Blast from the past- Sony Ericsson K790i review.
devilhead_satish over at our forums has posted a good review of the Sony Ericssion K790i on his blog. Good Work Satish!
Every once in a while comes a phone that will want to make you throw or hide your own phone.The K790i is one such gem of a cell phone which will the send the expletives rolling from your mouth as you initially work your way around the phone.
Looks And Build Quality
Absolutely clean and uncluttered design. In hardware terms the K790i isn’t much to look at. Small (105 x 47 x 22 mm)and light (115g) with shades of slate grey and silver and white highlights. The front facing controls are dominated by a small joystick which is one of the better ones I’ve used. It is responsive and has plenty of travel. You can program its four directions for specific functions.
There are two absolutely tiny buttons to the far left and right of the joystick that need to be approached with a fingernail if you are to hit them accurately. One launches the web browser, the other is the Activity Menu key which contains four tabbed sections: these are more shortcuts to applications, web bookmarks, notifications about missed calls and new messages, and, helpfully the chance to close any running applications that might be slowing the handset down.
The hardware controls are very well thought through. Both softkey buttons and the joystick help you access features and settings quickly, and two further small buttons above the screen give access to more. One of these calls up thumbnail images regardless of what else you are doing with the handset at the time. If you have ever fumbled on a handset for a particular shot to show to a friend you will know how valuable this is. To the back of the handset is the USP of the phone, the camera, which is accessed by sliding a cover. Also present is a xenon flash which is nice and effective.
Screen and UI
Absolutely delicious. 262k at 240×320 pixels. And you can flip from landscape to portrait modes in a jiffy. The screen is pretty readable in bright sunlight too.
Performance
Nice and fast, is usually why people steer clear of Nokia’s and get Sony Ericsson’s. This one’s no exception. Everything usually loads up when you hit a key and there’s hardly any waiting period, except when you’re playing around with the images that have taken at the max resolution of 3.2MP’s.
Battery Life
Absolutely good(Li-Po 900 mAh ) .Talk time is a good 7hrs and you can play MP3’s continuously for around 11hrs. So looking at a real world scenario(around an hour of talking, 2 hours of music playback, and some shots with the camera), the battery should offer you juice for up to 2 days without the phone needing a dash to the mains.
Connectivity
A plethora of connectivity options greet you on the K790i, there’s GPRS Class 10, EDGE, HSCSD, Bluetooth v2, Infrared and USB 2.0. So you’re never probably gonna have a problem connecting to the world…
Music Playback
This is a SE phone, so you’d be forgiven to take for granted the fact that the phone is gonna be a good music player. And it does not disappoint. We plugged in the SE W810i’s earphones and I have to say, it has to be one of the best sounding phones around. Good enough whilst travelling anyway.
And oh, there is an FM player as well. Thank you very much.
Camera
When I wrote the article on the W800i sometime in 2005, I said it was the best camera at that time. Nothing new about this one, that it raises the bar for cell phone cameras to an all new high. I’ll just post the pictures taken from the phone and you can decide as to how good it really is. (Coming soon..)Video capture is in the ancient QCIF format which is not all that good, considering what the camera is really capable of.
Memory
The phone comes with 64MB of internal memory and comes with an expansion slot which accepts Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick Micro format. The size of the card is as big (or small rather) as the MicroSD cards, about as much as your fingernail. These cards are pretty expensive and a 2GB card can set you back by almost a Rs3-4000k.
Applications
The phone has so many applications that I can do little more than just list the highlights. You’ve got the usual ring tone composer, an excellent web browser, an RSS reader (God bless SE), video and image editors(quite effective, this one). Then there is the picture blogging fetaure. You take a picture, then you can choose ‘Blog this’. The picture is resized, and you give it a name and a description then send it to your photo blog. Et voila, the picture is now ready for the world to see!
Affiramtive!!
+Great Camera!
+Nice and fast interface
+Good large screen and resolution
+Good looks
+Good battery life
+Functional In built applications
Negative
-M2 memory expansion
-QCIF video capture
Price 16000-17000
Conclusion
A great buy at the current price. Its got just about everything you need and you should certainly be a happy soul buying it. Apart from the camera, there are loads of other nifty features that’ll seal the deal.
