First Impressions Count

Intro : The Sony Ericsson 600 range is the generic version of this 3G handset. Operator specific handsets are currently on sale in the UK.

3 UK has the K608i, Vodafone the V600i and Orange the K600i. These are the same phones apart from branding etc. This review looks at the K608i but in practice addresses all 3 variants.

My first impression of the Sony Ericsson K608i was that it is a sleek candy bar style handset which you could argue has a timeless design. The aluminum looking body style is not my favourite yet it makes for a clean looking handset.

The size is very impressive as it is about the same length as the Sony Ericsson V800 in its unopened clam state. Now that's an achievement.

At the current time 3G phones and services seem to have come together to make a nice package which most of us would be pleased to use. This handset is no exception.

The Sony Ericsson K608i has two 1.3 megapixel digital cameras ( front and rear ) to reproduce good quality images and video recording. You can view all your images on the 65K colour screen.

The focus of attention on the rear is the sliding camera activiation cover. Very neat and functional.

The 1.8 inch TFT screen does itself proud on brightness and reasonably well on colour and contrast reproduction.

The handset has Music DJ which is a melody composer but you will need to try all this out for yourself.

On the downside, the lack of expandable memory is an issue for the many people who simply need more than the 32 MB internal dynamic memory. I mean a number of the 2.5G SE handsets have been kitted with expandable memory so why not this one.

The standard battery is adequate but not ideal. We found that it would last one and a half to 2 days under normal useage.

The Sony K608i has sleek good looks and is easy to use and navigate around. It is fully featured with a suite of business applications that handle personal information management and PC-synchronisation via USB or Bluetooth.

Is It Worth Buying ?

This is certainly a contender for some serious thought. It will fit snugly in your pocket and look the part too.

After all its a Sony Ericsson. I have heard few stories of faults with SE 3G handsets when compared to the problems one or two other 3G manufacturers have experienced to-date.

A summary of the pros and cons is right. At 105 grams this is certainly a light handset which will not way you down. It is also kitted out with many goodies and also has a a suite of business applications.

Functionally, it hits all the right spots and is perfectly adequate for most people who are looking for a candybar style handset as opposed to a clam.

One word of caution about this handsets' Achilles heel. There is no expandable memory and this could leave a lot of people unhappy.

Overall, a really good phone to take advantage of all that 3g wireless offers us.

This is a review of the Sony Ericsson K608i 3G handset and was undertaken in September, 2005 by Kevin Thomas of 3G.co.uk. This review covers the phone only and does not address the performance of any 3G Network.