Sony Ericsson Z800i 3G/GSM 900/1800/1900  Camera Phone Review (5)
Bluetooth 20 May 2005

Conclusion

The Sony Ericsson Z800i can be considered an improved version of the Z800i. Just like its predecessor, the Z800i is one of the more feature packed phones I can find. Slimed down from its fat brother, this phone does not have major issues with the Singtel 3G network. Drop calls do happen when I used it with my Starhub card though. I think this is more of a network problem since that happens on the A835 too. When using the SMS, the keypad seems to be a bit too flat, it definitely slows me down in SMS.

Z800i comes with a rotatable camera len allowing you to show LIVE streaming images of what you are seeing during video calls. Photos taken are excellent in colour saturation but grainy and noisy for night shoots. The video streaming is smooth but compared to my aging A835, the graphics processor might need an upgrade in future version of 3G phones. In some clips, I can't see the subtitles clearly. It could be the same video processor from ATI used on the Z1010.

If you are those who loves to try out new firmware, the Z1010 is one of the phones that works with the DSS-25 USB syncstation. You can go to Sony Ericsson's website, follow the simple instructions and upgrade your firmware online. This definitely save me a lot of time running down to the service centre just to upgrade the firmware. The current firmware on this set is R1Y005.

Z800i is a swiss knife, you want a phone, MP3/AAC player, watch video (streaming) or MP4, 3GP, you have it. In my opinion, It is of a multimedia device than a phone. The only regret is that the phone is still missing.

Pros :

• 3G, JAVA, MMS, GPRS, EMS, irDA, USB

• External storage - Memory Stick Duo

• Optional DSS-25 for firmware update

Cons :

• No Radio

• Video streaming audio levels a bit low

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