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K850 Firmware Overview |
jmcomms
Joined: Mar 12, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Jonathan Morris
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I have to say that I thought the K850 and W910 used an all new platform, which was much faster and allowed better imaging, HSDPA etc etc. In fact, it's slower than earlier models because it's the same kit trying to do a lot more. It's the new Java platform that is the big change, which also sees the switch to the three soft-keys instead of two.
It's made me wonder why they took so long to release this phone if it was merely to add a new media player 'front-end' and the accelerometer. Was this the problem, as the W580i was quite late coming too?
What were SE thinking by not increasing the processor speed at the same time? As mentioned above, the phone is having to do so much more in the background. Use the new media player and it's a crawl; but use the original file manager (still there but hidden away) and it's actually quite usable.
My problem with the file structure is getting worse. It's crashing more now, and if I try and do something like update the data settings (it wasn't set for MMS) then it crashes (reboots) every time it makes a connection.
Problem is a full reset DOESN'T reset the file structure so it needs a re-flash. SEUS says I've got the latest firmware, but won't let me reinstall it anyway. So, I'm basically stuck.
Also, I used the - frankly awful - Sony music manager software (how slow can that be?) and copied over some music to see if album art would work. All music copied, but it doesn't show on the phone. Now I've looked on the PC (in mass media mode) and the files aren't there either. What the hell? Do SE expect you to use this software instead of Windows Media Player? That syncs everything perfectly, bar album art.
Finally, while I'm moaning about bugs, I want to whinge about the removal of the play/pause button on the phone. SE is going too far in its mission to differentiate between Cyber-shot and Walkman. By taking away the play button, it's hard to both start playing music and - more importantly - stop playing music. This is going to really annoy people, especially those upgrading.
And, why have they gone back to playing the music through the internal speaker straight away after removing the headphones? I've knocked the lead out before, and SE stopped this from being an issue by asking "Continue playback through speaker?" to save you from blasting out music to everyone around you. Now it does exactly that, again. 
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Jonathan Morris
Technology Editor, What Mobile magazine - the UK's leading mobile phone/gadget magazine
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[ This Message was edited by: jmcomms on 2007-10-21 23:37 ] | |
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ryanchg
Joined: Oct 18, 2007
Posts: 117
From: Asia
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Give them a little more time to develop an update, there are way too many bugs to be death with.
I  k850i |
jmcomms
Joined: Mar 12, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Jonathan Morris
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They had most of the year to fix these bugs! Seriously, we all knew about the K850 and the new platform a long time before it was announced. It was always intended to be, for marketing reasons, released late in the year because of the large roadmap of new handsets.
So, while the marketeers wanted to have a defined release schedule, you would have thought the programmers would have had PLENTY of time to get things right instead of this ridiculous situation where loads of people are buying the phone and now getting REALLY annoyed. There's no WAY ON EARTH that SE weren't aware of most, if not almost all, of these bugs before the phone was signed off and into production.
As you can see on here, and our own forum for UK users, long-term SE fans are returning this phone. They're not going to be patient and wait for an update, as there's now a lot of good kit from the competition. SE is going to lose its reputation with things like this. As I've said in my review, didn't they learn anything from the P990?
Sure, with a major update, the phone could be pretty amazing. I sure hope it will be. People who buy the phone by Christmas should get a pretty good phone, but how many others will be buying an LG Viewty, N95 8GB (which, to be honest, IS going to be a pretty serious competitor to this) or something else entirely because their first impressions of the K850 are so bad?
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Jonathan Morris
Technology Editor, What Mobile magazine - the UK's leading mobile phone/gadget magazine
www.whatmobile.net
[ This Message was edited by: jmcomms on 2007-10-21 23:45 ] |
hemnath123
Joined: Dec 04, 2006
Posts: 49
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As Jonathan Morris said, sony is going to lose lot of customers, because the first impression is going to make sense, people deosnt care about updates, see the k750i, w800i, k790i, k800i and especially the W810i, has got the excellent review on its first firmware release, even though they had some bugs. this make the sales to shoot up. So far more poeple have showed their discomfort after buying the K850i. I dont know what sony will do now. I think people eyes will go on the LG viewty, which can really challenge the N95 8GB.