Rating 9/10
Popularity: 51% [?]
Hi,
I have a doubt in regards to the availability of the applications for the K790i.
Last week I purchased the K790i and I have a habit of reading books a lot and I do it mostly on the Phone.(Earlier, I had Nokia 6600 on which I used to read a lot of ebooks)
My Question is, is there any application or software which can be installed on the K790i so that we can read ebooks on the Phone?
If the answer is Yes, then I would be the most happpiest person as I spend most of my time reading E-books or Novels.
Could somebody please reply me if there is one such application or software that can be installed to read E-books on K790i?
Thanks in Advance….
Regards,
Chakravarthy.P
Chakravarthy.P: April 30th, 2007
Dear Sir,
Pls know to me total camera pixel and price list ( on dollar) on the ony ericssion k790i model. Thanks.
From Bangladesh
Babu: May 1st, 2007
Personally, I haven’t an ebook reader for the K790i. I think the fact that it uses a proprietary operating system, it’s hard to come up with an ebook application. With Symbian/Windows Mobile you have dedicated communities churning applications.
The phone has a 3.2 megapixel camera with a maximum image resolution of 2048×1536. It’s current price in India is 16500 INR which is roughly equivalent to US$390.
Vivek: May 1st, 2007
SIR I M Nikhil Bhandari ,an engg student ,frm karnataka ,i ALSO HAVE AN K790I CELL. I FOUND THT THE PICTURE QUALITY IS REALLY GOOD BUT PBLM IS THT ITS VIDEO QUALITY IS NOT SO GOOD. AND THE RECENT PBLM I FOUMD IN MY CELL WAS THT IT WAS AUTOMATICALLY CONNECTING TO WEB EVEN IF DINT CONNECT IT
Nikhil bhandari: May 2nd, 2007
Hi i purchased a SE K790i a week ago.Its a very good phone in deed and it has all the functions which i needed,especially the camera which is of 3.2 MP.But recently i purchased a bluetooth headset and found that i cannot listen to the music which was on my music player in the phone.Please can anybody tell me that does the SE K790i have A2DP hardware in it so i can listen to the music without the wire business.Thankx in Advance…..
Robert D'costa: May 3rd, 2007
masbox: June 13th, 2007
matntd: June 13th, 2007
yup…it does have A2DP facility !! U just need to purchase the right hardware and perform appropriate settings in the phone !
mayank sharma: June 15th, 2007
a simple question…….the micro SD cards available in the market…do they fit this SE k790i or do we need to go for anything else….
kishore: July 23rd, 2007
Hi all !!!
Please dont ever buy Sony Ericsson K790i. I bought it before 6 months, after the secon month onwards it started showing problems with iths bloody software. I got it re-installed more than 6 times. Not the latest problem I am expereincing is what i am not able to see the first charector of any of the Menu options on the screen. Camera stopped working more than 3 times, GPRS is not at all working with my connection provider, not able to lock my out going calls with the password provided by my connection provider…. Really its making me mad.. Please dont ever buy this ****ing phone.
Renjith: August 13th, 2007
hi ppl..!!
This is an amazing mobile,it has all except 3G which is a draw back.It is much better than N-series which is very slow in its operation. Awesome speakers,picture clarity,camera makes this mobile a unique way of ‘xpressing your self.
But a bit floppy joystick and a bit complicated mesaging makes the drawback.
All in all a cool mobile..!!
My rating 8/10
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prepaid-phone-card.1phonecard: August 22nd, 2007
i bought sony erision k790i it is super phore the best
Akash: August 25th, 2007
Dear All
I have bought Sony Ericsson 790i Pls Clarify me that Once the Camera is Used for Video Capturing it doesnt Show Clear Output having 3.2mp as shown in Capturing Photos. Is it a Problem on the Mobile or this problem Exists for All the Customers.
T.Anbarasan: August 27th, 2007
I am planning to buy one of these kinds lets see if i really get something better that this or ill buy this one
smitah: October 1st, 2007
Pls suggest which is good one..N73 or K790i i plan to buy this week.
