Sony Ericsson 810i – The iPod Nano Killer

Forget about the Zune. The Sony 810i is the real iPod killer. IPod Nano, that is. let me tell you why…

I bought an amazing phone this weekend. The Sony Ericsson 810i is a phone, an MP3 player, and a digital camera all in one. Yes, there are several phones with this combo, but none of them compare with the Sony. That is because the MP3 player can be expanded to 4gb and the digital camera is 2 megapixels. With a little work, you can even customize iTunes to let you Sync the 810i with an iTunes playlist. (Watch for a tutorial in the near future if that is something that interests you.) Don’t fall for the hype around the Motorola. What they don’t tell you is that the integrated iTunes on the Motorola Razr only let’s you put 100 songs on the phone regardless of memory capacity. In a head-to-head battle between the iPod Nano and the Sony Ericsson 810i here is how things broke down:

Style: Nano
Storage Capacity: Tie (4gb)
Interface: Nano
Size: Nano
Color Screen: Sony 810i (scratches less than the Nano)
Price: Sony 810i if you shop around (Sony: Free – $99 with plan + $100 – $150 for the 4gb memory card = $100 – $249; Nano: $199)
Features: Sony 810i (it has a camera, cell phone and FM tuner!)
Battery Life: Tie (From what I can tell)
Games: Sony 810i
Headphones: Nano
DRM Free: Sony 810i
Video capabilities: Sony 810i

In a close battle, the Sony wins 6 to 5 by my tally. Obviously some of these things may be more important to you than others. For me the selling point was that the Sony is also a phone and a decent camera. Undoubtedly my vote will change when Apple finally comes out with their phone. For now though, I am very happy with this new toy.

If I have any regular readers, you may remember my list of life upgrades and downgrades. One of the things I mentioned in the “downgrade” list was not having a cell phone or watch. I started wearing my watch again a few months ago, and this weekend I purchased a cell phone. Before you get too disappointed in me, let me tell you how I can rationalize it: I may be adding a phone to my life, I am actually consolidating my camera and MP3 player and watch and adding a phone while I am at it. Not too bad, right?