The arrival of the Sony Ericsson K850i is expected by many in view of the handset’s top-notch functionality, as well as the 5 Mpix camera it retains, which is the top of the line solution in the Cyber-Shot range. Does this camera has something revolutionary to it and can it even have a claim for this title? To me, it is an evolution, when solutions previously experienced only with digital cameras are being carried over to handsets. In this model the manufacturer has focused on two major aspects – interface and ergonomics of the camera and also tweaked its performance in some modes. It wouldn’t be the right thing to expect this camera module to stand up to real digital cameras – lack of space for building in quality lenses is still the greatest barrier. If you are a maximalist and demand superior quality, than conventional digital cameras are worth looking at, since handsets will always be lagging a step or even several generations behind. It is quite another matter, though, when you want to squeeze out of your phone as much as possible. If that’s the case, then the Sony Ericsson K850i is the way to go.
Let’s take an overview of the handset’s imaging abilities and for this, we are putting it face to face with the Nokia N95. Deliberately or not, everyone will end up comparing these two phones when it will come to imaging departments. It was Nokia who came up with the first mass-market device sporting a 5 Mpix camera onboard. Even though there were others before it, only the Nokia N95 has managed to become a relatively mass-market product. While the Sony Ericsson K850i is looking to garner at least similar interest, in any event, it will be only a runner-up. The company has given up active attempts to struggle for the title of technology pioneer and now strives to hold its own with various technological talents.
Design
Sony Ericsson was the company to introduce the dual-face design in handsets, in other words, on the front fascia it looks like a normal phone, while the rear represents not less normal digital camera. One of the key traits was the shutter covering the lens – sliding it down brought up the camera mode automatically, which was pretty convenient. These solutions eventually got so popular that other makers had nothing to do but replicate them and so today most of top-notch solutions employ the dual-face design to a greater or lesser extent.
It would seem, the Sony Ericsson K850i is bound to utilize the solutions the company already has in this portfolio, but again, Sony Ericsson makes a sudden twist and modifies the design. The shutter, that many have fallen for, is no more – instead, the lens is hidden under the glass, which is somewhat recessed relative to the rear face. And only then, under this glass, sits the shutter, which can be released only by launching the camera mode. Apparently, this has done nothing good to the design, and on the face of it, there is no reasonable explanation to that. But after torturing more than “a couple of” Sony Ericsson managers in different regions, we have managed to figure out what’s the catch here. There is a handful of motives, one of which is an attempt to design the handset to look very reminiscent of the today’s digital cameras, that is, they have armed the K850i with a dedicated camera on/off key as well as a mode switch – these two are housed on the right-hand side. While shooting, this spine will be on top.
A shutter here would have made the mode selection key look out of place or it should have been made passive, which isn’t particularly handy either. The other, by no means a top-priority reason, was trimming some millimeters from the girth. That’s where the things get interesting within the Cyber-Shot range – all top solutions will adopt the controls found in the Sony Ericsson K850i. At the same time, most of the mass-market Cyber-Shot offerings in the upper price bracket will come included with shutters. And all solutions outside the Cyber-Shot line, for example the Sony Ericsson T650i, will have to make do without any kind of shutter. By the way a counterpart of the Sony Ericsson T650i comes with a shutter. All solutions in the bottom price-bracket won’t see shutter either. In terms of differentiation through functionality, there is nothing really bad in this – pay more to gain more. However when it comes to user experience, it is not so clear. Let’s imagine a real-life situation: for example, your humble servant here is bent on photography, therefore he needs a quality camera in his mobile phone, since not every time he feels like taking a few snaps he has a digital camera at hand or can use it at all. After having my quality time with the Sony Ericsson K800i, and even before it, the Sony Ericsson K750i my experience of handling such solutions has shaped up in this way– slide the shutter down, aim and take a picture. And it is a rare occasion when you have to setup the camera, as everything is pretty much automatic – get the phone, snap, put it back. Now I get a new product with enhanced image quality and functionality – the Sony Ericsson K850i, but my previous experience is worth nothing here. I can’t active the camera by feel, and have to look for the button on the device, since it is sunken into the casing. For some occasions it is utterly awkward. On the other hand, for a mass consumer it is another sign of a hi-tech device. By the way, it is solution of a really puzzling task – how to visually differentiate own phones from the competition, and this key solves it. A man, who has taken a phone in his hands, tuned it on and then slowly aimed surely grabs attention and can be distinguished even in a crowd. For me, sometimes, it is outrageous.
