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A truly great mobile phone: The Sony Ericsson K750i

The Perfect Phone for Apple? And music lovers, business users, photo buffs, bluetooth junkies.

Here's the phone I mentioned in my Apple MVNO post earlier today that Apple should consider for its entry into the Wireless market with full support for MP3s (and with a little DRM firmware upgrade maybe iTunes' AAC format?).  The Sony Ericsson K750i is also known as T-Mobile UK's D750i.  The iTunes-enabled Motorola E790 maybe OK, but this one is better!

Check out the most detailed cell-phone review I have ever read at MobileBurn.com.  Michael Oryl goes into detail of the user experience -- not just data.  I wish I could get this level of detail for all my gadget purchases.  Info junkie I am.  I'm going to highlight a few spec's (see Sony Ericsson's site) and some of the phone's short-comings --- you can decide if this US$400-$500 phone is right for you

The Register and Pocket-Lint can be quoted to say "The K750i is fantastic!" with a 9/10 rating in the review.

The basics of the phone: 
- GSM (900/1800/1900), GPRS, email, T9 SMS/MMS, bluetooth, Infrared, WAP, USB
- Dimensions 100 x 46 x 21 mm, Weight 99 grams
- LCD display 256K colors, 176 x 220 pixels
- Ringtones: Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, FM Radio (RDS)
- MP3 Player supports playlists, shuffle and graphic equalizer
- Vibration alert, Photo caller ID, Voice caller ID, voice calling
- PIM, Java Games (3 incl. + downloadable), voice recorder
- 34 MB shared internal plus 64MB Memory Stick Duo card incl.
- Camera 2 MP (1632x1224), auto-focus, video-recorder, dual LED flash
- Video player (supports streaming), Music DJ & Composer,  Picture Editor
-  Built-in speakerphone plus  includes  stereo handsfree earbuds
- two Li-Pol batteries included (900 mAh): Stand-by= upto 400hrs/Talktime= upto 9hrs

Shortcomings of the SE K750i:

- fat fingers may find the keypad cramped (especially the "2" key which is recessed very close to the mini joystick above it)
- firmware seems to have a bug (twice when sending a file via bluetooth to my iMac it locked up and I had to reboot the phone)
- handset volume and built-in speaker should be louder
- very slow camera shutter release
- needs a 1 megapixel camera mode (not just 2MP, VGA and quarter VGA)
- No EDGE for high-speed data

A couple of other points worth noting.  While other online reviews don't mention this and the slow shutter lag above maybe throwing me off; I found the picture images hit or miss.  My experience with image shake (with digital zoom off) forces me to be careful or take a few pictures, hoping a I get one stable one.

I have never been a fan Sony Ericsson's peripheral/power sockets.  They seem pretty big given how delicate the connectors looks.  The K750i's FastPort socket (for power adapter, handsfree, USB optional external flash) carries on in this tradition, but again, others don't seem to mind.

Lastly, a problem that all single colour backlight LCD screen cellphones have is that after the predefined time the screen basically goes dark.   With all the Rogers/Fido network integration activities underway; I'm always pressing a button on the phone to check my signal strength or to see if a message is waiting.  The same thing on my Blackberry 7100.  Vendors need to solve this, maybe a small b+w LCD panel on the back could provide status information (like clamshell phones).

The K750i is still a great phone, and a joy to use. I think the annoyances above deserve to knock another point off the reviews mentioned.  I would give the phone a 8 or 8.5 out of 10.

I picked mine up from Bongo Wireless north of Toronto.  Of course they knocked $100 off the price (US$480 no contract and unlocked) the week after I shopped.  Kevin Heffenden at Bongo says the firmware of the K750i can be flashed to the Sony Ericsson 800W in the near future, no idea what the cost will be. 

