Sony Ericsson K530i
RATING
Pros
- 3G
- Battery life
Cons
- 176 x 220 screen resolution
- Camera
- No memory card in box
SUMMARY
Decent mid-range 3G phone with mid-range features. No camera auto-focus, macro mode or flash. Poor screen resolution.
Review
The Sony Ericsson K530i is a mid-range 3G candybar phone. A solid mid-range 3G handset. Weaknesses include the 176 x 220 resolution screen and the 2 MP camera - no auto-focus, no macro mode, no flash and no camera lens cover. If you don't mind the sparse camera features and the small 176 x 220 screen resolution, then the 3G K530i is well worth the look.
Design
Bar/block design and reasonably lightweight, the K530i is a typical cookie-cutter mid-range Sony Ericsson phone. Made of plastic, the K530i feels solid.
The screen resolution is a low 176 x 220 - most new mid to high-end mobile phones have at least 240 x 320 resolution. The plastic screen is fine - it's the same as many of the other Sony Ericsson phone screens.
The battery cover is a cinch to remove. As with most other Sony Ericsson phones, the K530i has the proprietary connector on the bottom of the phone, so you have to buy a 3.5 mm adapter to plug in your own earphones.
Keypad: Big enough keys. Each key is slanted - think terrace/roof tiles. The navigation keys are also easy to use; perhaps the navigation key, back and cancel keys are a little too close to the top keypad row.
Memory card slot: Supports up to 2 GB. Hot swappable. There was no memory card in the sales package we borrowed - perhaps the fairies pinched it.
Features
2 MP camera
The Sony Ericsson K-series == camera phones. The K530i's camera is somewhat lacking. No auto-focus, no flash, no macro mode and no camera lens cover. Picture quality is OK, nothing to get excited about.
Taking close-up shots is a problem (no macro mode) and taking photos in bad light will likely result in bad photos. Quality-wise, it's comparable to a 2 year-old Sony Ericsson K750i.
Camera options include: shoot mode, picture size, night mode, self-timer, effects, white balance, shutter sound, picture quality, save settings and a few more. 2 megapixels is 1600 x 1200 pixels. If you want a good camera, the K530i is not the one. Move along now.
Video capture: 176 x 144 pixels. 15 fps. [insert big raspberry sound here].
Music player
Simple stuff. The music player supports MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC file formats. Artists, tracks, playlists, sort by, rename, playmode, equalizer, stereo widening, loop and shuffle. The earphones are fine.
The K530i has trackID - the music recognition service, and PlayNow (buy stuff online).
Other fun features
Video calling (let the other person see your beauty), FM radio (good if you can get a reception), games (Tennis Multiplay is the best), 'DJ' tools (something to play around with for 10 minutes) and the NetFront Web browser.
Web browsing on a 2-inch screen is baloney. If you want better Internet browsing, buy a mobile phone with a bigger screen. The Apple iPhone is currently the best Web browsing handset.
Summary
The Sony Ericsson K530i is a decent phone. It's a mid-range 3G phone with mid-range features. The camera is missing key features (auto-focus, macro mode, flash) and the screen resolution is a bit ancient.
You can buy the K530i SIM-free, on PAYG or get it free (subsidized) on a 12, 18 or 24 month phone contract. If you're after a cheap 3G phone, take a gander at the cheap-as-chips 3 Skypephone.
= coming soonFeatures / Specifications
* confirm features at manufacturer's Web site.
4 x 1.8 x 0.6 inches
3.2 oz
- 2.0-inch TFT
- 176x220 pixels
- 262144 colours
- 16 MB phone memory
- m2 memory card (2 GB max)
- Tri-band (GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz)
- 3G (UMTS 2100 Mhz)
- Talk time: 9 hours
- Standby time: 395 hours
- 3G talk time: 3 hours
In The Box
Sony Ericsson K530i, battery, charger, USB cable, headset, software CD, user guide.
Connectivity
- Bluetooth 2.0
- USB 2.0
- Video calling
Camera
- 2.0 MP Camera
- features: shoot mode, picture size, night mode, self-timer, effects, white balance, shutter sound, picture quality, save settings
- QCIF video resolution
- 15 FPS video capture
Messaging
- SMS, MMS, Email
Entertainment
- Games: Investigators, Tennis Multiplay
- FM radio
- RDS Radio
- Music Player
- Video Player
Internet
- NetFront Web browser
- RSS Reader
Installed Applications
- PlayNow, TrackID, VideoDJ, PhotoDJ, MusicDJ
- PIM: Organiser tools
- Sound recorder, voice dial, voice commands
Prices
Prices coming soon.
TAGS: 3g, bar phones
Useful Links
| Official Site: | Sony Ericsson K530i |
| YouTube Videos: | Sony Ericsson K530i Videos |
| Images: | Sony Ericsson K530i Images |
