Looking at the Sony Ericsson k850i

It’s 20:45 GMT here in the UK and I’m waiting to go into a Telephone Conference Call with some American colleagues. Whilst I wait for everyone to come on the line I’m naturally using my time productively (ahem…) to setup my new “going out” mobile ‘phone – the Sony Ericsson k850i.

What’s a “going out” ‘phone? Well I normally use a T-Mobile MDA Vario II on a day-to-day basis – but when out socialising then that particular rather chunky beast spoils the cut of my (if I do say so myself – very fashionable) trousers, so I keep a slimmer (or “candy bar” as I’ve heard it called) ‘phone for these occasions.

My old Sony Ericsson k600i with it’s 1.3 megapixel camera was starting to look a little dated, so it was off to eBay to treat myself to the k850i – and very cool it is too! A “Cybershot” ‘branded phone – it comes with a nice 5 megapixel camera and some very neat photo enhancing technology. Naturally it’s also 3G capable and runs Java too, plus has Bluetooth and all the usual gubbins.

Unlike my MDA Vario II, the Sony Ericsson ‘phones don’t run Windows Mobile and thus don’t synchronise their contact list with Microsoft Outlook. Therefore I’ve got a select few friends and family numbers only in my “going out” ‘phone, and the thought of transferring these numbers manually between my old ‘phone and the new ‘phone seemed quite the chore. Never fear – Mobyko to the rescue! Once you’ve registered for free with Mobyko and given it your make/model of ‘phone and your telephone number, you can sync your Contacts “over the air” to their secure servers. In my case, once I’d done this I then told Mobyko I’d moved to a new ‘phone, popped my SIM card into my k850i and sync’d those contacts back! Voila – no manual transfer necessary! Mobyko also has a Facebook plug-in that allows you to sync your contacts Facebook profile pictures to your ‘phone – and the ability to save SMS, MMS and Videos from you ‘phone to their servers too – all very neat!

Sadly, transferring my Mobile Web-browser bookmarks from the old ‘phone to the new one wasn’t quite as automatic, but it did give me a chance to review some sites that you might find useful yourself…

Flickr Mobile – m.flickr.com – Upload those MMS shots directly to your photo stream!

Google Products – www.google.co.uk/m/products – Google Maps, Google Mail and by the time you read this, Google Time-Travel (probably…)

XE Currency Converter – www.xe.com/wap – Useful foreign currency converter

Directory Enquries – wap.bt.com/wap – Cheaper (as in free!) than calling 118 rip-me-off…

Facebook Mobile – m.facebook.com – Update your Status from the pub to let everyone know you’re drunk, not just those people with you!