A 3G handset with many disguises
This
Sony Ericsson handset comes in a few disguises. Its known as the K610i for
Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and as the K610c for Mainland
China.
Further confusion arises when you learn that certain operators have their own branded versions e.g. Vodafone V630i. Exclusive to Vodafone, the V630i is essentially the K610i but retooled with a musical bent.
On top of that, Sony Ericsson recently announced another version of this phone - the K610im. This will be in classic black and is an i-mode version of the K610i which will be on O2. Interesting.
Obviously, Sony Ericsson see this handset as a hot potato for sales. Anyway, lets concentrate on 3's K610i.
The K610i 3G handset measures 102 x 45.2 x 16.9 mm and weighs no more than 92g. This sorta size and weight is becoming the norm for many 3G handsets at this time. A nice start.
However, it sometimes pays not to overlook some of the other 3G competition on the shelves. In terms of size the new LG U400 is 99.8 x 48 x 18.9mm and weighs 114g. The Nokia 6234 is 108 x 46 x 18mm and 110g. I list these simply to offer comparisons.
The K610i is made out of plastic yet feels rather sturdy. You can see the VGA camera used for video calls towards the top of the phone and to its left - somewhat hidden away is the ear speaker slot. Very discreet.
The model we had was black and urban silver. A somewhat dreary sounding colour scheme, which looked surprisingly "laid back" and "cool".
The K610i has a 1.9” 262K-colour TFT screen. The quality is sharp and colourful. The display is engulfed with a black surround to improve visibility when in sunlight. The K610i has two cameras onboard: a front-loaded VGA for video calls and a two-megapixel lens for still images.
Compared to the photos delivered by its fellow two-megapixel camera phones like the K750i, W810i and W900i, the K610i suffers a little in quality. Picture resolution is 1600x1200 pixels, compared with the 1632x1224 of its aforementioned compadres, and tricks like autofocus and macro are missing. It does have a 2.5 digital zoom.
Having made a video call to the LG U400, we were quite impressed with the quality. The audio also sounded loud over the built-in speakers and in a quiet environment, you won’t need to use headphones to hear the conversation.
With
the K610i, it works in the same intuitive way as the Walkman range, letting
you rip your CD tracks or transfer your existing library to your phone via
USB. If you want to just drag’n’drop your music files then the
K610i is also recognised as a mass storage device on your computer. Disappointingly,
there is no 3.5mm headphone jack adapter for plugging in your quality cans,
and the supplied in-ear headphones are inferior to the normal Walkman fare.
Despite this setback, the audio quality was still very listenable, with sound
settings on hand to enhance the fidelity. The K610i also supports the A2DP
Bluetooth profile for wireless audio streaming to compatible stereo headphones.
The
speaker can be found on the rear with the 2 megapixel cameraphone alongside
it. On the bottom we have charger, headphones / USB access. Memory card access
involves removing the back cover. The battery
doesn't need to be removed to access the memory card slot.
On the left side you find music player shortcut key and the right side you find the volume keys and a camera shortcut keys. On/off is placed nicely on top of the phone and is multifunctional including locking the keypad, silent mode operation and edit profile. There is a dedicated music key for instant access to 3UK’s music library.
The K610i kit includes Disc2Phone music management software to get your music from your PC to your phone. Quick and easy.
The spongy keys and navigation pad add to its feather-light character and the K610i is a nice phone to handle. The keyboard has a blue backlight which kinda goes wavy when when a call is received calling or you get a message.
You'll be able to to upload your pics and videos and share them all over the world via the handsets Google powered blogger experience. The CD in the box comes with PC synchronization software to synchronize your PC Outlook calendar and contacts.
Mobile TV Bonus
Strategy Analytics User Benchmarking found that Vodafone Live! Mobile TV is the best Mobile TV service currently available in the UK.
Vodafone Live! Mobile TV achieved the highest composite rating of 65/100, 5 points ahead of ROK TV and 9 points ahead of MobiTV from Three. Technical difficulties meant participants were unable to properly evaluate Orange TV.
Vodafone
Live! Mobile TV was rated the best service in each of the four categories
under test – Usability (68/100), Audiovisual Quality (61/100), Network
Performance (66/100) and Content (63/100).
- MobiTV from Three was rated lowest for Audiovisual Quality (51/100) and
- - Network Performance (47/100).
In the end, we mark the Vodafone V630i one point higher than the K610i. Basically, they are the same except for branding and operator tweaks yet my heart goes with V630i. A personal choice.
This review covers the above mobile phone only and does not address the performance of any 3G Network. The score is based on a 3G mobile phone checklist.
Copyright : You are advised that this material is the copyright of www.3G.co.uk and is our own personal view only. (C) All rights reserved 2005. Whist every care has been taken in the preparation of this review, the author nor 3G.co.uk cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or authenticity of the information it contains, or consequence arising from it.
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