Sony Ericsson K850i
Image isn’t everything. Beyond a solid Cyber-shot-branded cam, this tidy 118 gram candy bar comes chock full of sweet, easy-to-master programs that let you edit, remix and publish sharp pics and vid clips on the fly. In minutes, we whipped up a 45-second, 1.7 MB video slideshow that looked surprisingly decent online at 240x320. But despite Bluetooth, adequate web browsing and RSS feeds, this pin-striped, 3G beauty isn’t picture perfect. Switching between the somewhat finicky partial touch screen and quasi-D-pad really took some getting used to. And the keypad’s tiny nubs could aggravate even the daintiest netizens of Thumb Tribe, USA. —Steven Leckart
WIRED Truly pocket-size; accelerometer allows quick-flips between landscape and portrait. Swift and seamless, on-the-go publishing to Blogger. Always-on headlight option for dim video shoots. BestPic takes rapid sequence of nine images — bonus: “best” recommendation is mostly right on. Super accessible microSD slot can hold up to 4GBs (perfect for those Cloverfield moments)
TIRED No optical zoom. Sluggish Auto Fix takes 30-45 seconds per pic. Snapping shots silences FM radio. No Wi-Fi, no GPS, no geocoded vaca pics. Neither a 3.5 mm nor a 2.5mm headhpone jack (better RFID that Sony FastPort set of earbuds!)
$500, sonystyle.com
