hj2k_x
Honorary Master
Have had the phone for about two days now, so I thought I would post a proper review type of thing, to save people the hassle of searching through lots of more general threads to find out about a phone, so here it is 
Here are a couple of reviews I read before deciding to get the phone on upgrade: GSM Arena review and CNET Australia Review
I previously had a K750i, which I absolutely loved and in the end, the K810i was the most sensible way to go really.
So, after playing around with the phone for two days or so, here is what I think.
Let us start with the positives:
-> Bright, clear and sharp screen (even in direct sunlight)
-> Fast and responsive controls ( none of the Nokia Symbian 9.1 lag or slowness)
-> Excellent 3.2 Megapixel Camera with dedicated camera keys and one touch activation. Very responsive and fast.
-> Excellent Flash
-> Not too big or bulky, nice styling
-> Good battery Life so far
-> 3G
-> Easy to use music player
-> Good, strong stereo speakers and vibration
What I don't like:
-> 2" screen could have been bigger (2" is about average nowadays, many phones have larger screens)
-> Only takes the super expensive Sony M2 memory card format (R569 for a 2GB one from Cellucity is the cheapest I have found so far) and comes bundled with a pathetically small 128MB card
-> Xenon flash is excellent but cannot be forced on to function as a torch
-> Keys and joystick not as good as K750 or K800 (or N73 for that matter). Take some getting used to and are harder to depress than they should be. After a month of usage this really is getting to me. My thumbs are sore from smsing and operating the badly designed joystick. Also, at the bottom left of the phone there is little metal loop for attaching a lanyard- this is where my little finger rests when holding the phone. Now this finger is sore from constantly pressing up on this thin slice of metal
Basically, I think it is one of the best phones out there right now. I would have loved a bigger screen and the dual memory card capabilities of the K850i(which is actually not a better phone, I don't think) but all in all I have very few issues with the phone.
If upgrading from a K750i I don't think you will necessarily be disappointed, however, if upgrading from any other phone from two years ago the difference will be staggering.
Other phones I considered and why I did not take them:
Nokia N73: A year ago this was top of the range overseas and we have only had it for a while in SA. The screen is huge and beautiful and the camera is arguably as good as the SE series. However, I found the phone bulky to hold, lacking in some functionality that you might expect from such a phone, the keypad way too small for effective smsing.
Worst of all is the now defunct Nokia Symbian 9.1 OS which it runs off. In a word, it was slow. Really spoiled the experience for me. When depressing the "new message" key you could literally count two seconds before the message editor was opened.
Not cool. Apparently the Symbian 9.2 OS featured on the 6120C is a lot faster and a lot better.
Nokia 5310
Great little phone, less than 1cm thick and very light as well, also has a nice 2" screen. Came bundled with a 2GB memory card and did not run of an OS like the N73.
At the end of the day I did not take this because the 2MP camera was, by all reports, poor and there was no flash at all. Would not really have been much of an upgrade from the K750.
Nokia 6500C
Also a very small and stylish phone which is what attracted me to it in the first place. Sadly, again the camera was a let-down, despite the addition of a flash. It also had 1GB fixed internal memory with no possibility of inserting a memory card anywhere.
SE K850i(would have had to pay in on Weekender)
This is meant to be the successor to the K810, but for me it is not a better phone. The screen is slightly bigger at 2.2" and the camera is a huge 5MP. What lets it down is first of all its size- It is bigger than the K810i and noticeably so. Also the keys are absolutely awful. After attempting to type an sms on this phone my fingers were sore and I was quite frustrated. Also, the navigational pad is poorly thought out. The dedicated call and end buttons were tiny! At least it came with a 512MB card and there is always the option to buy the much cheaper micro SD format if you want to expand.
So, there you are. My review of the SE K810i. I hope it serves as a help to someone out there. This is just the kind of thread that I was looking for when deciding what phone to go for.
Feel free to reply with thoughts/comments or questions
Edit: I have been looking around for the perfect phone in this kind of price range and I am yet to find one I can truly recommend.
The K850's buttons and configuration are ridiculous, as is its size.
The N73's buttons are too small and too close together, it is also big.
Motorola is a no-no for me.
