With the Sony Ericsson V800 mobile phone you never know when you are connected to the network, or not. I have to reboot mine every morning to be sure, otherwise I cannot call or receive calls, even when on the screen I see the signal power lines.

I have owned the Sony Ericsson V800 mobile phone for 8 months now, and frankly I can't wait to see it go. It regularly turns itself off (even during a call), drops calls, and most annoying... it has changed some of the telephone numbers in my phone-book! Weird! How does it do that? Also, when the battery runs down, you get very little warning, and when it cuts off that's that. No amount of waiting makes any difference. If you haven't got your charger to hand, then forget it.

The Sony Ericsson V800 looks good and in principle it could be a good phone.... but it's software problems are like something out of the Exorcist! Turns it self off, wont turn off, dial 113 it dies, the camera wouldn't save pictures, need I say more!? I had three of them over a 6 month period. All had faults.

And so another Sony Ericsson phone falls into my lap. Now that my old workhorse T610 is showing its age I have decided to put my hand in my pocket for an upgrade to its sexier sister, the V800. This decision was made that much easier by a frankly laughable offer from Vodafone (Say that again?! £50? You're kidding. You're not?! Well of course I'm interested!!).

To hold in your hand it is both bulkier and heavier that the T610 and its current stable-mate the k700. The look of the phone once again marries gloss black with silver as with the T610 and the effect is equally stunning. Closed the phone is very distinctive, the cover being flat instead of the rounded look preferred by its competitors. The look of the phone when closed would be perfect but for the hinge, which stands out somewhat due to the size required to hold the camera.

When opened the phones keypad lights up in a very 'science-fiction' - esque blue glow. Indeed there is something distinctly 'Star Trek' about the look of the phone that has garnered many admiring 'aaah's from friends since I bought it.
It is when opened that you begin to appreciate the technology for the first time; the two halves of the phone are incredibly slimline. It amazes me how much they have fitted into this phone. Two screens, loudspeaker, 1.3 megapixel camera, MP3/4 player, Memory stick port, torch, Bluetooth, IRDA, 3G and (possibly) a partridge in a pear tree! And it makes phone calls too! Sony Ericsson have really excelled themselves technologically.

Let's talk about those features for a second. Firstly; 3G. Let me tell you right now, I didn't buy this phone with the allure of 3G or video calling. I got it because it was cheap (Are you sure you weren't kidding?! £50? No £200 connection fee or anything? Have you cleared this with your boss??). However, not wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, I checked out the 3G features anyway. I have downloaded music and video onto my phone via 3G now and I was pleasantly surprised at the speed. It also gave me a chance to test the phones media player which is basic but well designed. The biggest drawback to this is that the 3G network will not allow downloads or internet searching unless there is at least a 3 bar signal on the phone. This is akward as the 3G network in my area is patchy to say the least. It is even more infuriating in my house, where I am on the border of a 3G signal leading to periods where I am unable to receive any calls as it toggles between the two networks. It is a problem that is fixed by standing the phone on its end, oddly. It is also a problem with the network rather than the phone so I shall not blame the V800 for this.

I am impressed the most by the phones functions as a media player. Never having seen the point of all this MP3 malarkey, I couldn't normally give a hoot about your Apple iPods and such. I have found myself converted by this phone, however, which can act as an MP3 and MP4 player, allowing music and video. The media player is basic but functional, allowing you to create playlists and pause/fast forward/skip tracks as and when you need to. It also works when the phone is closed as well as minimising to allow you to continue using other features. You can listen via the supplied headphones or using the loudspeaker on the cover, which is very clear for its size.



The camera also is a vast leap forward if you have been used to the T610's poor effort for a year, as I have. Okay it's still not up to the quality of your high-end digital cameras but it is equal to, if not slightly better than, your basic disposable. It allows for very clear and large prints of photograpghs and the resolution is reassuringly high. The colours on photographs produced are also fairly good, although the red is slightly overexposed. In short this is as good as you're going to get from a phone camera, and very impressive in its own way, but don't expect miracles. Photography enthusiasts might want to look at the S700i, Which I am led to believe has a slightly better camera.
Video recording is possible with this phone and the time can be limited to 10 seconds or be 'unlimited', only stopping when you've run out of memory. It's a fun diversion but with the pixilation and blurring produced you'd not want to use it to record weddings. That said, I am going to make a one minute film with it, just for a laugh.

Other features on the phone are becoming pretty standard on phones these days, with a full organiser, alarms, note taking, dictaphone and such. They are all well presented and work as well as you'd expect. You get two full games and a demo of Sega's miniaturised 'virtua tennis' which you can download from Vodafone for a fee when you've exhausted the four games allowed. This shows off quite nicely the phones ability with 3D graphics which surprised me as it is not sold as a gaming phone, like the Nokia N-gage.

The build quality on the phone is as high as we've all come to expect of SonyEricsson by now. It clicks open and closed with reassuring firmness, the camera can be turned to face into the casing, to protect the lens and the light/flash is so bright that it doubles as a torch. All functions that have been well thought through.

So would I recommend this phone? In a word; Yes. Although many of the phones features appear on Sony's other recent and cheaper phones, the camera on this one tips the balance in it's favour. Add to this some interesting download options on Vodafone 3G and it is pretty hard to resist, especially at this price (Are you sure about this, . I feel like I'm stealing from you, ). As far as I'm aware this is an introductory offer, so don't expect it to last beyond Christmas but if you're contract is nearly up you can do a lot worse!