Satish Kumar: October 6th, 2007
@ Chakravarthy.P and @ Vivek
Have you tried “Read Maniac”
I use it to read tonz of ebooks (*.txt versions). With the latest software upgrade R1KG001 it doesn’t even keep asking for access rights.
k790i ROCKS!!!!
Cheers,
Rahul
Rahul Raj: October 9th, 2007
Hello link
wbryzhijcherteo: October 29th, 2007
hi pals, Its really proud to have SE k790i. You wil realise when you use it. The camera pictures are awesome, nothing is comparable… you love to take snaps at any time, it has all features to take, twlight, panaromic view… and to listen songs wonderful.. and i dont have any complaints so far. if you wish to buy, i can suggest k790i. Amazing…
cheers
Nim
Nirmala: October 31st, 2007
how to set different ringtone to diferent caller in se k790i
plz reply.
Rakesh Pandit: November 21st, 2007
I am feeling leckness of some essentials as per my requirements of features in my newly purchased K790i.
1. Fast forward of music track not available in my phone but I require this feature. If possible by any other mean please reply.
2. Word document or notepad file reader application.
3. I wish to install any other application of music player.
4. Applications are not easy to get.
Ram
Chandigarh
Ram Niwas: January 9th, 2008
AWSOMEST PHONE EVER……
ultimate camera 3.2 mp ,xenon flash ….
picture clarity and quality can be compared to any other cam-fone
Lokendra: January 10th, 2008
Comparde to nokia k790i is best eg: put you camera in auto mode put your flash on take a photo experience it guys note all nokia phones has hanging problem
Kishore: February 3rd, 2008
Hi all!
Plz tell me about the 790i music qulity is it good?
If i buy the new one thn has it headsets?
waseef: February 3rd, 2008
Hai friens……
Those who would like to take video’s clips
Plz Do not buy K790i cell …Video Quality is sooo Poor , worst VGA camera video quality is 10 times better than it …. Except Video quality every thing is great…. Pictures are Fantastic …
Pictures – *****
Video – * sucks
Music – ***
Other
features – ***
Think Much Before goin to BUy K790I ….
Raj: February 7th, 2008
Hi all, Pls i m facing major issues with K790i as it hangs often and u need to take it to Sony Ericcson service center everytime. Secondly some times u cannot recieve incoming calls even when u trying to press the recceive button but the bell keeps ringing. Waste of money. This isnt worth the price. Bullshit fone.
Aditya: February 13th, 2008
hi, i face same problem like aditya said i cannot answer some calls.it hangs and refreshes again but this happens once in a while.
the camera is awesome but poor video clarity. talking abt the phone speed its good.
gopi: February 16th, 2008
Hi…..
I have bought Sony Ericsson 790i 1 month before .when i took snaps in night it give result with white spots all over it. plzzzzzz sujest what can i do????????
piyush: February 23rd, 2008
hi,
i’m planning to buy s e k790i. pls rely me the advantages & disadvantages . and is there any problem with its camera, as video clips not getting clear, eventhough it is having 3.2 meg cam.
paresh: March 3rd, 2008
free car quote…
Excellent post. Keep it up!…
Anonymous: March 9th, 2008
Pleassse help …i want to know whether following works on K790i:
1.Fast forward of music track n
2. Word document or notepad file reader application.
3. To install any new software is it possible….
please suggest…….
riya: March 22nd, 2008
awesome looks and rocking camera …… worth of 10000 k
parul: April 1st, 2008
Good fone.drawbacks are-has not 3G,video quality is poor,joystick is not good bcoz of d small and roundshaped.music and videos can b fastforwaded or fastrewinded by deep pressing on d left &rightside of d joystick.u hav 2 play music using d musicplayer & videos using d videoplayer[ from d entertainment menu].then only fastforwad or fastrewind works. Thanks
Jibin: April 14th, 2008
price please
richie ponnanna: April 27th, 2008
would like to know the advantages and disadvantages of K790i,as there are some disadvantages mentioned by the buyers…which is d best in sony ericson with all the latest features…….
Gizelle Pereira: April 29th, 2008
Hi I purchased this quality mobile,
the picture quality is treamendous good, but no more surround sound. sound qulity is good but sound is less as compare to other mobile?
Sir: May 5th, 2008
hi this is vinay from india (hyd). i have buyed this mobile every thing is highlight but only one problem i am facing is that i have problem with video player.it got’s stuck up while playing.i have converted the video into mp4 as well as 3gp.but still i am facing the problem can any body solve this problem for me.
vinay: May 24th, 2008
Hi,I Real from BD. Which set is best N-70 or SE k790i for internet using?PLS Reply
real: June 3rd, 2008
I love this phone.
Battery life is improving day by day.
I have used this for all most two years and finding it best among all phones till date. except P990I SE
chaman: June 17th, 2008
hi, i would like to buy sek790i.pls tell me advantage & disadvantage of this mobile.i want very good picture quality and sound. is this good model or not. it is reallt worth pls get back to me.
thakyou
Abdul Rahim: July 18th, 2008
Nice blog, i have added it to my favourites, greetings
iphone games music: July 19th, 2008
Hi, i am planning to buy a new phone. Pls suggest which is good one..N73 or K790i. pls suggest.
Nayeem: August 26th, 2008
Hi…
I am planning to purchase a Sony Ericson K790i.Could you pls tell me about the battery life(days),What about its Software Applications ?Is it fantastic compare to N 73 Series ?
Vipin Vince: September 1st, 2008
Please help me for my newly purchased Phone Sony Ericsson Mobiles K790i.
1. Fast forward of video clips and films not available in my phone but I require this feature. If possible by any other mean please reply.
2. Word document or notepad file reader application.
3. I wish to install any other application of music and video player.
4. Applications are not easy to get.
Sunder Singh Rawat: September 11th, 2008
Dear Sunder,
You should have gone for a smartphone, your requirements are suitable for a smartphone, prefereably a windows mobile. But they wont give you the picture quality of a cybershot phone. Basically after using it, i think its picture quality is awsome, but even my HTC S710’s audio is better. And video, you wont believe how better. And puhleez dont compare app support. Its humiliating
Shaunak: September 19th, 2008
sir,i would like to know the sound clarity of 790i.
praveen: September 26th, 2008
Please don’t buy this damn phone.
The Camera, Audio and the phone is too good. Never had any problem.
Two months after the warranty period my charging unit failed. When I gave it for repairs to a authorised service center, they told me that it will cost Rs. 7,000=00. I can buy a brand new one with that money.
BTW I used to charge the handset through a UPS system.
Kisan Bhat: November 13th, 2008
hi guys i am midhun, i bought se k790i before 5 months, actually i step in to the shop to buy nokia 5610 express music. but the sales man show this mobile i like that look and i jus bought the mobile, since i am new user for SE i was fumble in the first month, but later till now i like that mobile very much, The sound quality i excellent, the PIcture calarity is the unique in this mobile. Upto me only one draw back is there i dont know whether we can capture video in the night, because in k750i there is a light option where i cant find in this, if possible pls reply to me, 9.5/10 rating
Midhun.k.M: November 24th, 2008
midh_mcc@yahoo.co.in
Midhun.k.M: November 24th, 2008
heyiii….i bought a k790i 4 months back….but jus 1 month hence…it started having hangup problems…could any one suggest me with something???
Setu Goyal: December 12th, 2008
heyiii….i bought a k790i 4 months back….but jus 1 month hence…it started having hangup problems…could any one suggest me with something???
Setu Goyal: December 12th, 2008
Hi!
i purched a SEK790i mobile last 4 month ago, now i want sell this mobile @3000. coz, all this specifications of this set is good hens bluetoth conectvit, vidio recoding is very poor.
Babuli: January 3rd, 2009
I have a k790i and forgot the password to lock the phone– can anyone tell me how to reset the password and save a new password.
charlie: February 6th, 2009
i like it
bunty: February 17th, 2009
im planning to buy a new mobile, a slim stylish phone with 3 megapixel camera and 1-2 gb memmory and good battery life and reliability
can u suggest a phone with all these qualities with in the range of 10000INR
tell me sugestions about se k790i
vishnu: May 6th, 2009
Pls i want any keypad lock software to my mobile model sony ericsson k790i
Britto: May 14th, 2009
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iPhone Screen Repair: March 10th, 2010