Other phones seem to have some really important flaw, like really poor cameras with no flash or something ridiculous.
I am not a happy chappy
__________________
Here are a couple of reviews I read before deciding to get the phone on upgrade: GSM Arena review and CNET Australia Review
I previously had a K750i, which I absolutely loved and in the end, the K810i was the most sensible way to go really.
So, after playing around with the phone for two days or so, here is what I think.
Let us start with the positives:
-> Bright, clear and sharp screen (even in direct sunlight)
-> Fast and responsive controls ( none of the Nokia Symbian 9.1 lag or slowness)
-> Excellent 3.2 Megapixel Camera with dedicated camera keys and one touch activation. Very responsive and fast.
-> Excellent Flash
-> Not too big or bulky, nice styling
-> Good battery Life so far
-> 3G
-> Easy to use music player
-> Good, strong stereo speakers and vibration
What I don't like:
-> 2" screen could have been bigger (2" is about average nowadays, many phones have larger screens)
-> Only takes the super expensive Sony M2 memory card format (R569 for a 2GB one from Cellucity is the cheapest I have found so far) and comes bundled with a pathetically small 128MB card
-> Xenon flash is excellent but cannot be forced on to function as a torch
-> Keys and joystick not as good as K750 or K800 (or N73 for that matter). Take some getting used to and are harder to depress than they should be. After a month of usage this really is getting to me. My thumbs are sore from smsing and operating the badly designed joystick. Also, at the bottom left of the phone there is little metal loop for attaching a lanyard- this is where my little finger rests when holding the phone. Now this finger is sore from constantly pressing up on this thin slice of metal
Basically, I think it is one of the best phones out there right now. I would have loved a bigger screen and the dual memory card capabilities of the K850i(which is actually not a better phone, I don't think) but all in all I have very few issues with the phone.
If upgrading from a K750i I don't think you will necessarily be disappointed, however, if upgrading from any other phone from two years ago the difference will be staggering.
Other phones I considered and why I did not take them:
Nokia N73: A year ago this was top of the range overseas and we have only had it for a while in SA. The screen is huge and beautiful and the camera is arguably as good as the SE series. However, I found the phone bulky to hold, lacking in some functionality that you might expect from such a phone, the keypad way too small for effective smsing.
Worst of all is the now defunct Nokia Symbian 9.1 OS which it runs off. In a word, it was slow. Really spoiled the experience for me. When depressing the "new message" key you could literally count two seconds before the message editor was opened.
Not cool. Apparently the Symbian 9.2 OS featured on the 6120C is a lot faster and a lot better. Nokia 5310
Great little phone, less than 1cm thick and very light as well, also has a nice 2" screen. Came bundled with a 2GB memory card and did not run of an OS like the N73.
At the end of the day I did not take this because the 2MP camera was, by all reports, poor and there was no flash at all. Would not really have been much of an upgrade from the K750.
Nokia 6500C
Also a very small and stylish phone which is what attracted me to it in the first place. Sadly, again the camera was a let-down, despite the addition of a flash. It also had 1GB fixed internal memory with no possibility of inserting a memory card anywhere.
SE K850i(would have had to pay in on Weekender)
This is meant to be the successor to the K810, but for me it is not a better phone. The screen is slightly bigger at 2.2" and the camera is a huge 5MP. What lets it down is first of all its size- It is bigger than the K810i and noticeably so. Also the keys are absolutely awful. After attempting to type an sms on this phone my fingers were sore and I was quite frustrated. Also, the navigational pad is poorly thought out. The dedicated call and end buttons were tiny! At least it came with a 512MB card and there is always the option to buy the much cheaper micro SD format if you want to expand.
So, there you are. My review of the SE K810i. I hope it serves as a help to someone out there. This is just the kind of thread that I was looking for when deciding what phone to go for.
Feel free to reply with thoughts/comments or questions
Edit: I have been looking around for the perfect phone in this kind of price range and I am yet to find one I can truly recommend.
The K850's buttons and configuration are ridiculous, as is its size.
The N73's buttons are too small and too close together, it is also big.
Motorola is a no-no for me.
Other phones seem to have some really important flaw, like really poor cameras with no flash or something ridiculous.
I am not a happy chappy
__________________
Last edited:
