The Sony Ericsson K608i flip phone catches the eye immediately with its glossy mirror-like surface and disappearing external display. It is a handset will appeal to those who want something sleek and stylish but this 3G-enabled device also has a full set of features including a 2 megapixel camera memory stick expansion and MP3 player. The Z608i with its sleek curves measures 104 x 45 x 19 mm and weighs 100g so is compact for a 3G handset. The outstanding feature though is the external OLED display. Virtually invisible when not in operation due to the reflective mirror surface it only appears when you receive a new message call or calendar notification. The internal TFT display offers up to 262k colours at 176 x 220 pixel resolution. The keyboard is excellent with large slightly raised and subtly rounded buttons - ideal for long SMS messages and emails. The camera is best suited to an occasional snapshot rather than everyday use including 2.5 x digital zoom panorama frames and burst shooting modes and a 10 second self-timer. For video calling the Z610i features a VGA camera although unlike many other 3G handsets you cannot use this sensor to take portrait photos. While the Z610i isn't marketed as a Walkman phone it still includes a competent music player capable of playing a number of file formats including MP3 and AAC. It supports A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) which is a technology that let devices stream stereo sound to each other via Bluetooth allowing music playback through Bluetooth headphones. Sony Ericsson has also added the ability to blog directly from the phone. You can take a photo write a small snippet of text and publish it on the Internet as a blog - all through the phone itself. You get your own free personal blog Web site with blogger.com and it only takes a minute or two to publish. There is only 16MB of internal memory but it supports a memory expansion card up to 2 GB and there is a commendable list of personal organiser functions. Battery life is good rated at seven hours talk time with a 2.5G network dropping to 2.5 hours when using a 3G network with 400 hours of standby time. - 3G video calling - Mirrored external display technology - Excellent array of personal organiser functions |
