Sony Ericsson K850i
When the Sony Ericsson K850i was announced, it took the world by storm. Not only was it Sony Ericsson's first 5 megapixel mobile phone, but it would also be part of the Cyber-Shot range. It's fair to say, then, that in terms of camera phones, this is one of the most important (if not the most important) phones to be released in the last year!
To understand it fully, you have to consider the market it jumped into; the camera phone market. At that time, there were two real competitors for the best camera phone going; it was kind of a war of attrition between Nokia and Sony Ericsson. In Nokia's corner was the mighty N95, whilst fighting for the Swedes (well, for the Japanese/Swedish joint venture) was the K810. The Nokia clearly had the upper hand in terms of specs, with 5 megapixels and built-in GPS< but the plucky K810 wasn't going to let it have it all its own way. Yes, it only had 3 megapixels, but it had Cyber-Shot technology, and a PROPER flash, something no self-respecting, dedicated camera phone should be without. It was clear, though, that Sony Ericsson didn't want to pile too much into one phone, making it a bit tepid and lukewarm. They would need a handset that was focused, a camera phone par excellence.
Sony Ericsson K850i - 5 megapixel Cyber-Shot perfection
What they made was the Sony Ericsson K850i, not only their first 5MP camera phone, but the first 5MP phone from any manufacturer to feature Cyber-Shot technology! By focusing the phone down to make it solely a camera phone, without al the other tech needed to make it a smart phone, Sony Ericsson effectively sidestepped the problem of how to deal with the N95. It dealt with the problem by not being the same class as the N95, so that it could be judged purely on its camera.
The specs of the K850i's camera certainly blew the N95's camera out of the water.
In fact, there were many, many mobile phones with cameras, and the K850i blew 'em all out of water! Sony Ericsson really pulled out all the stops, giving it autofocus, image stabiliser, night mode, a xenon flash (believe me, it needed this!), and a wonderful, slick media viewer, with auto-rotate built in, to let you view photos in landscape mode just by turning the phone on its side. And it's those features, along with the fantastic 5 megapixel sensor, that make the K850i such an important phone. The Sony Ericsson K850i is available now (in two colours, as well) on O2, Orange, Vodafone, T Mobile and Three.