Sony may be interesting in desigining some other 5 megapixel camera phone. just like the k810i as the successor of k800i.
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darrenf23
Joined: Oct 22, 2007
Posts: 3
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Had my k850i since last Thursday, bought it SIM free from an independent retailer. As of yesterday I've had the dreaded "operation failed" when trying to access Applications or Games, same as happened on my k800i and to countless other people on their SE handsets. Done a few reboots and a master reset to no avail so reflashing is the only way forwards... except there's no wotan k850i support and no firmware upgrade available yet. Oh well.
Other than that, for my own needs (most importantly no audio player requirements) it's a superb upgrade to the k800i and I'm really happy with it. Haven't had any of the camera bugs and the alarm works perfectly. The keys took around 2 days to get used to and now I'm as fast as I was on any previous handset.
Firmware as per 'software version' menu item is R1CA029 (1200-4404 R1CA029 070922). |
dualist
Joined: Oct 12, 2005
Posts: 98
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Upgraded to the K850 last week. The first thing I noticed was that the middle soft key only worked intermittently - half the time it wouldn't respond when tapped, whereas the two outer soft keys worked fine. I discovered that using my thumb in a small sliding motion, downward from the screen over the middle soft key actually made it work 90% of the time. (I assumed this was a bug that would be fixed in a later firmware release.)
I've also noticed that when you rename a profile from within the profile "View & edit" mode, the profile name becomes corrupted with strange characters when you return to the profile list. Renaming it from the list (rather than going into "View & edit" mode) fixes the problem.
I turned the phone off for two hours the second night I had it, and when I turned it back on again, the handset wouldn't boot, instead cycling through powering the screen on and off, and then the keypad lighting up on and off, indefinitely. It appeared to have corrupted its own firmware, merely by having been switched off!
I took it back to CPW the next day and got a replacement. First thing I noticed was that the new handset was much more responsive, and the middle soft key could be tapped normally like the outer ones, without having to be stroked! The renaming profile bug remains, however.
[ This Message was edited by: dualist on 2007-10-22 12:19 ] |
PowerLee
Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Posts: 344
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What else do you expect from a brand new Sony Ericsson phone, its going to have bugs with the firmware.
Id always wait at least a couple of months first so the bugs have been fixed before buying a new release of a phone.
SE have just rushed the phone out not fully tested as its getting nearer xmas & they just want sales numbers. |
apotts
Joined: Aug 27, 2003
Posts: 117
From: UK
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I've used many SE phones, but last year was on a D900. It never crashed, slowed nor even did something wrong. I never updated the firmware, and never had to restart it. What's more, I bought it within the first week of availability in the UK.
The 850 is a joke in comparison. Even the instruction book says you have to reboot it daily!
For anyone one who thinks this half finished firmware is acceptable, just take a look at Samsung. |
happykhan
Joined: Sep 03, 2005
Posts: 185
From: Mashhad, Iran
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No doubt SE's decline has started
have you read Eldar's review of SE's Walkman Flagship????===> Total disappointment
I think this forum should be closed!!!!
how come such forum should continue working, when the starter has returned his own phone??!!
SE is shooting in its own leg.... |
DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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On 2007-10-22 00:28:44, jmcomms wrote:
And, why have they gone back to playing the music through the internal speaker straight away after removing the headphones? I've knocked the lead out before, and SE stopped this from being an issue by asking "Continue playback through speaker?" to save you from blasting out music to everyone around you. Now it does exactly that, again.
