I have always been a huge fan of sony ericsson and the k850i was to be my 5th model in as many years.

I ordered the phone last october and on the first day of purchase notices it was shutting its self down quite frequently. The buttons and light around the camera was lit up, but the screen went off, this was curable by removing the battery and putting it back in. However this happened in november and removing the battery didn't cure the problem. So i sent the phone back and got a replacement, this did the same within a week, so was returned again.

Since october i've had 5 k850i's all suffering the same fate, a problem that a specialist told me is known as the 'blue ring of death'.

I've now given up on se and purchased a blackberry,

This phone is good.........when it works. So that'll be hardly ever!!

Ok were to start ....mmmmmm this phone is so bad i have had this a year now and after 3 days my touch buttons stoped working had to get a new one.... The phone turns off when it wants to and since i have had this phone i have lost everything on it around 40-50 times as it seems to decide that it will die on me and take my music /phone numbers/games/video/photoes with it .....i hate this phone ......but i will say i do like the layout and options on the sony thats why i got this phone i am regretting it i want a n95 8 gig .......

Kept turning itself off, the heat sensitive button stop working, and the zoom on the camera is terrible. The buttons are to small to use and it didnt charge very well.

I have had this phone for about a year now and can safely say that I have never had a problem with it which is why I am shocked to read a few of these reviews. The touch screen is great, has never lagged and is responsive, looks great and has NEVER switched itself off. Maybe the reason while other peoples have been switching off is that they didnt charge it properly when they first got the phone, always a good idea to charge your phone for a MINIMUM of 18 hours. Sometimes I get a black picture when using the camera but it has only happened on a few occasions, other than that the picture quality is more than acceptable.

All in all, a great phone!!

It has a good 5mp camera but as soon as you use zoom its worse than a vga, constantly switches itself off, doesnt charge properly, softwares unstable, heat sensitive buttons stop working. All in all the worst phone ive ever owned...ive had to send it off for repair 3 times and ive only had it 4 months

I've had mine a year, only problem i had was upgrading the software from a download off the Sony Ericsson website which then caused it to freeze, switch off, come back on and lose the display wallpaper, after 5mins it would re-appear. Apparently huge numbers were returned to vodaphone after people like me did this. Apart from that its been hunky dorey!
The battery life is terrific, as long as you let it run down to around 20% or less before charging it'll keep a good charge for a good week with normal use. The keys are fiddly and the touchscreen works perfect 95% of the time, the other 5% you may find you press the touch screen pad twice before it does anything, like it mini-freezes, but it'll remember the 1st press and jump 2 screens ahead. The display is really very good and compared to a W800i the colours and picture is 10times better and more detailed.
I find the camera a bit rubbish really, it takes a long time to save the photo if set to 5MP, 3 is ok, but it is still only on par with the older W800i(orange SE phone, 1st walkman branded phone out) which has a 2MP camera.
The new software loaded on mine when it was sent back gives you the option to put an incoming call onto loudspeaker with 1 button press, but before it was 2 or 3 button presses all the while the person is chatting on the other end of the call. Video footage is very good for a phone, 30frames per second (i think) it will give good detail and judder free recordings.
Size wise its a little big in the jeans pocket, and despite its delicate look i've dropped mine maybe a handlful of times in a year and recently from about 4 foot high onto hard surface and its still fine. Also i don't keep it in a cover and the overall finish is practically scratch free. Very impressive.
I'll stick to S.E phones in the future as i find them the most user friendly, but a 2MP camera, a quick key loudspeaker, nice size display, good battery life and bluetooth is all i want in my next phone which i'd also like to be smaller! 8.5/10 is what i'd give this phone, maybe i've a good one as there's alot of negative reviews on this phone but when do you ever see people post good comments about stuff? you only ever seem to hear when theres bad stuff to be said about something.

Myself and a friend both have this phone on contract and there are some positives, in their few, yet we have both had problems since day 1.
+The 5MP camera takes good pictures when it wants to work
+Easy menu layout and user friendly interface
- Battery overheats
- Recently well publicised, numerous software problems
- Switches off randomly
- Menu navigation is slow
- The keypad arrows are a pain to use

In short, do not buy this phone!

Had a k800i and thought it couldnt be beaten but while on holidays last feb i lost it and insurance back home messed me around so i got O2 to push my upgrade through a bit earlier.
The k850i is even better than the 800!
Never had any problems with it. Was away again in july. Before going i bought an 8gb card for it. So with that i could leave my ipod at home and not have to worry about it. With the 5mp camera i could leave my Canon 350d at home too! I had my phone, camera and ipod in my pocket everywhere i went on holidays.
The menus are easy to use, and mine never one froze. Maybe newer software to some of the earlier reviews.
Only thing is when you are playing music, its a bit slow to look through other songs, but when you see the amount of songs that fit on to such a tiny card, you cant really complain.
I cant praise this phone enough!!

ok, so maybe the title is a little harsh, but its not too far from the truth. i bought this phone in october and from day 1 there has been problems. but before we start on the negatives lets look at the positives. the phone looks very good! the blue lighting of the keys and camera give the phone a really stylish look, and the 5mp camera produces brilliant photos (when it works - see below). the phone is easy to navigate, and has all the usuals such as bluetooth etc.

unfortunately thats where the positives stop. the camera does produce some great snaps, but thats only when the camera works! all too often the shutter freezes and the opportunity to catch the picture you want passes you by. the camera also has an annoying tendancy to take pictures of blackness. i realised this is because of the design which makes it necessary to hold it at either side and use just your fingertips...thats is if you want to snap an image - if you desire a picture of blackness then just hold the camera the way you would an ordinary digital camera or phone!

since buying the phone it has been repaired by sony on 4 different occasions. the first two were both for the camera shutter issue. each time it came back with a message that it had been a software update issue. next came the problem with the keys and lights - one day the phone simply froze. the keys were lit but the phone was dead. the only way to turn the lights off was to remove the battery and then when the battery was replaced the phone wouldnt come back on. AGAIN SONY REPAIRED THE 'SOFTWARE ISSUE'. Finally the 3 touch screen buttons stopped working. these had been a constant irritation from the start as they are impossible not to catch when texting, although with hindsight it was much better when they worked than when they didnt! Anyway, guess what sony diagnosed...thats right - a software issue!

If these reliability issues dont concern you then dont fear, there are plenty of other complaints. the biggest being the flimsy structure of the phone. if you dare to hold it tightly your fingers may very well go straight through the plastic back cover...or at least thats how it feels!
next is the keypad layout. this is a definate point sony will be regreting. the idea to put the scroll pad in between the central keys may look good...in theory! in reality this virtually prevents you from typing a mesage. great idea sony!!!

next comes the battery life. sony boast 5 days. this may well be true if you charge it up and switch it off for 5 days. if, on the other hand, you are like me and talk and text each day then you will be just as annoyed when the battery runs dead after just 1 day!

I was so looking forward to getting the K850i but it was a massive mistake. Any owner will agree that the phone looks great and is capable of a good photo, but i am yet to meet a satisfied k850i user. the reliability issues and general design ruin the handset and make it almost useless as a phone or camera. i strongly suggest anyone thinking of buying one to instead look at the k810i or go with the leading phone makers samsung and nokia, because the k850i is a strong contender for the worst mobile ever!

I have had this phone since last October,and not one fault. The phone is great and the camera is as good as any camera I have owned. I would recomend this phone to anyone.