Talk, aim and shoot

GIZMO GALLERY

Sony's Cybershot and Nokia's N93 are seen as the latest and strongest threat to digital cameras, now that they sport 3.2 megapixel cameras. Moving a step ahead from its Walkman brand, Sony Ericsson's K790i is a decent phone with simple controls but has too many shortcut buttons. It has a typical Sony Ericsson look "� large screen and compact keypad.

The phone manages an impressive photo resolution of 2048x1536 with its 3.2 MP camera and also crams in an autofocus mechanism (16x digital zoom), image stabilisation and macro capabilities to boot. It is handy at 105 x 47 x 22mm, and weighs around 115 gm. Not to forget, the 2-inch QVGA display which is sharp and vibrant.

It has all the bells and whistles of a digital camera phone and also combines a FM radio, an email client, MP3 player, speakers on both sides of the mobile and 3G connectivity to satisfy all multimedia demands.

K790i's web browser is reasonably apt at reformatting content for the mobile's screen, yet fails to stand out from the crowd. As a bonus, a handy, yet basic RSS reader is supplied.

With 64 MB available for internal user memory, the phone's micro memory card expansion slot comes to rescue (at an additional cost, of course). Battery life is quite good, although highly dependent on usage, it averaged around four hours during testing.

Nokia's N93 Aspiring creative professionals would appreciate the 3x optical zoom (and 20x digital zoom) that makes digital cameras look redundant. The mobile can be connected directly to a TV for a full movie experience. It opens up to a display of a 2.4 inch QVGA with 240x320 pixels resolution, which is an apt 'third screen' to stream videos.

However, at 118x56x28 mm and weighing 180 g, the phone does not slip into pockets easily. You can, of course, unfold and twist the main display, and the N93 is ready to film videos and photos using the colour landscape display as a full-screen viewfinder.

The MPEG-4 VGA video captures 30 frames per second, delivering stunning video experience with stereo audio recording and digital stabilisation (helps in smooth and shake-free shots). The Nokia N93 features internal memory of up to 50 MB (128 MB card bundled), which can be further expanded with a hot swap miniSD card of up to 2 GB.

N93's somewhat slow user interface (can be attributed to the low internal memory) can cause a few software hang-ups. On the upside, there are printing, sharing and viewing options galore; sharing pictures via TV out or wirelessly over Wi-Fi (it requires additional hardware).

Battery life is (approx) 3.5 hours of talktime and seven days of standby. The N93 also packs in a visual radio, digital music player and with the Nokia Music Manager you can also easily rip your CDs and transfer music collection to the phone.

Verdict There are a few teething problems in the software department. However, the Nokia N93 is undoubtedly among the better camera phones to shoot high-quality stills and truly outstanding videos.

Sony Ericsson's K790i, on the other hand, is a phone that will make your pictures look great and still not burden your pocket. If you are looking for a sleek package, then Cybershot K790i should be on your list and if you prefer to amalgamate camcorder and digital camera capabilities into one smartphone, then N93 should be a safe bet.