I picked up the Sony-Ericsson K850i in the middle of 2008 as a replacement for my venerable SE W810i. The promise of full 3G on ATT, a 5MP Autofocus camera, and a variety of improved features over the previous phone, along with small size, and battery life only dreamed of by smartphones put it at the top of my list.

At the time, the best the US 3g reasonably-priced candy-bar competition could muster was the Nokia N78. I liked the Wifi and FM broadcast capabilities of the N78, but the W850i had a better camera, was less expensive, supported full 3G on 850/1900/2100, and of course fit all the existing accessories I had. A quick call to Cti-Miami, a few days wait on the mailman, and my new toy was in my hands.

1. Calls. Voice clarity and signal strength on this phone around the SF bay area have been good. Nobody would likely call ATT's network bulletproof, particularly as the iPhone 3G was announced just a few months after I got this phone, but at no time have I thought to physically punish the phone for its inability to keep or make a call. My torture-test area for signal strength is the paddock at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows CA, a definite shadow area for all carriers. This phone struggles slightly, but works there, a tribute to its capabilities.

2. Data and Applications. I often use Google Maps to check local Bay Area traffic, I use Opera Mini as my quick access to Wikipedia, and the Gmail client to check mail. ATT's 3G network really works well with this phone, allowing me to continue downloading maps or other data while talking away on the phone. Spare podcasts can easily be downloaded OTA, although I usually just swap them onto the Micro SD card at my desk at work. Since this phone does not have a QWERTY keyboard, I can freely use ATT's $15 unlimited Media.net plan. When traveling, the phone tethers to a laptop or MID providing 3G data typically between 6-700Kbps downstream, occasionally peaking at over a meg when conditions are right. The phone's built-in support for picking up POP email, and synching with Outlook locally work fine as does the built in SyncML support for syncing with the Exchange server at work. Other excellent applications I use regularly include IM+ for Skype, Qik, Yamee (free Yahoo messenger), Youtube, and Vradio (streaming web radio). Thousands of time-waster games, including many good ones can be downloaded from getjar.com.

3. Stability, Support - When the phone was first released, there were a number of issues reported, but waiting a few months to buy the phone until software updates fixed these issues was really the right call. At this time, RTSP support was still not working on ATT's network, but some months later, a fix was announced on SE's user forums and Hofo, and the Java YouTube and other video streaming applications work flawlessly on the phone now. A whole host of phone hacking options are available since the A2Uploader software came out.

4. Durability - Sony-Ericsson's phones have often shown real fortitude, while my W810i spent the day rolling around the floor of a 24 Hours of Lemons car and came away with just scratches, regular time in my pocket removed the anti-glare coating from the nonprotected lens of the camera. While the K850i has a similar setup, the lens is covered with hardened mineral glass, and even after serious pocket time shows absolutely no sign of wear. And a few untimely headers from pocket level haven't slowed the phone down.

5. Playback - While not designed for concert home listening, the MP3 player functions like a Sony, including equalizer and MegaBass settings. When connected in my car, it's a nice bonus for the music to pause while a call comes in, then resume automatically when the call is complete. The W810i would occasionally get confused about having a bluetooth headset and hard plugin connected at the same time but the K850i handles the situation fine. I've also occasionally recoded a TV show or race that I'd missed and couldn't wait to see into .3GP and watched it on the phone at work.

6. How could it get any better than this? There are some areas that could be better, and while I could hack some of them using A2 Uploader, I haven't had the time to do that yet.

Camera - it's good...for a phone. Given the significant options available for shooting stills and video from this phone, there are always more that would be helpful. For example, fine-tuning when the Xenon flash activates more would be nice. A backlit shooting situation is difficult to account for, even if a little fill-flash would be all that would be necessary for a clear shot.

Responsiveness - again, it's only good. It is possible to fill up some internal bits of memory however, that really bring this phone to its knees. For example, if I leave too many messages on my POP server, menus really slow down. Add that to the semi-touch-soft button area, and you can really wonder if the phone got your input at all. This is probably the most frustrating area for me, but then again I've been known to bang like a monkey on iPhones, iPods, and all sorts of devices that don't normally suffer from much lag.

Innovative Design - Perhaps just a little too innovative. The buttons are small and pointy, which is fine, even if using the phone for the first few days leaves you feeling like you're learning guitar for the first time. The Dpad overlaying the 2 and 5 keys is again okay...but a bit of a pain. And, as mentioned, the touchscreen isn't that great. I believe this phone would be every bit as good if it was just stuffed in a plain c510 case with soft buttons instead.

Bigger Better Faster More syndrome - so, it's funny to be writing a review of something that doesn't really qualify as a smartphone in the days of the Pre, IPhone 3GS, HTC Android handsets, and more. 320x240 on a 2.2" screen is not the muse of golden-fingered gadget bloggers in 2009. A 5 MP Autofocus Xenon-flash camera isn't even that unusual. Many are the day I've started opening up Engadget, Gizmodo or BGR, and gasped, " I want that!" to the latest smartphone. Even friends that tell others that 'Andy's a gadget guy' frown when I whip out the K850i. I'm certainly not immune to all of that, even if I have no budget to indulge myself more than once a year.

So, to sum up - great overall gadget that doesn't forget it's a phone first. Days of battery life, a lot of application and protocol support, all in a small unassuming package. A package, that just plain works, is more than the sum of its parts, and still gives me that little smile that there's a beloved gadget in my pocket working away at whatever task I've chosen for it.