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The Sony Ericsson K790a has been around for a while. Yes it is pretty much an old phone, but its typically a classic phone that a lot of fans really liked and adored. Like its counterpart, Sony Ericsson W800i, the K790a has won the CTIA top prize in 2005, stamping it as one of the best camera phone out there.
Branded as Sony Ericsson’s first cybershot phone, the 3.2 megapixel camera is one of the best among cameras in a phone. It even surpassed some of the “latest” models from other brands. Not a perfect phone, but the K790a is a solid phone with all-around features.
The K790a is a candy bar phone. Even with a rectangular body, the phone still sports that sleek and stylish look that will catch users attention. The phone measures 4.1 by 1.9 by 0.9 inches and weighs around 4.1 ounces. It is available in two colors, black and gray.
When it comes to form, the K790a has a brilliant 262,144-color display that produces bright and colorful content. The two-inch diagonal screen takes most of the space at front. Its 240×320 pixel resolution makes for eye-popping colors and sharp graphics and animation. You can change the brightness but not the font size. Below the display is the main navigation array.
A five-way joystick doubles as a shortcut to four user-defined functions, while the two soft keys open the recent calls list and the main menu when the phone is in standby mode. You also get dedicated Back and Clear buttons, a key that launches the Web browser, and a nifty control that opens a submenu of user-defined shortcuts and a list of upcoming calendar events.
At the left spine of the phone, you will locate the music player button and a Memory Stick Micro slot. At the right side, you will see the volume and camera shutter control. At the back of the handset, you will see a covered camera lens alongside a self-portrait mirror. Above you will see the large flash.
Now, let’s go to the phone’s features. The K790a holds a respectable 1,000 contacts in its phone book. You can put in a contact’s five phone numbers, Web and e-mail addresses, a work title and company name, work and home street addresses, a birth date, and notes. You can pair these entries with an individual ring tone, however, there are only 16 polyphonic tones preset on the phone. But not to worry, the phone supports mp3 tones, and you can even use videos for caller ID as well.
Other features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a task list, a timer, a stopwatch, a calculator, a notepad, and a voice memo recorder.
Well, we all know that SE’s Cybershot phones focus mainly on its camera functions, so let’s dive in with the K790a. The 3.2 megapixel of the K790a is an advanced camera built into a phone. Its wide array of features is really the kicker for this handset.
You can take pictures in four resolutions, from VGA up to the full 3 meagpixels, and choose from two image-quality choices. Other standout features include a panorama mode; 16X digital zoom; a BestPic function for taking several photos in rapid succession; 15 fun frames; a self timer; six lighting settings, including beach/snow and twilight; four picture effects; a white balance control; spot metering; four shutter sounds; autofocus; and a macro setting. There’s also an image stabilization feature, which effectively corrects the blurriness that plagues many camera phone pictures.
As a camcorder, the phone takes MPEG-4 clips with sound in one resolution (176×144). It also comes with a auto or macro focus setting, adjust the white balance, activate a night mode, choose from four video effects, or use spot metering. Its xenon flash is one of the most powerful flash seen in a camera phone.
With the SE K790a, picture quality is very good. It reproduces bright colors, distinct object outlines, and sharp effects. Videos meant for multimedia messages are capped at two minutes; otherwise length is limited by the available memory. Creative types can use the Photo DJ to rotate the shot’s orientation and use various editing options such as brightness and contrast adjustments, light balance settings, red-eye removal, color effects, and photo marking. There’s also a Video DJ function with similar options.
After you are bored with taking pictures, you can store all of it to the phone’s built-in 64MB shared memory. However, if you have a lot more that 64MB, then you can use the phone’s Memory Stick Micro.
But the camera is not all with this handset. Music fans will also enjoy this phone. It comes in with a digital music player found on the Walkman phones but with a slightly different interface and functionality. There are stereo speakers on the back and the front of the phone as well as support for stereo Bluetooth profile.
Music capacity is limited by the available memory, so again getting a Memory Stick Micro is essential. Getting music on the phone is relatively easy. In addition to using the included USB cable, you can send tunes via Bluetooth or the infrared port. You also get an FM radio with 20 presets, though you must use it with a headset, which acts as an antenna. You can set it to automatically scan and program Radio Data System info from stations that digitally broadcast their names and call letters, and you can use the radio as an alarm clock.
All in all, the K790a is a phone worth trying out. It may not be the most modern handset out there in the market, but it sure beats some of those newer ones that costs a bit more.
Sources:
http://reviews.digitaltrends.com
http://www.sonyericsson.com
http://www.mobiledia.com
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