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Review of GSM-handset Sony Ericsson K550i

Live photos of Sony Ericsson K550i

Sales package:

  • Handset
  • Battery BST-33
  • Charger
  • Ì2 memory card 64 Mb
  • CD with software
  • Wired stereo-headset

Sony Ericsson K550i was called to life due to the wild success of Sony Ericsson K750i that maintains its popularity even nowadays. On the announcement day many were already facing these two handsets off without any spoilers or hints coming from the manufacturer. I would say that these two solutions are utterly similar concept-wise. Up until summer of 2007 neither sales nor production of Sony Ericsson K750i will be stopped, but afterwards its spot in the line-up will be taken over by Sony Ericsson K550i with it’s a tad heftier price tag for a number of new features.

Generally speaking, model K550i packs photographic merits of the K750i, active lens cover, new memory expansion format M2, slim casing, compared to the predecessor, revamped design and also ability to run several third-party Java-applications simultaneously. As you see the changes log is quite lengthy and does justify release of a stand-alone model. In order not to return to that matter as we go deeper into the review, I should say it now that Sony Ericsson K550i is more feature-rich than the K750i in all respects – hence its higher price.

Sony Ericsson K550i has also a twin in the company’s range, specifically Sony Ericsson W610i.

These handsets are pretty similar functionality-wise, however Walkman sports purely music department, while the K550i doesn’t have the knack for music and keeps its music-related capabilities in a line with the K750i. At the same time, the way snaps are handled is the same for either of the devices, but thanks to a number of design peculiarities, active lens cover, the K550i outputs more decent shots in real life. And this might get one to ponder over which one to pick?

The phone comes in two color solutions: Jet Black and Pearl White. This time both trims look appealing, and I would have a really hard time judging which one is the least attractive. Finished in white the K550i is a white Sony Ericsson W610i’s look-a-like, you might even end up confusing them having both phones in hands.

The K550i measures up at 102x46x14 mm, while the K750i offers 100x46x20.5 mm – be sure you will feel the difference, the newcomer fits in palm well and if you put them head-to-head in hands, then the K550i will definitely come out on top, simply because it is more convenient to manage. The phone weighs in at 95 grams and thus can be carried in any fashion you want, including around the neck, since there are holes for a strap.

Download video (mpg, 8.84 Mb)>>>

The build quality is fine, but the sticking point about it is the design utilized by the back cover mounting. On the right-hand spin are two movable clips, opening them allows you to unfold the battery cover (I do mean “unfold”, at that it lacks hinges). Even though this design is mostly OK, since the cover gets fixed, occasionally it clicks into place in a somewhat loose manner, causing the casing to creak. All in all it takes some getting used to due to being not as one-piece as in other phones.

But there is a reason why we have such back cover design – there is a ribbed active lens cover made of metal. It can be slid open with a single finger, yet a bit of a strain is must – the trick of opening the shutter up in a pocket accidentally, like it was with the previous models, doesn’t work out here. A self-portrait mirror is hidden beneath the lens cover; however there is another mirror semicircular in shape right above it. Also on top of the lens cover are “flash” LEDs

The entire design of the rear face is modeled after a digital camera, which comes as no surprise, bearing in mind positioning of the K550i as a CyberShot handset. Compared to Sony Ericsson W610i, apart from the differences in the back cover clip design the K550i has a few more highlights to offer – the M2 memory expansion slot sits on the left side as well, yet is hidden under the battery cover, and you will have to detach it first to hot-swap the card. The uncovered interface socket Fast Port is mounted on the left-hand spine, and accompanied by a dedicated music key, which proves to be easy to work with.

The right plate houses volume rocker and camera shortcut button, and unlike the W610i the latter key is made of ribbed metal, it is bulkier and offers a whole lot more of convenience with its decent tactile feedback. In a nutshell – this is what physically sets positioning of these handsets apart. Completing the exterior is Infrared window on the right and the power button doubling as profile switcher.

Having a diagonal of 1.9 inches (31x40 mm) the K550i’s display shows up to 262 K colors (TFT). The first thing that catches your eyes at the first glance is how big the font size is – bulgy menu items captions is what makes the K550i look different compared to the more advanced models. Reading texts with this handset is a breeze, and the credit here goes to the display itself and its fonts. The screen can accommodate up to 6 text and 3 service lines. Unlike some other offerings, the K550i’s display doesn’t enjoy a protective layer that would guard it from sunlight, however in the sun picture remains visible, even though the colors appear washed out. Maybe they have applied a new finishing technology that makes for better visual experience.

