Sony Ericsson K550 Review

The Sony Ericsson K550 is a Cybershot branded cell phone aimed towards users updating from the K750, which shares a lot of the K550’s features. This phone also has a twin named the W610, which is Walkman branded, and I personally found the K550 more stylish than the W610. It comes in the colors Jet Black and Pearl White, and a purple color has just hit the market in Asia. The K550 comes packed with features, a 2MP camera with lens cover (not on W610), Memory Stick Micro (M2) card slot and being only 14 mm thick.



Your first impression of the phone is it is very compact and sleek, being only 14mm thick and weighing a mere 85 grams. It felt perfect in my hand, as it wasn’t too light, but just the right weight. Many people aiming to buy the K550 have been worried about its keypad, which are thin metallic colored keys. After spending 10 minutes playing around with it, the keypad felt natural and actually is becoming comfortable. The battery cover of the K550 has been the subject of many complaints, as to it being creaky. My K550’s back cover makes a creaking sound whenever I press on it, very disappointing. However, the use of a crystal case will prevent that from happening.



The camera of the K550 has autofocus, and a LED flash. Having autofocus means it takes around one sec to take a picture, as opposed to other phones without it. You can take a photo by press the circular button on the side, or the center button. I was slightly disappointed with this camera, as the photos compared with the K550 and the W610’s pictures are exactly the same, while the W610 is not Cybershot branded. The camera is still very good for being a 2MP camera, but the W810 and K750’s cameras are still more crisp and clear.



The battery use of the K550 is no less than spectacular; Sony Ericsson is known for making great batteries. I personally game a lot with my phones, and also listen to the FM Radio at the same time. I played with it for at least 2 days before the battery was out, and that was gaming around 3 hours a day. Next to the battery, is the Memory Stick Micro (M2) card slot, very simple to insert and remove. Underneath the battery is the SIM card, which is a simple slide in and slide out slot. I find it extremely easy to use and was able to remove the SIM card even without light.

The K550 has a 176 x 220 TFD screen, as opposed to the W810 and K750’s TFT screen’s, which consume more power. However, the TFT has better graphics and is brighter when compared side to side. If not compared to side to side, you would not think they were the same screens.

This phone does what a phone is supposed to do best, receive and make calls. The ringtone volume was stronger than what I needed, and vibrate was superb. You will definitely be able to hear your phone ringing even in crowded and loud places, such as a mall or downtown. However, the loudest volume on the external speaker will cause some cracking, and also it does not have enough bass. I find the reception good, getting 5 bars always in my house, though sometimes it can drop. The K550 is impressive in taking and receiving calls.

In my opinion, the user interface of all Sony Ericsson’s is the best, as they are organized, fast, and convenient. You can set shortcuts by simply pressing a button, and it is extremely easy to find your files, even if you have a 4GB M2 card. The phonebook allows you to set a picture for the caller, there own ringtone, and some personal information about them. (Birthday, address, email etc)

The music player is the normal player that comes with all phones that are not Walkman branded. It divides the tracks by Artists, Tracks and Playlists. The only disadvantage of not having a Walkman player is that you do not have the megabass feature, album art and the ability to change the skin of the Music Player. It comes with Sony Ericsson HPM-62 headphones which gives enough bass and power, but definitely not comparable to an iPod.

The gaming abilities of this cell phone have surprised many. Some friends of mine have pointed out the K550 gives out more smooth and faster graphics than his K790, which is a more powerful phone. My phone came with the games AstroPop, Extreme Powerboat, Nemo’s Aquarium, Nightmare and V-Penguins, but these games were locked. The games that come with your phone may differ on the country that it was supplied to. (Mine was from Hong Kong)

Overall, this phone is a step lower from the K810, the K550’s older brother with a 3.2MP camera. If you cannot afford the K810, you will go for the K550. Many people have bought this phone and then flashed it to the W610 to get the flash themes and the Walkman player because the W610 is more expensive and the K550 looks more attractive to them. The phone price is currently if bought unlocked, even cheaper than the W810 (which is older) so I believe it will be a popular phone because of its stacked capabilities and price.

I believe this is the phone my brother purchased. Let's see if it 'works out' for him so to speak as buying a phone can be like rolling dice sometimes.

Very nice review. I think I was going to purchase it but I waited for an iPhone ;-)

Great phone! I think I'll buy it... I'll search for the cheapest offer.. Do you know any cheap offers?

sweet looking sony ericsson there its pretty cool with many features but still have to say that nothing beats the iphone yet im totally addicted to it.

is this the 5 mega pixel phone? a latest offering from ericson again... thank you so much for the review... i'm waiting and hoping that ericson combines its features CYBESHOT and MUSIC...

Review is very good indeed

Hope the phone is as good as that

Good review here! I recently bought my white K550 and agree with everything. The only thing I didn't notice in there was that when you hold the phone near the bottom, the reception suffers a bit. But then again I live in a fringe area with T-Mobile.

Beautiful phone that catches a lot of eyes for sure!

The thing I didn't like about the phone was way too small keys. but as it is a Cybershot phone so the cam is good although a 2MP

this phone's practical for the base is built; price is afordable

Its main drawback is battery problem. It has low battery back and battery life also.

Well i have 2 sonyericsson k550i & w580i they have the same problem with batt, but the k550 have long life of batt, remember all of this cellphone is built in china the standart not the same ...

battery is a huge problem dont buy

yes i see this problem & small bottom is other but the all funcion is afordable