M600i... which do not is having none camera functionality at all (and it's a 3G phone!).

Cheers.
Mike

Cheers for the review, thinking about upgrading from my k800i that's taken some great shots.

Wondered if the k850i has the ability to force the flash on - preventing subjects on a light background becoming silhouettes? It was the one feature I think they left out of the k800i and really annoying sometimes.

Cheers, Toffa.

I'm about 90% sure you can - if not by auto flash then more likely by anti-red eye.

BEST feature about the flash - you can force it on as a torch! And its not a bad one either... SO useful when you're drunk and its dark and you dont want to spend the night stabbing your front door :-)

Personally I've got one of those watch battery LED key-fob thingies you can get 3 for £1 from Poundstretcher. Incredibly bright.
Plus, you can use them when clubbing too.

Does the K850i sync with outlook at all? I contemplating getting one but I've found no information regarding the organiser and contact sync.

to all peoples having problem with dark picture, make sure your middle finger doesn't block the flash (or any fingers that might be able to block the flash), hope that helps.

i had the same dark photos with flash issue last weekend but i worked out what was wrong last night. If you are using auto-focus and auto-flash you need to keep the button pressed down and held. I was pressing it down half way to let if focus and then taking the shot.. that was causing the dark photos for me. If I press it down straight away and hold it down it works great. I had awesome photos in a pitch black room. Maybe im just retarded tho when it comes to using cameras / phones.

jonnyj: thx for the flash tip; was getting the same problem and after your post, realised that I was just half pressing first. Full press works like a treat.
Is anyone having any issues with the phone just doing random things like logging onto the web, or putting up menus when you haven't asked for them during texting (almost like the buttons are shorting) ??

Absolutely love everything about the phone..except it has just died on me after only a week..it just won't charge turn on or anything..so rather gutted :(

Had my phone over a month now and still havent sussed out the dark photos which considering I bought thephone on the back of the supposed superior camera is a disappointment. Firstly I know my fingers are not blocking the sensors or flash. I use auto focus and auoflash and it seems like the timing is out between the flash and the picture. I have noticed if I press the button straight down rather than hlding half way then the percentage of bad shots is reduced but I would say I get more dark shots than good ones. When I say dark shots I mean dark too and in some cases un-viewable. I live in hope that it is just a firm-ware issue which will be fixed by a future update?????

The second thing I dislike about the phone is the menu from the main screen. Im not sure if it is something I can change or if it is just because my phone is a vodafone model. Basically the problem is the right hand softkey links to the internet so annoyingly I keep accedentaly connecting to vodafone live.

Anyone know a source for some better skins/themes as I dont really like any that came pre-installed.

as i am going to buy this phone i was wondering if you can create diferent folders e.g. when you have to many pictures or videos you can sort them out into difrerent folders on the video or picture menu?

james: The dark photo issue is solved with the latest Firmware which is available on the Sony Ericsson Update Service for O2 and Virgin phones (AFAIK). It doesn't appear to be available for Vodaphone yet...

Anonymous: You can categorize your photos. You can also view them by date too.

Hiya
I was wondering if anyone else has had the same problem as me. I love my k850i and am still learning lots about it so excuse me if this can be answered by reading my instructions but when I go into Best Pic option when taking photos, it takes a burst of pics which is excellent, however when I immediately try to take another shot in this mode, you can hear the camera taking a shot but the screen is black and nothing has been captured. This problem is solved by coming out of the camera and going back in again but I was wondering if anyone else has had this or have I got a problem with my phone? I have only had it about 12 hours!
Help appreciated!

I just rectified this by
1. going to the sony ericsson site, searching for k850i and installing the SEUS (Sony Ericsson Update Service).
2. Once installed on your computer follow the simple instructions and flash your phone.
3. Turn it back on and try in a dark area.
Worked a treat for me.