Like the W610i, the keypad for this model has been taken directly from the W880i, but this isn’t a good thing to shout about. Skinny number keys offer you soft click action, but people with big hands will find it extremely challenging to hit the buttons they need. When pressing a key you always feel the flanking keys, if though you don’t push them simultaneously. The ergonomics delivered by the numberpad is average of a tad lower than that (subjectively it felt a tiny bit better). Interestingly enough, in spite of taking up less real estate, the keypad found on Sony Ericsson W880i feels better. To me, it is the keypad that lets the K550i down, rather than the display, as some might think.

All keys are evenly lit in blue, which makes all key captions, etched on the face plate made of thick plastic, well-visible. The soft-keys are convenient to work with, thanks to the ridges around them and rocker-like action. At the same time the navigational pad is slightly on the small side – on some occasions you might not appreciate the way it works.

The K550i makes use of a 950 mAh Li-Pol battery (BST-33). The maker quotes the lifetime at 7 hours talk time and 350 hours standby time, plus up to 25 hours of music playback. In conditions of Moscow networks the handset lasted about 3 days at a bit more than one hour of calls, up to 30 minutes of web surfing and 1,5 hours of music playback a day. We also give its official playback time a go and set the K550i at full blast with default headphones and random playback, which resulted in 23 hours of real lifetime. Apparently, it is the best figure we have seen from a handset – the second best lifetime put up by other company’s proposal makes up 18 hours, while vast majority of cell phones keeps themselves up and running for 10-12 hours in this mode (like the first generation of Walkmans). It takes the K550i about two hours to charge from empty to full.

Menu

For the sake of setting apart devices in terms of positioning, today it is essential to differentiate them not only hardware- but also software-wise, provide other menu views or simplify a number of functions. If face off Sony Ericsson K550i and the W610i, the former would feature less sophisticated pre-installed themes, having no themes that would alter the main menu icons. Bluntly speaking, pulling the K550i out of the box, the user gets a simpler-looking main menu.

Other differences may be attributed to run-of-the-mill ones – first version of music player, sporting fewer settings, but presenting you with pretty good sonic experience. The suite of default applications has changed a bit, but that’s about it. Other than that these two phones are totally identical brothers in arms.

The main menu pops up before you as a grid consisting of 12 icons. Shortcut number navigation is on the K550i’s spec sheet as well – you can assign shortcuts to most menu items, that the handset comes pre-installed with, whereas own applications or files can’t be set up for one-touch access.

Text input has remained on the same comfort level, so, pressing the "#" key brings out a list of the available languages and you can easily switch between them while typing.

Download video (mpg, 9.55 Mb)>>>

Besides traditional vertically arranged sub-menus, the maker has provided subject-based horizontal tabs. It means that while viewing a list of the dialed numbers, one can see not only the dialed numbers but in the same time (by leaning the joystick horizontally) switch between missed and received call tabs. In the phone menu this kind of navigation is provided anywhere it's possible and it makes for much better usage experience. The menu ergonomics is quite high in this phone. I also have to note that such horizontal tabs appear in Phonebook, Settings and other menu items as well.

Expansion of Activity Menu functionality is the result of addition of the fourth tab. The first three ones display various events, like missed calls, memos, messages – actually all this can be found in the first tab. One can disable Activity Menu for these events as well – in this case pop up windows, reminding of a certain event type will appear on the screen. The third tab features the shortcuts, which you should set up yourself. And the added fourth one contains links to the most frequently used applications and resources – and the top of this list is claimed by Google search. To tell the truth, the way Google trade mark affects consumers can be compared to voodoo conjuration. That’s why this search engine is used by several other manufacturers as well. Firmware versions tailored for concrete markets might feature links to local resources, for Russia it is Ytro.ru, for example.

The second tab is the most interesting, since it appears to be some kind of a task manager, featuring the list of all currently running applications. User is able to have up to eight Java-applications launched (in fact there are no severe caps, yet the RAM cannot bear more than 8) simultaneously and switch between them. This may come in handy, in case you use an ICQ-esque mobile client, which should be constantly online, and at the same time want to play a Java-game. Up to now counterparts of this solution by other manufacturers haven't been announced.

