Sony Ericsson K550i Cybershot

The Sony Ericsson K550i (and the i-mode variant, the K550im) are perhaps a good example of the way technology progresses in the mobile phone industry. Almost two years ago, Sony Ericsson announced what was then their high-end camera phone, the K700i. Today, the K550i shares almost exactly the same features, but as the number designation shows, Sony Ericsson now regards this particular handset as a mid-range device.

The K550i is very similar to the K700i with a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, a 1.9″ 176×220 pixel display, Bluetooth, an FM radio and expandable memory. One other obvious difference is the “Cyber-shot” branding on the K550i, even though the camera is pretty much the same as the old non Cyber-shot K750i. Of course, the K750i had a reputation for possessing one of the best cameras around, and the K550i is likely to be equally impressive.

In addition to the K550i, there is also a K550im variant. This is an i-mode device which retains all the features of the K550i and adds an i-mode browser, although the keypad layout is slightly different and the K550im loses the “Cyber-shot” branding.

Sony Ericsson K550i Specification:
Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Data: GPRS + EDGE
Screen: 176×220 pixels, 262k colours
Camera: 2 megapixels
Size: Medium monoblock, 102 x 46 x 14mm / weight tbc
Bluetooth: Yes
Memory card: Memory Stick Micro
Infra-red: Yes
Polyphonic: Yes
Java: Yes
Battery life: 7 hours talk / 14 days standby

There are some important differences though - the main one is that the Sony Ericsson K550i is only 14mm thick (compared with 21mm thick for the K750i), the keypad arrangement is different (a little reminiscent of the classic T610 design), the software suite has been improved (it now contains an RSS reader, for example).. and of course, it’s likely to be a lot cheaper at launch than the K750i was.

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