Game for sony ericsson k850i

The only parts of such an input you need are the four vertical and horizontal extremes, after all, and so Sony Ericsson has decided with some ingenuity to pare the input down to just those, and the points of contact with your thumb are far enough away from the widely-spaced number keys to ensure that you don't accidentally touch them while you're using it.

However, we can't help but feel that it's an ingenious solution to a problem that never existed, and, even though the new D-Pad is fine, it's not a patch on the Ki's thumbstick, although it will undoubtedly prove more robust.

The Ki's oddness doesn't end there, and in fact it balloons to outright bizarreness when you get to the tentative touchscreen interface. Along the bottom of the screen there are three touch-sensitive regions, indicated by white strokes. They occupy the first centimetre or so of the display, after which it's back to ordinary glass.

Like the D-Pad, these little islets of high-technology serve no purpose whatsoever. In fact, they frequently decide not to register contact for a few moments at a time, which is an oddly disempowering sensation when there isn't a physical button to lividly mash. And, on top of all that, the Ki looks a bit strange, with its silver wraparound bumper and blue go-faster stripe.

It terms of styling, it doesn't seem much like a modern phone — at least not outside its glossy Sony Ericsson interface, which is sharper than ever. At 48xx17mm and g, it's a hefty little toy brick. However, none of this is criticism as such, and we're rather fond of the Ki's peculiar ways, particularly since they're underpinned by some outstanding features. Most notable is the massive five-megapixel camera.

In terms of photography, the Ki is peerless, with a super-bright Xenon flash and a host of features sufficiently extensive to make any digital camera you bought before more or less redundant. It's clear Sony Ericsson takes photography very seriously. When you activate the camera mode the row of buttons containing '3', '6', '9', and ' ' light up along with symbols for timer, flash, shoot mode, and scenes. You can gain access to other options with the touchscreen and D-Pad, and there's a sense when you're taking pictures that your phone really has become a camera.

Even here, though, there are peculiarities. There's a rather smart mechanical lens cover that flicks open when you press a small button on the side of the phone, but in front of that there's a piece of glass that never comes off.

Apparently, it prevents the lens from becoming scratched should the automatic cover accidentally open, but this is a bit like making somebody wear clothes indoors in case the house blows away. It sits on top of a cover for the SIM card and memory card slots.

To access them you slide the cover down and then flip it toward you. It's an unusual arrangement, but it works quite well. Features The Ki has a 1,contact phone book with room in each entry for seven phone numbers, an e-mail, a URL, a title, a company name, two street addresses, a birthday, and notes the SIM card holds an additional names. You can save callers to groups and pair them with a photo and one of 20 polyphonic ringtones.

Or, for even more choices, video ringtones are available as well. Other basic offerings include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a speakerphone, an alarm clock, a calendar, a task list, a notepad, a timer, a stopwatch, and a calculator.

But the Ki doesn't stop there. You'll also find stereo Bluetooth, e-mail, an RSS reader, voice dialing, a voice recorder, PC syncing, USB mass storage a file manager, and a code memo for storing sensitive information.

You can even use the phone as a remote control for another Bluetooth-enabled device. As a Cyber-shot handset, the Ki's centerpiece is its camera. In that regard, it lived up to our expectations. With a 5-megapixel resolution the K is as powerful as many standalone cameras. It also comes stocked with almost as many features. It takes pictures in four resolutions from 5 megapixels down to VGA and two quality settings.

Other editing options include an image stabilizer, an autofocus, macro and infinite modes, four white-balance settings, an adjustable ISO, spot metering, four color effects, a self-timer, an autofocus light, a panoramic mode, 15 fun frames, and an autorotate feature.

Sony Ericsson's BestPic feature will take nine pictures of your subject in quick succession; you then can select which shot you like best. There's also a nifty feature for selecting a "scene" setting. The Xenon flash is among the brightest we've seen on a camera phone, and we like that it includes a red-eye reduction option.

In case you're unsure how to use all these options, a handy PhotoMate program will show you how to best use the camera. The camcorder shoots clips with sound. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped about 25 seconds; otherwise, you can shoot for as long as the memory permits.

Editing options aren't as extensive as the still camera but they're still plentiful. You can use the flash as a steady light. You can also select night mode, a white-balance setting, and a color effect.

The K's photo quality is one of its top attractions. Colors were natural and bright for the most part, though oranges and reds tended to be a too saturated. Subject outlines were very distinct and even smaller items weren't blurry. The camera performed well in low light thanks to the bright flash, but bright sunlight tended to wash out some shots. The shutter lag time was quite short compared with other camera phones.

In short, this is a high-quality camera. It comes close to replacing a standalone camera, but it doesn't make the cut.

The Ki offers 40MB of internal memory. That's pretty substantial, but you always can add more storage with the external memory card slot. Also, when you're taking photos a meter will keep track of how much space you have left.

When you're finished, you can transfer your photos and videos off the phone with a memory card, Bluetooth, a multimedia message, or a USB cable. There's also an HP Print application for connecting directly to a photo printer. The phone comes with a PC Suite, which includes photo-editing software, among other things. The Ki also comes with a music player that supports a variety of file types. It's not the fanciest player around, but it does its job well.

The interface is clean and simple, and you get a few player options including playlists, shuffle and loop modes, an equalizer, and stereo widening. Loading music on the phone is as easy as transferring photos. The PC Suite software is an easy-to-use method. The player also supports audio books and podcast, and the Ki offers FM radio. You can personalize the K with a variety of wallpapers, screensavers, and color themes. More options are available for download with the WAP 2. You can download more ringtones as well or you can compose your own using the MusicDJ application.

Games include Marble Madness and Tennis Multiplayer , but the Ki is not an ordinary phone when it comes to gaming. The handset includes an accelerometer that lets you control the game simply by moving the phone.

For example, in Marble Madness you're supposed to guide a marble along a series of ramps without falling off the edges. Rather than using the cramped and unintuitive navigation array, you simply move the marble by tipping the phone in the corresponding direction. It's a bit slow, but it's a very cool feature nonetheless. Though you may look a little ridiculous to the uninformed observer, that's the price we pay for technology.

The four bands mean you can take it almost anywhere in the world, which is very convenient for globetrotters. That means you can use it with both North American and European 3G networks. Call quality was quite good. We enjoyed clear audio, and the volume was sufficiently loud. Our callers' voices sounded natural, and we encountered no interference from other devices.

Also, static on both networks was kept to a minimum. Our callers reported good audio quality, as well, and automated calling system could understand us without any trouble. We had no trouble hearing callers in noisy environments, but they reported that the phone picked up some background noise. They didn't say it was distracting, though. Speakerphone calls were quite loud, and callers could understand us most of the time. Our sole complaint was the speakerphone quality could be a bit harsh.

The Ki's interface could be a little pokey, particularly when turning on the phone and opening the main menu.