On USB-connection you are forced to pick connection type – specifically whether you will be accessing data stored on the memory card or just keep managing the phone or activate Print mode. For the first mode we mentioned above the handset goes off and you gain access to the contents of both the memory card and the phone internal memory. Despite the maker claiming it to be USB 2.0, data transfer speed doesn’t exceed 500 Kb/s. If you just want your K550i to turn into a modem, then pick the second option, when you will have a chance to play around with various USB settings for going online.

Phonebook. Up to 1000 contacts with fully filled in fields can be stored in the phonebook, but number of phone numbers is limited to 2500. This means that despite the ability to assign up to 5 phone numbers to one contact, you cannot go over 2500 entries. This is enough even for the most active users, as only few have more than 500 entries in their phonebooks.

As mentioned above, several phone numbers can be submitted for one contact, as well as address, email, IM number, other contact information. In settings you can select the required fields, they will be available, meanwhile the useless ones will not be presented. Contacts can be sorted by fields, including name and surname, but only one input field. Unlike previous models, this time we have dynamics on - handset automatically sorts the list after changes.

It is possible to assign custom ring tone and photo to each contact. On incoming call the image and ring tone will be used. Date of birth field can be synchronized with Organizer, at that you will have a chance to set how many days prior to the event the handset should warn you.

When you are typing in information, you can scroll between tabs, in the first one you enter phone numbers, categorize them by types. On the whole the organization of this process reminds of Outlook, and it means comfort in the first place. Voice tags can be added for required phone numbers, names, there can be up to 40 of them. Voice dialing remained the way it was many months ago, it starts looking archaic with all these voice independent recognition software being implemented by the competitors.

The company still follows its traditional beliefs that SIM-card is used only in case of emergency, that’s why the only way to see its contents is to go into special option in the menu. SIM contacts are not displayed in the general list.

You can create a back-up copy of all entries in phonebook, which will be stored on the memory card, so that you will have the ability to restore them afterwards.

Contact Groups serve only for mass SMS sending, since it is impossible to bind custom ringtone or photo for Group.

Any video clip may be used as caller ID for any entry in the phonebook

Messaging. All tools used for managing messages are standard, there are some templates available and you can come up with some more of your own. Phone’s memory together with SIM-card is used for storing messages. Chat function is supported. On the whole everything is just like in any other phone from this company. Only emoticons icons have changed – now they look much more attractive.

The MMS implementation is as always great, you can literally create video clips, there are lots of settings and this is one of those things that give SE’s product a cutting edge over competitors.

E-Mail client can send and receive e-mails, all sorts of encodings are supported. The emails can be stored on memory card.

In email settings you can setup separate password for SMTP-accounts, this is very convenient. The settings are flexible, support for almost all encodings, and not only Unicode has been added. Attachments that are supported by the phone are presented as icons in an email’s body. The phone doesn’t recognize office files or PDF, but they can be stored in any directory. The limit for outgoing/incoming email size is set by operator. Emails with 6-7 Mb attachments can be sent without any hassles. The phone supports Push Mail standard. Naturally send & receive process is carried out in background mode.

RSS Feed. The settings for this item are really simple - you just specify the title for feed and its address. The phone will connect and download it without your assistance. You can update only one item, or the whole feed at once. Capabilities of built-in browser are used for displaying the feeds. Feeds may be updated on schedule.

Call list. Up to 30 records can be stored in the general list, all with date and time. Icon that stands for call type (missed/received/dialed) is shown next to each entry. Besides this additional icon identifies if this phone number is present in the phone book or SIM-card. The list of missed calls can be viewed separately and stores up to 10 entries. In this menu you can also see the cost and length of all outgoing calls and last call. Navigating through the lists works with the help of tabs and this does save much time.

Entertainment. Photos, music files can be accessed from this menu. MusicDJ function is rather interesting, even though it is a niche solution and there is not much of a chance that this feature will be highly demanded. In the editor you can create ring tones and edit up to four bands.

Advanced version of MusicDJ is called VideoDJ, it allows editing not only music files, but also adding images and signs. The resulting file is recorded in .3GP file which can be sent by MMS or Email, or just transferred to another phone.

PhotoDJ has kept the name but had its inners completely revamped. The manufacturer has partly removed the shroud handing over the impending CyberShot projects, which will feature this editor by default. Now tell us, how often do you draw with your handset or create own pictures? The answer for most will be as clear as it only could be – never. At the same time getting rid of red-eyes effect, adjusting a shot’s brightness, contrast, sharpness, overlaying some effects, might well come in handy on certain occasions, but to do that you frequently have to wait the moment when you get photos uploaded to a PC. The new PhotoDJ looks to make performing these most basic actions as easy as it has never been before, enhance the handset with the ability to carry out these operations on the go. This move is definitely a big plus for Sony Ericsson and will be followed by other companies; and Nokia will be in the first rows (such functionality will get to its phones due out in the second half of 2007).

