Sony Ericsson K750 review: Get excited!

What else can be found?

On the right side of phone there is a double button, whose main function is to control the volume. If the phone is in a stand-by mode, a press on this button opens the Phone state information window. Besides other details, the window provides you with information about the unoccupied memory both in the phone and on the memory card, the current state of the battery expressed in percentages (formerly, Sony Ericsson knew how to provide us with life time expectations as well).

Volume control key

Details about the phone and the battery's current state

A bit lower is situated the camera button. A longer press on it activates the camera application. The same thing could be done by simply removing the lens cover (which you will need to do anyway). After the cover has been removed, a white diode mounted under the button gives a wink. By the way, this phone is not equipped with a key for a quick access to WAP.

Special button for the camera

We have finally reached the back cover of Sony Ericsson K750. A sliding little cover reveals the camera lens as well as a tiny mirror for self-portraits. Under a small plate, which can be hulled out, is hidden the connector for the external antenna. An extra is the silver grip, where one can rest their fingers while shooting.

Camera's cover • camera's lens and a mirror • an external antenna connector • silver grip for resting your fingers while taking pictures

The phone is equipped with two light diodes, whose purpose is to add light to the scene. They can also serve as a flashlight - a function Sony Ericsson has installed in the phone's menu. The diodes can be set to beam for a non-limited period of time or for a minute as well as broadcast the Morse SOS signal. Although the light can be switched on by using the menu, it would have been more suitable if it got activated by a longer press on a key, for example. The diodes are pretty strong and can therefore easily assume the functions of a flashlight.

Additional light diodes

Light control

On the back cover of the phone there is a plate grid, under which the loud speaker is hidden. Situated at the very edge of the projecting silver cover of the camera lens, the grid does not touch the table surface. In fact, the quality of the sound in the middle of a phone call or a music program does not depend on whether the display is placed with its face up or down.

The outlet of the loud speaker

Let's not forget the batteries. They are a Li-Pol type, with a capacity of 900 mAh. It is not possible to remove the whole back cover, but a small part of it only. For this reason the battery needs to be tucked into the gap. The SIM card is placed under the battery and is therefore relatively difficult to pull out. What should I add about the duration? For now I can only quote the officially presented statements: up to 400 hours in a stand-by mode or nearly 540 min of phone calls. I do not dare guess the real duration time. The comments on it published by SEMania in its last review were not very positive, so I would say two days of heavy use will be about the maximum.

Battery is partly tucked into the tunnel

On the other hand, the new Sony Ericsson model needs no more than two hours to get recharged and what's more, it can also be recharged by getting connected to the computer's USB port through a data cable delivered together with the phone. Unlike the Siemens mobile phones, whose recharge can be controlled by means of a switch mounted on the cable, in the case of K750 you do not have a choice. The phone gets recharged in any case, left alone the fact that the recharging process is far from optimized.

The camera: the best two megapixels

In my hand I am holding today's best photo mobile phone. Coming very soon is its one and only competitor - Nokia N90. As Nokia has not accomplished the final version of its newly prepared model, I would rather leave the comparison between the pictures of both phones for later. Anyway, Sony Ericsson has already gained several points by edging two mega pixels in such small phone like K750. Nokia's new smartphone is a bit overgrown.

The photos K750 takes are brilliant for a mobile phone. You have already had the chance to look through the photo gallery and read the comparisons with other top-class photo mobile phones. While I was writing this review, I took only few new pictures with K750 for I was preparing a separate article about its camera, in which pictures would prevail. So let me now tell you more about the functions of the camera.

Sony Ericsson K750 takes pictures in a 1632 × 1224 pixels resolution and is therefore a two megapixel camera phone. A lower resolution of 640 × 480 or 160 × 120 pixels is also available. You can choose between two quality options. A best quality JPEG file in the highest possible resolution takes about 400 KB.

Camera's environment

To start taking pictures, simply remove the plate covering the lens on the back side of the phone. The display immediately changes into a viewfinder. Turn the phone into a horizontal position and your point finger will bed directly onto the release button. The latter is very much like the two stage shutter of a regular camera because Sony Ericsson K750 is one of the first photo mobile phones to offer an auto focus function, which is activated by a light press on the release button. For a good result you need to wait until a peep sound comes out and the point on the display turns green. Then fully press the release button and the camera will expose. The moment of exposure is always accompanied by a kind of a shutter sound. Unfortunately, neither the peep, nor the shutter sound is possible to get rid of. In the firmware version we were given, both sounds could be heard even when the phone was in a silent mode.

Video: how to work with the camera - starting applications, focusing and scene capturing (0.81 MB)

Due to its auto-focus function Sony Ericsson K750 is a little bit slower than other photo mobiles:

• first picture: 4.11 seconds
• reaction speed after the release button has been pressed: 2.32 seconds
• interval between two pictures (shots): 7.35 seconds

On the other hand, the exact focus - especially in the micro mode - is a sure advantage. K750 makes excellent photos of texts or other close objects. All details are perfectly clear, including the photo corners.

Close-up samples: the heavy weapon of Sony Ericsson K750

The camera offers a digital zoom only. The latter is almost continuous. It offers 30 steps and is managed by the volume control double button. Additional light for the darker scenes is provided by a flash; the two diodes are another means for increasing the intensity of the light, which accompanies the moment of pressing the release button. An additional flash light can also be mounted to the phone.

In twilight: a standard mode • night mode • flash

Beaming diodes • a dark scene • a double close-up lighted by Sony Ericsson; the pictures were taken with a studio camera

The joystick helps you control the compensation of the exposure. Make sure you learn how to use this option, because if you don't, your pictures will often be overexposed.