MY K850I TAKES THE BEST PICS AT NIGHT AND I WILL TELL YOU HOW TO DO IT ,IT IS VERY EASY JUST PRESS BUTTON TO TAKE PIC THEN TAKE FINGER STRAIGHT OF BUTTON, SO THAT IS A QUICK PRESS FINGER OF AND LIGHT WILL BE THERE I PROMISE

What firmware do you have? If its working fine for you then you likely have the most recent one (37). The initial release firmware does have a known bug and no matter how quickly you press the button or how far your fingers are behind the camera, the pictures can come out dark.

I also have this problem of it connecting when I don't wish to as it's also where the lock keys button is. Has anyone figured out how to stop/change this please?

THIS IS NOW MY SECOND FAULTY PHONE - WHICH BESIDES HAS MAJOR SCREEN FREEZE AND DIES - HAD ALSO PROBLEMS WITH CAMERA SETTINGS
WOULD NOT RECCOMMEND THIS PHONE TO ANYBODY - -HAS NOT LIVED UP TO THE HYPE OR DELIVERED ON ITS POTENTIAL CAPABILITIES AND AM NOW IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO GET RID OF THE USELESS THING, WHICH HAS CAUSED ME A WORLD OF STRESS - CHECK OUT ALL OTHER REVIEWS - IT IS NOT WORTH IT - MODEL BELOWS THIS DELIVER ON PERFORMANCE BUT NOT THIS ONE - OBIVIOSULY RUSHED OUT FOR X MAS - WITHOUT PROPER TESTING AND LIFE EXPENCTANCY....... TRUST ME.....

Sounds like you simply have a bad phone (or maybe are part of a bad batch?)... Maybe your SIM is damaged.

If all the phones were as bad as this then there would be a far bigger outcry.

Sorry you appear to have had bad luck with it. I personally think is a fantastic phone!

I have recently purchased the K850i(on 10th Jan 08) so would imagine i have all the latest software on the phone. I must admit i was very disappointed with the camera to start with, having no idea why the shots were so dark, HOWEVER, having read the posts on here i am amazed at the difference it makes when you press the button quickly and then leave the phone to do the rest i.e auto focus etc, the pictures are far clearer!

Anyone with the latest software i suggest you give this a try and see if you agree.

I absolutely love this phone and have had trouble with the darkness in some pics etc but that hasn't bothered me really, i've sorted it by just retaking a picture or just using the photo fix option.

My problem is it seems to have had a software failure. The phone will not let me enter my inbox, outbox, sent messages or draft! I just get a message saying 'operation failed'. Therefore I cannot send or receive texts, SMS or MMS. I can still make calls and go on the internet, its just this error message problem. I thought it may be network problem but it isn't - i even got a new sim card sent to me- that hasn't made a difference. So i know it is definately a handset fault. I am at the moment using my old phone as i cannot live without my texts!!! I have tried to download the update service from sony ericsson but the app that downloads won't run, even tho i have followed the instructions and have all the right PC settings, and just comes up with an error message. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips before i have to fork out a fortune to get it fixed (as i bought the phone sim free so its not under warrenty)!

Thanks for any help. xx

I assume you've tried a master reset? On my K850i its the last option under Settings > General. You might want to backup you contact list first as this will wipe EVERYTHING off the phone.

hi there
i was having the same problem with my phone coming up with this erro r message. however after doing a master reset it has fixed the problem. just make sure any contacts etc are saved to memory card or sim first

Just to let you know about the annoying Vodafone connection thing. I'm on the network and find it really annoying also.

I rang Vodafone who say that it can't be changed, but if you do press it by mistake, it only charges you if you click anything on the homepage that comes up, simply pressing it by mistake won't cost you anything!

I was wondering, has anyone had problems with any of their contacts in the phone? For some reason, mine get all mixed up! For example, I have 4 numbers on 1 contact for my girlfriend, yet some of these will save into other peoples contacts and sometimes I don't know who's number is who's!