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Jonathan Morris
Technology Editor, What Mobile magazine - the UK's leading mobile phone/gadget magazine
[url]www.whatmobile
[ This Message was edited by: jmcomms on 2007-10-21 23:37 ]
stupid SE... i hope that's a bug... otherwise i don't know what they are thinking.. yikes.. i might have to boycott SE products till they get back in gear..
Shaolinmonk on HOFO Official PHONE JUNKIE
My P1i Review
http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=152437&start=0 |
Duran
Joined: Aug 25, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Netherlands
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they better hurry with that new firmware;s |
jmcomms
Joined: Mar 12, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Jonathan Morris
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Sony Ericsson couriered over a new k850i for me this morning and I have to say that it's nice to see it working properly (i.e. I can now access Applications and Games). Not sure how it broke before, so no way to know it won't happen again when I start messing around with it.
The touch-sensitive keys are much more responsive on this one. They work almost 95% of the time I press them. The bad thing with this is that it means there could be hardware issues on this phone - and that's not something a firmware update will fix.
I'm going to play around with the camera later to see if the sensors vary from phone to phone. I hope not!
Of course, all the other bugs I've mentioned will be present because it's still the same firmware. I can't believe they have mentioned rebooting the phone daily to save memory (and I've seen it with my own eyes) as this is not something you should need to do. It even suggests a reset of the settings if things go wrong, but - come on - why would you want to have to go through all that hassle for anything other than EXCEPTIONAL circumstances.
But, you know what, despite my rants (which I hope will only help ensure SE get off their ass and fix things) I think the phone is great. Besides the lack of the play/pause key (but I can use the Bluetooth watch for this), it's my ideal phone. If/when they sort things out, I can see myself having this is as my main phone.
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Jonathan Morris
Technology Editor, What Mobile magazine - the UK's leading mobile phone/gadget magazine
www.whatmobile.net
[ This Message was edited by: jmcomms on 2007-10-22 16:52 ] |
ryeallen
Joined: Oct 22, 2007
Posts: 1
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Does anyone have the following problem---When selecting MEDIA then PICTURES, the phone turns itself off? |
darrengf
Joined: Dec 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
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On 2007-10-22 13:17:47, dualist wrote:
Upgraded to the K850 last week. The first thing I noticed was that the middle soft key only worked intermittently - half the time it wouldn't respond when tapped, whereas the two outer soft keys worked fine. I discovered that using my thumb in a small sliding motion, downward from the screen over the middle soft key actually made it work 90% of the time. (I assumed this was a bug that would be fixed in a later firmware release.)
** I got my phone last Monday and I also noticed this, If you pulled your finger down then the middle button worked pretty much instanly. but pressing it and nothing really happend. The other 2 buttons were mega sensitve tho. I never thought any more about it.**
I turned the phone off for two hours the second night I had it, and when I turned it back on again, the handset wouldn't boot, instead cycling through powering the screen on and off, and then the keypad lighting up on and off, indefinitely. It appeared to have corrupted its own firmware, merely by having been switched off!
** Same problem. Had the phone on Monday and come Sat Morn, turning the phone on nothing happens. The phone keypad light comes on, then the screen and then the keypad light again and thats it. So I get my replacement tomorrow. Om hoping that the new one is ok **
Can you remember your old IMEI number and checked it wit your new one. Im going to check mine tomorrow to see how quick they have jumped in sequence.
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jmcomms
Joined: Mar 12, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Jonathan Morris
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The IMEI on the old phone was (first part removed) 032674-8
The new one, which is FAR more responsive ends 031629-3
So, going by that, it seems the new one is an earlier production model.
What this seems to suggest is the build quality varies quite a bit, which is worrying! On the old one the touch-keys were not responsive at times, but this seems fine all the time (perhaps the odd delay, but that seems to be down to the phone playing catch up).
Jonathan Morris
Editor, What Mobile magazine - the UK's leading mobile phone magazine
www.whatmobile.netforum.whatmobile.net
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Posted: 2007-10-22 00:28
k850i