Remote control – ability to control other devices via the phone’s Bluetooth connectivity. It is standard for all phones made by Sony Ericsson

The sound can be recorded by Sound Recorder - it allows making clips that can be later used as ring tones. Phone calls can be recorded too, this is done from context menu, no time limits are set for the Sound Recorder.

Games – the handset plays host only to one game – PuzzleSlider.

Organizer. Organizer keeps a lot of functions underneath. Let’s get Calendar out of the way first. There are three view modes embedded in the K550i’s calendar: weekly, monthly and daily. The last option displays the list of all events and memos, in two others you will see highlighted time or day. You can switch to required day and year, or month. So everything is pretty simple, just as the schedule input is. You get the ability to name the event, define the place where it will take place, set length and setup the reminder (before or right at the start of the event). Recurrent events support is also onboard. Types of reoccurrence: daily, monthly, yearly. Reminders work even if the phone is turned off as well, unless you disable this function.

To do list in this phone is quite ascetic. There are only two types of events: phone call and reminder. On the other hand, this is really enough, simplicity has its own advantages.

The phone has full-fledged search, set up for calendar: you specify the search line (word or part of it) and after a while you will see all events that match this criteria. The function is quite speedy even if the organizer has more than 100 entries; fast switch to the event from the search window is supported.

The phone features transfer of schedule to various devices (traditionally via IrDA and Bluetooth). Choose the required interval (day, week or month) and send all entries – it is that simple. I’d like to point out that the device should support PIM function in order to open and display this data properly. It is possible to send the schedule to TV-set through IrDA connection, the TV-set accepts it but is unable to display the received information. Data can be received the same way, with the help of desktop or office PC without any additional software.

Notes. The phone supports notes entry, though they are limited in length. The name of the note you see on the list will be first word entered. This is not always convenient since you will have to think of the first word that would tell you what the note is all about.

Alarm Clock. Now you have access to five alarm clocks, and each of them can be set up manually. They can work in definite week days. Besides the ring tone for alarm clock you can select small note and picture, they will be displayed when alarm clock goes on. Any music file can be assigned as the alarm tone.

Stopwatch/Countdown. Here everything is quite standard, although the same can be said of the stopwatch that has intermediate times function. The phone has special application for storing secret codes, which was a huge success in previous models, well, standard calculator is onboard too.

Connectivity. All connectivity settings for the phone can be setup from here, starting from WAP and GPRS (the EDGE settings are same) to Bluetooth and Synchronization. I will not describe the standard options, they are kind of standard in the first place, and everything works fine. I’d like to highlight stable Bluetooth operation - no problems were encountered, synchronization with other devices runs smoothly, all profiles (including A2DP, which is stereo sound via Bluetooth) are supported. EDR-enabled Bluetooth version is 2.0.

Local and Remote synchronization can be setup from the same menu. The phone supports HID profile which allows using it as Remote control for PC and other devices.

The following Bluetooth profiles are supported:

  • Dial-up networking profile
  • Generic Access profile
  • Generic Object Exchange Profile
  • Object Push Profile
  • Serial Port Profile
  • Handsfree Profile
  • Headset Profile
  • Synchronization Profile
  • Basic Imaging Profile
  • File Transfer Profile
  • HID Profile
  • SyncML OBEX binding
  • JSR-82 Java API
  • A2DP

WAP. The browser owns separate menu item, the version is 2.0, it supports secured connections which is quite important in case you are using electronic transactions. New wallpapers, themes and ring tones can be downloaded right away – all this is available at the original web-site.

Standard browser for Sony Ericsson phones is NetFront, which supports single-column web pages display and HTML. One of the best things about it, is the ability to create folders with files and bookmarks. The browser is considered to be one of the market’s best offerings, but limited phone resources do it no favors. On the whole those using Internet constantly should consider buying PDA or laptop, since full-fledged Internet access is not an ultimate must-have for this device type. At the same time RSS Feeds support is great, it allows using the phone for reading news, announcements and articles on the go in a convenient fashion.

