Sony Ericsson's 3.2 Megapixel K790

Sony Ericsson K790

Sony Ericsson K790

Sony Ericsson K790

I just got back from Sony Ericsson USA's press event in New York. The event was held at the Sony building in upper Manhattan. Sony Ericsson USA's new president (120 days and counting) Najmi Jarwala was there to show us the firm's newest handsets, including the new 3.2 megapixel K790 featured in this story.

Right off the bat, the most striking thing about the K790 was not its waistline bulge where the camera is, but rather the new QVGA 262k color display - it is an absolute stunner. When I first saw the device, my immediate thought was that Sony Ericsson didn't have working handsets for us to look at because I honestly thought that the handset before me had a printed paper display, as you see in mock-ups. The last time a device fooled me like that was the SO505i made by SE for the Japanese market some years ago. The photo of the display in this story should give you some idea as to how nice it is, as the K790's screen even photographs better than most. Truly impressive.

Of course the reason you get the K790 is its camera, not its display. The 3.2 megapixel Cyber-Shot camera in the K790 is responsible for some of the phone's increased thickness when compared to the K750 and W800 models. The active slider lens cover only adds to that, but is probably going to be worth it to most people. The camera features new software based technology that aims to deliver better photos to the end user. Digital image stabilization is new to the K790 and will probably show the most benefit on sub-3.2 megapixel photos, and especially when shooting video clips. The BestPic system starts taking photos as soon as the camera achieves focus, giving you 4 photos over the course of a second before you fully press the shutter for the 5th frame. Then the camera takes another 4 photos in the following second. The aim is to get the right shot, even if your timing is a bit off. You have the option to keep any/all of the shots - not just the one you think is best.

The EDGE capable, triband GSM Sony Ericsson K790 is virtually identical to the K800 UMTS handset that was also announced today. You can find the K790's full specs in the K800 story. You'll find more live photos of the K790 on the following page.

Sony Ericsson K790

Sony Ericsson K790

Sony Ericsson K790

 

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