Sony Ericsson K300i

The Sony Ericsson K300i is an entry level mobile phone that would suit those who simply want to make and receive calls and messages, without the fuss of all the newest and latest features. But don't be misled by its low cost--this is definitely not a low quality handset.

The sturdy K300i comes with a fair list of features, headed by a VGA-resolution camera and a 128 x 128 colour LCD. The camera takes fairly good quality photos, and has some options that are generally only seen on higher-end camera phones. The camera has options to take sepia, black and white, solarised and negative photos. A digital zoom function is also offered. An excellent feature of the K300i camera is the dedicated camera key, located on the left-hand side of the phone, which you press twice to have an image ready for sending by MMS.

We had a few problems with the K300i's LCD. The screen is too small for viewing photos and is especially inconvenient to use as the camera viewfinder. The menu interface also looks very blurred, making it a far from pleasant experience while navigating. The interface is otherwise generally easy to use. You navigate with the five-way directional joystick and two soft keys. The look of the menus can be changed with pre-installed or downloadable themes.

The phonebook on the K300i is impressive, with multiple entry capabilities including email, Internet address, photo, personalised ring tone, voice command and work and home addresses. While on a call, you simply push the navigational joystick to launch the in-call menu, which allows you to record your current call, mute the call, add another caller to the conversation or use the in-built loudspeaker. The loudspeaker was of a good quality and clear throughout testing. A particularly convenient feature, which is sometimes missing on mobile phones, is a timer at the bottom right of the screen that shows how long your current call has been running.

The K300i supports most messaging formats, including SMS, EMS, MMS and email, and also supports the T9 input method. We were very impressed with the messaging capabilities of the unit, as it did not suffer from any input lag and was generally quick and easy to type messages. However, T9 users will be unimpressed by the fact that you have to use the joystick to change words, as this slows down input considerably. Despite being a low-end model, the K300i includes a few connectivity options, including infrared and USB. It also has a wonderful battery life, with about 7 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time on a single charge. The K300i took us just less than 3 hours to fully recharge.