HTML pages that contain advanced formatting or exceed 500kb in their size will not be displayed. On the whole standard browser is all fine, but usage of Opera Mini is preferable, since it has got way more to offer.

Settings. This menu stores all settings related to the phone’s operation. In the stand by mode clock can be displayed at the bottom (on or off), you an also alter the font size, in case you select big letters it will be easy to see what time it is, but the font itself becomes a tad transparent. There isn’t anything to add, all the rest is standard.

File manager, memory size. The user has 70-75 MB of available memory at his disposal, add empty M2 memory card to that too. Here all data (photos, videos, applications) can be stored. The remaining memory is occupied by preinstalled applications, which cannot be wiped. Part of memory is dedicated to phonebook, call lists, etc.

The phone has a basic file manager, with its help files can be sorted by various folders, custom directories can be created in phone’s memory, files can be moved there as well. With or without cable the phone can become a perfect storage, there are no problems with recording your own files, even if they cannot be opened by the phone.

Traditionally, file sorting includes the following options: date, type and size. The Image Gallery has new setting called Timeline, after you activate it you will see a bar on which months will be shown. And in lists you will see photos that were made during this or that month. You can make the list more detailed by pressing the same key twice, in that case you will see days instead of months, meaning that photos will be sorted in the following structure: list of images made on October 3rd, for example. This is a good way to wander around tons of images.

Camera. The handset flaunts an auto-focus enabled 2 Mpix CMOS camera. The camera model has been adopted from Sony Ericsson K750i and won’t make anyone’s eyes go round with impression, as it is widely known as one of its type’s best units, the one that has raised the bar so high.

Download video (mpg, 5.41 Mb)>>>

The device supports three possible resolutions - 1632x1224, 1280x960, 640x480 pixels. Two types of data compression, Normal and Fine, are at your disposal. The majority of the photos represented are in the Fine quality. The photos differ in size almost two times depending on the resolution. Thus a photo in the Normal mode takes about 300 KB when the Fine quality gives 500-600 KB. Saving the photo takes the same time not depending on the case, that is about 1-2 seconds, and that is quite well for such a file size.

The camera settings look the following way:

  • Shutter sound. You can choose on of the three shutter sounds but not turn the sound off.
  • White balance. A possibility to choose between an automatic mode or Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight.
  • Effects. Several effects may be applied to the photos, they are Negative, Solarize, Sepia, Black & White.
  • Timer is activated for a certain time period for self shooting.
  • Night mode is for shooting in the dark. Noises raise on a photo, exposition is increased (you shouldn't move the device in order not to get a blurry photo).
  • Shooting mode. Normal mode, that is taking usual photos. A multiple mode (Burst 4) allows taking four photos for a series. Landscape is a very interesting mode that allows taking rather unordinary photos, has no rivals for the moment. The last mode is taking photos with frames, photo resolution decreases automatically.

The screen serves as a viewfinder when in the shooting mode. The picture moves very smoothly and everything is clearly seen. Number keys help in switching between various functions and shooting parameters quickly that greatly speeds up the process of shooting. The flash won’t ease your lot much, but occasionally allows snapping sharper shots. For comparison purposes we took Sony Ericsson W610i’s sample shots due to these models being close relatives.

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

 W610i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

  K550i (+) maximize, 1632x1224, JPEG

Compared to Sony Ericsson W610i amount of quality shot proves to be a bit higher – presence of protective shutter adds to K550i’s performance, as the lens isn’t prone to smudge and dirt this way. It turns out that given the same module, CyberShot outputs better shots, even though only marginally. Anyhow the handset carries a decent camera onboard.

Video may be recorded in two resolutions (176x144, 128x96), file format is 3GP. Clip duration may be limited (up to 10 seconds) or unlimited. The quality of the clips is average and obviously inferior to many top models.

Sample video (3gp, 244 Kb)>>>

Video player. The manufacturer has singled out the player in an individual menu item for the purpose of emphasizing how different it is compared to the music player, and other makers’ offerings, where video and music players share one section. On the plus side is ability to playback QVGA-clips at 30 frames per second, progressive fast-forward feature, landscape mode switcher, auto-scaling of high resolutions down to the display’s size. And the last, but of course not the least, highlight on the list is possibility to get snaps of frames of the played back video, which are saved as pictures and can be used in whatever way you like afterwards.

Radio. The K550i has memory capable of storing up to 20 FM radio stations and the auto-tuning ability, as well as RDS feature onboard. The Radio application used here is no different from that found on the K750i quality-wise, meaning that it is mostly fine.