Hi all,
Last week my k850i did this again for the second time... the first time costed my some $$$ cos I didn't know about the master reset. I know you can backup data onto mem card but by this time I'm not able to get my recent messages anymore :(

i am thinking of getting the blue versionIS THIS PHONE ANY GOOD FOR GAMES AND DOES IT FEEZE MUCH.ALSO ARE THE SPEAKERS LOUD AND IS THE PHONE FAST

P.S ARE THERE MANY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAMERA

You mention a light under the tweaks in your review. Where can I find it? Also is there a way to stop it going to sleep so quickly?

Thanks

hi

this happend to me too

I really don't know what to do either.
Have you found out what to do yet?

hi Lindsay,

I have the EXACT same problems as you!!
This is the 5th time i've had this dam operation failed message come up with my texts. and believe me the master reset may work but doing it every time my phone randomly decides to have a funny 5 mins is not what i expect from a mobile that cost me a lot of money.

i have downloaded the update software from the site which i was instructed would sort it out. but it doesnt even work!!

i also get the dark pictures. i am a dam photographer and i'm not putting my fingers over the flash. the camera on this phone is the poorest quality i have had to date!! the flash appears to be completely out of sync with the shutter release.

i cant stand this phone.

the stupid touch screen is also a wonder of problems connecting to vodaphone live continuously, and sending blank texts to people whislt im on the phone.

i wish there was something out there to fix these issues so i could actually start liking my phone rather than loathing it!!

I totally agree the phone is shit....so many faults to it and lots of my friends have the same fone and the same problems. i too would never recommend this fone to anyone!!!!!!!!!!

can u pls say abt the memory card.... it has two slots ... will both work at a time or we wan 2 swap??? wat is the inbox capacity of tis k850???pls reply... me gonna buy tis mob... so jus readin reviews of tis mob... expectin ur reply... thanks...

It only has 1 slot for memory card (or at least mine does). The other slot is for the SIM Card.

Internally I believe it has 64Mb. Mine came with a 512Mb card from O2, but I replaced it with my existing 1Gb card I had with my K800i.

I believe the inbox capacity is limited by how much free space you have left on your phone (the internal memory). I know all during my usage that it never actually RAN OUT, however I did get in the habit of emptying it once a month or so - mainly so if it got stolen I didn't lose too much personal data in that respect.

Nah Freda is right. This phone is crap. Died on me last night. It's been feezing more and more frequently recently and finally gave up the ghost last night. Thanks Sony Ericsson :/

I had this phone for a brief time but found although I loved most things about it I got fed up of finishing a call and finding I was halfway through sending a text message - with my ear!! The soft keys are still active during calls and the 1st (ear) touch must bring up the menu, 2nd touch messages, 3rd write new, 4th continue to select recipient...etc etc Has this bothered you?? Is there a way to stop the soft keys from bing active whilst on a call? Sure I could use blue tooth - but I don't!!

thanx 4 ur reply... can u say abt sms capacity... ll it show "message memory 95% full" as lik old phones of nokia?? or do we hav a option of saving sms in memory card??? (
atlaest a capacity of 1000 sms???

i need help i dropped my k850i and am not sure but i don't hear the shutter sound anymore when clicking on the camera function. i never paid attention but it the camera shutter supposed to be closed when not in use and not see the camera eye?( not sure what to call it)

I just read your comment - I also get the phone number mix up thing and it happens all the time. It can be quite bad if your writing an sms to someone and you think it's someone else your writing to.

i love this phone! but its started dying on me now. the touchscreen buttons have stopped working and i cant recieve text messages anymore due to a fault on the phone. apart from that, when it worked i loved it!!

I have had the phone only two months and the other night coming home from work it turned itself off as the battery was so low. So I put it on charge for the night and tried it in the morning, however all it does is the usual vibrate, lights around the keys then goes black. In addition to this the on switch has a red light round it for a couple of seconds. I have no idea what is wrong with it and i don't know how I can solve it, did anyone give you advice that helped?

Yes you can. I believe you can do that with any phone with a memory card... ;)

i'v got the xact sme prob but i was told i must hav dropped it sumwer and sumthin mus be broken inside the phone, but this may not be true as i now know it has happenned to more than one person.,