And what do you do now? Consumers will be presented with a choice between junior shutter-equipped models, sporting the previous generation flagship functionality. It is neither bad nor good – this is how the today’s market works. While its previous solutions were aiming for the mass market, but with a nod towards techi and specific audiences, this very phone is chiefly intended for the mass market.
Surprisingly, the Nokia N95 user experience-wise comes really close to the previous Sony Ericsson offerings. If I were in the shoes of the company’s developers and marketers, I would think and rethink this sudden twist in ergonomics many times. It is not for sure that after a few minutes of quality time with the handset in a shop, people will get used to the new camera controls and come to realize that it’s convenient and can be mastered in no time. This way, the user experience is broken, which is not always a good thing. Add missing hardware keys, new touch-sensitive buttons and a couple of other alterations, and see that this product negates a lion’s share of the experience, the users have acquired through playing around with the previous handsets by Sony Ericsson. And, conversely, Nokia tries to maintain it. Everything on the market has mixed up so much – the only positive about this is that such twists will occur on a rare occasion and for a few years to come the company’s top of the line products will build upon the concept found in this handset.
Every maker strives to make its products distinctive in use and creates usage patterns. The examples of the Nokia N93 and the Sony Ericsson K850i clearly explain this. So it is a seed for an article with a rundown on how the makers influence consumers and which trends they are forming.
Let’s delve deeper into the handset’s design. The top right of right-hand spine houses the digital zoom button (x16), to the right sits the protruding shutter key and the three-way camera mode switch, its first position stands for still shots, second – video, third – gallery. To the right of the shutter key is the camera on/off button. If you don’t shut it down after shooting, the camera will do it automatically in a few minutes.
The lens inside the glass is covered with a shutter, which is here in order to prevent the matrix from damage if you happen to leave the K850i in the sun. Despite being recessed, the glass is still prone to smudge, just as the entire rear face. Of course, you can give up on wiping it, but the best shots come out when it is clean. Well, this is another serious drawback to the new design – the protective glass attracts grease and dirt with ease.
The upper row of the numeric keys has captions made in blue, which resembles the way the Sony Ericsson K810i has them. They have backlighting of their own, and each of these buttons is used for jumping between modes instantaneously.
This way, “3” switches between normal mode, BestPIC, panorama and frame, “6” adjusts scene, “9” – timer and the last one – flash. With the help of “0” you can bring up a tip, telling you that the navigation key doubles as a zoom key, when pushing it horizontally, and with up/down you can modify brightness. In the previous models the number pad also served for shifting image resolution and switching to macro mode. These options have been forgone not because of some miscalculation or an attempt to follow the fashion. The maker thinks that generally, vast majority of users shoot in one and the same resolution, so giving this option a shortcut makes a little sense. No macro switch is due to the fact that the handset's imaging department is tweaked to the extent when it properly handles both macro and infinite automatically in most cases, thus the consumer won't really need these functions in quick launch.
Around the lens is a light-emitting rim, which flares in blue upon camera startup. This is made only in an effort to let you know where the lens is. To the right sits the xenon flash, equal to that used in the previous models like the K800i power-wise. At the same time, right beneath it is a LED flash, which is here to improve quality of pictures taken during the night-time, when use of a xenon flash is not justified. This is the first occasion when two flash types go hand to hand in one device.