Player. The phone has built-in mp3 (AAC, eAAC+, WMA formats are also supported), 3GP and mpeg4 player. It is a good way to listen to mp3 files. Besides settings you can setup equalizer (there are predefined settings: Bass, Voice, Tremble, etc), as well as the ability to create your custom ones. The sound changes according to the settings, this is noticeable. The bundled player is totally identical to what we can find on first generation of Walkmans or in Sony Ericsson K750i.

Download video (mpg, 3.45 Mb)>>>

TrackID. Just like in Sony Ericsson W610i this handset has TrackID service (hidden in Entertainment menu), that helps a lot when you can find out song’s title when listening to it on radio or recording it via microphone. Usually it takes around 3-4 seconds for length, later on file gets transferred to server GraceNote, where it interacts with huge data base. Unlike other models in K550i you can not only get song title, but also buy it. Service is interesting due to momentum, instant and impulsive ability of buying that song you were looking for. It’s hard to say something else about this service.

Applications. The handset comes pre-installed with two applications, specifically Photo Mate, a program that boasts modular structure, but is in fact a digital photography primer, that was created exclusively for Sony Ericsson K550i and explains how to shoot, apply frames and edit the photos in the phone. Both the concept and its materialization are great – make no dbout abot that.

HP Print – prints out shots via Bluetooth.

Face Wrap – an editor that allows for shape-changing people’s faces, so that literally no one would every guess who is featured on the picture.

Performance. The model puts up nothing special in terms of performance for the handsets of the company’s latest generation, yet it does better than most of other offerings available on the market. Low screen resolution compared to senior models, has a positive impact on the K550i’s performance – the interface works at the light-speed. There are no caps on JAR files, while HEAP can make up from 512 Kb to 1.5 Mb in size.

Impressions

Despite the polyphony having 40 chords in the K550i, the handset does not provide a breakthrough in sounding of mp3 tunes compared to other Sony Ericsson branded phones. Volume-wise, performing on average level on this front, the K550i is pretty much akin to Sony Ericsson K790/K800/W810. Be sure you will hear the handset outdoors. The silent alert provides average strength. The reception part is on the same level with that of other products by the Sony Ericsson – in other words, it’s very fine.

Generally, the market holds a great many of models that try to be Sony Ericsson K750i-esque offerings and thus act as rivals to the K550i as well. At the same time we haven’t seen a device, from any of the market leaders, that would pack comparable quality of snaps, multitasking and good sonic experience in a casing this small. Some proposals trump the K550i in particular fields, but no other handset shows off all these features in one place. Hence the conclusion that Sony Ericsson K550i is destined to become a milestone, a successor to the K750i, that will shave much of its price off at the turn of 2007 – beginning of 2008. Sound strange, though, but this handset will become Sony Ericsson’s greatest profit generator in the mid range – there is already a great base for that existing.

The sales of the K550i are scheduled to go live in May, with the initial price of 260-280 Euro, which is made in order not to rival the already long-available Sony Ericsson K750i. As soon as the latter offering goes off the stage in the middle of this summer (when it won’t be available in such massive amounts), K550i’s price will gradually fall down to 230-250 Euro or even less.

Going for Sony Ericsson K550i is justified for those who already own the K750i and are fully satisfied with its performance. If you are now looking for more features, it is about time to look elsewhere, flagships of each line-up. The handset does well as a primary phone with a decent camera inside and good functionality. The K550i has turned out to be a mostly successful model, saving for the keypad and the back cover.

Eldar Murtazin ([email protected])
Translated by Oleg Kononosov ([email protected])

Published — 09 February 2007

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[ 19-07 16:57 ]iPhone 5 To Feature Nano-SIM Cards

[ 18-07 14:20 ]What The iPad Could Have Looked Like ...

[ 18-07 13:25 ]App Store Hack Is Still Going Strong Despite Apple's Best Efforts

[ 13-07 12:34 ]Infographic: The (Hypothetical) Sale Of RIM

[ 13-07 11:10 ]Video: iPhone Hacker Makes In-App Purchases Free

[ 12-07 19:50 ]iPhone 5 Images Leak Again

[ 12-07 17:51 ]Android Takes 50%+ Of U.S. And Europe

[ 11-07 16:02 ]Apple Involved In 60% Of Patent Suits

[ 11-07 13:14 ]Video: Kindle Fire Gets A Jelly Bean

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