I didn’t really know what phone I wanted so I just went into the o2 shop and saw the k500i in my price bracket. I didn’t have a clue about any of its features, all I knew was that it had polyphonic ring tones and a camera and that was good enough for me. So the first shock I had was when I got to the till, the price came up at £119.00, included was a £20 top up voucher. The phone was displayed at £145.00 so I was well pleased with that!
The box came with the phone already assembled except the battery. I had to try and figure out how to get the back of the phone off, as the manual doesn’t show you. In the end my husband figured it out and used a lot of force, but luckily the phone withheld it. You basically have to get either your nail or a coin under the gap at the bottom of the back cover and lift up. Once I had removed that the sim card was already inserted so I only had to put in the battery and replace the back cover.
Also in the box is the instruction manual, sony ericssons guide to fun and downloads(with a free splinter cell download when you register on the sony ericsson website), information on bolt ons, a trouble-shooters guide and a service and support booklet. You also get the charger. Also once you register the phone with the network you get an extra £3 of credit after 30 days and the wap facility is free for 30 days. I’m not sure if this applies to every network so it’s probably best to ask.
After charging the phone for 4 hours it was time to get stuck in! First impressions …WOW….the best phone I’ve had to date. The quality of the picture and graphics are amazing, to me it’s like a mini television. The layout of it is really simple to follow as well and includes a start up wizard to help guide you through. The good thing as well is the help is always stored on the phone so if you ever forget you can always go back and check. The layout reminds me of my pc and I think that’s why I like it so much.
The features on the phone include
PHONEBOOK
Can include websites, email addresses, home addresses, anything personal!
MESSAGES
Can send emails, text messages (sms), Picture and video messages (mms) and can access wap from this setting.
MEDIA PLAYER
Can stream videos from the websites and stores any ring tones in mp3 format.(depending it's in mp3 format)
ENTERTAINMENT
Includes 3 games, tennis, darts and a fight em up, has a sound recorder and a music dj for making your own ring tones.
ORGANISER
Includes calendar with alarms, makes notes, calculator, stop watch, timer and more but minds gone blank, sorry!
CAMERA
Takes pictures and also turns into a video recorder.
FILE MANAGER
Stores all files received such as music, pictures and videos.
There is so much to this camera. My only gripes with it at present would be the buttons when texting, they are too small and I often press letters I don’t want. Also the picture quality isn’t fantastic, especially in dimmer light. There is a night mode but it doesn’t really seem to help. The video camera also makes the images appear as tiny squares especially if the object is moving quite fast but I feel if I want brilliant pictures and videos I’ll use my digital camera for that!
The one thing I want everyone to know about is the ring tones in mp3 format. They are as us youngsters say…wicked!! They sound like you’re carrying a radio around. If you download real tones they sound amazing. You can also download great themes for the background of your phone; I’m going to get myself in debt downloading all this now I think!
Anyway to some it up, the k500i looks great, sounds great and is lots of fun, I’m so glad I walked into o2 and found my bargain!
![Elekratek Sony Ericsson K500i UK Mains Charger. [ MCH_E28 ]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/76758160.jpg)
![Elekratek Sony Ericsson K500i Hands free. [ WAT_E28 ]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/76758537.jpg)
by (79%):
by (21%):
13.10.2006 13:38
clear easy to follow review, cheers!
04.12.2005 12:29
I also own and have reviewed this phone. A great review you have here!
18.12.2004 02:36
i own this phone and already reviewed please read and rate. i got it from the o2 shop also. this is one of the best phones i have ever owned. great review