Sony Ericsson's 5-megapixel Cyber-shot phone

A 5-megapixel Cyber-shot mobile from Sony Ericsson is aiming to set the benchmark for cameraphone image quality. The K850i is the latest in Sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot series of cameraphones, using Sony digital camera-like interfaces and sensor technology.

The slimline K850i's 5-megapixel camera features autofocus, a 16x zoom and a Xenon flash, and is designed with easy-to-use Cyber-shot digital camera type functionality. It even flips orientation of images onscreen to match the way up you're holding the phone.

The K850i has a simple camera on-off button, easy to select picture enhancement modes, and a spread of photography-friendly features. Like previous top-end Cyber-shot phones, it has a BestPic function to take multi-burst shots - including images slightly before you've pressed the fire button.

"The K850i quite simply produces beautiful images and is beautifully simple," David Hilton, head of marketing at Sony Ericsson UK, told Tech.co.uk. "Beyond simply the number of pixels, it has a really simple and engaging photo interface. It's simple and a joy to use."

It has 3G and high-speed HSDPA onboard, and the K850i can be used to upload pics to blogs using a built-in blogging application. A full range of music player functions are included, plus a full web browser. Unusually, the K850i has a memory card slot capable of supporting both Memory Stick Micro and MicroSD memory cards.

The Sony Ericsson K850i will be available early in the fourth quarter of this year, in blue and green versions. Price is still to be confirmed.

Sony Ericsson K850i - key features

• 3G with HSDPA
• 5-megapixel camera
• Xenon flash
• 16x digital zoom
• Cyber-shot interface
• BestPic multi-burst shooting software
• Photo fix
• Slideshow with music
• Video recording
• Video calling
• Video streaming and downloading
• Access NetFront web browser
• Push email support
• 40MB internal memory
• Music player
• Memory Stick Micro/MicroSD card support
• Stereo Bluetooth
• FM radio with RDS
• USB mass storage
• Dimensions: 102(h) x 48(w) x 17(d) mm
• Weight 118g
• Standby time: up to 400 hours' Talktime: up to 9 hours