The 800W is basically the a rebadged version of the K750i twin, the D750i, with orange highlights, Walkman branding and the ability to turn off the cellphone (for airline travel) and use the unit for music exclusively.  Personally, other than a couple of design advantages of the D750i/800W design (the joystick and "2" key are better separated; the lens cover is auto-released, not a manual slider); I think the K750i's business-like styling will probably age better.

I still plan on keeping my Blackberry 7100 for those days when I'm stuck in meetings, airport lounges and when I don't feel like lugging my laptop to a short conference --- everywhere else I'll use the SE K750i.  Now my friends won't laugh at me for talking into a calculator!

Any suggestions for similar top-end cellphones to look at?  What about my next gadget purchase?

Apple as a Wireless Opperator: Great Idea!

Apple as an MVNO would have a fighting chance:  Stevie Just Do It

Forbes' David Walt recently posted what Om Malik termed a "seriously speculative" piece, on how Apple could enter the wireless market in the U.S..  Highlighted in the Forbes article was how by becoming an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) like Virgin Mobile or the recent Disney wireless announcement; Apple could do an end run around the few network operators to control the revenue sharing of the soon to be released iTunes-enabled cellphones.

I like the idea.  Apple is one of the few brands in the U.S. that could do it, do it well, and sustain the operation.   Of course, Dell could do it, Walmart, Sony, AOL, NASCAR and a dozen or two other ubiquitous brands.  The reason why I would love to see an Apple entry is that Apple is already a progressive hardware company known for style, and as an operator Apple wouldn't have to play in the discounting games that most brands would centre their USPs around.  I believe they could attract premium prices or at least those ARPUs similar to what wireless carriers have attracted from the better SOHO and corporate segments.

Apple could leverage the coming avalanche of audio-enabled cellphones from Motorola, Sony Ericsson, etc. and stylize their iFon (see comments) models to suit the what Apple customers expect (iPOD/iBookish white, Power-based silver models, etc.).  As their iPOD success has shown us, Apple would not have to discount or subsidize (much) their iFon's and as long minute packages are comparable to carriers; Apple would likely attract a strong loyal niche following.  Add to this, Apple's ability to bundle in iTunes tracks (weekly ringtone of your favourite iTunes genre based on the charts, etc.), multi-platform licenses support (access your purchased music library via iFon or your desktop), integrated iChat/iPhoto/iMovie/.mac support, etc.   There's plenty of opportunity for Apple to attract higher than average MVNO margins.  The back-office carrier may even benefit from monitoring this Apple application iSandbox(?) to see take-up rates and grow their internal learning's.

As someone who in the past has had to negotiate directly with Apple executives to gain exclusive "official Australian Apple ISP" status; I know how well Apple can negotiate deals with carriers.  They would rather delay a launch, then see their brand risked or their vision sandbagged by an inflexible partner.  I can't imagine a progressive mobile carrier saying No to Apple; risk losing its brand momentum and market niche to a competitor just because Apple won't share its iTunes margins.

Let's face it, carriers aren't used to making money from mobile music in the USA anyway, so they aren't losing too much if they benefit from the learning's, the partnership,  and  Walmart-inspired margin pressure.  Apple customers may actually use the capabilities of a mobile 3G network! Apple would rather a flexible partner and pay an extra cent per minute (as an example only) then do without a partner that can see the benefits of muual market development.   I can't see this iPOD tidal wave going on for another three years, and Apple moving into the wireless business would have better margins, long-term recurring revenue streams and a better effect on its stock than focusing on just its Macs and iTunes markets.

All the rampant speculation online about Apple entering the the MVNO market-space maybe speculation, just as my comments above, however I see far fewer negatives for Apple behind this move and a lot of strengths.  The time is right for a market move in 2005 or early 2006; any later and Apple risks a slow-down in its iPOD business that would seriously cut the brand's current momentum amongst its users and investors.

What Pro's and Con's have I left out?  Ideas?  Please share your comments!  On the weekend, I'll post a review on the perfect mobile phone that Apple could launch with; I've been using it for two weeks and its near perfection!

Thanks,
Ash