Nokia N93 vs. Sony Ericsson K800i

It's a shutterbug showdown as we pitch the market's two hottest camera phones against one another: of the Nokia N93 and Sony Ericsson K800i, only one will emerge victorious. Guess which one.

Both fitted with high-resolution 3.2 Megapixel cameras and autofocus, Nokia's N93 and Sony Ericsson K800i look fairly similar with regard to their main attributes - but there are a number of small differences which set the two apart. For instance, the N93 comes with a 3x optical zoom and mechanical shutter, but these apparently don't make too much of a difference as image quality is only marginally better than that of the K800i - although the latter appears to be cheating by overexposing pictures to obtain greater shadow detail.

Speaking of shadows, the K800i comes with the best flash we've ever seen on a camera phone; easily twice or more as good as that of the N93 although not on par with a dedicated digital camera. The N93, on its hand, has an ace up its sleeve in the shape of VGA quality video recording which is the best we've seen bar none. Also, whether for video or pictures, the interface of the N93 places commonly used functions within shorter reach than the K800i, but is somewhat slower in operation - although not enough to make an actual difference.

Once pictures are taken, the N93 has the upper hand in viewing them courtesy of its large, 2.4-inch screen which makes the otherwise excellent 1.9-incher of the K800i look modest in comparison. Also, while the photo album of the N93 has the ability to organize images into albums and a fancy carousel view, it also loads slower initially than that of the K800i; shows fewer thumbnails; and lacks the handy timeline view of the K800i where users can jump from month to month without having to manually leaf back through all their pictures.

Lastly, on the note of sharing, there isn't a shred of doubt as to the N93's status as winner. Where the K800i settles for the usual via-MMS and direct-to-printer over USB PictBridge options, the N93 includes these as well as Bluetooth printing; TV out via S-Video; the ability to stream photos wirelessly over Wi-Fi to UPnP compatible media extenders; and even online printing services. It should also be mentioned, however, that both handsets offer over-the-air photo blogging as well as snappy synchronization with PCs.

Best of the rest
Camera capabilities aside, both phones handle themselves very well in the areas of calling and messaging, and also tackle multimedia well even though the N93's larger screen gives it a slight edge. Both phones are fitted with stereo radios although the K800i has the upper hand here as its RDS support automatically re-tunes channels and provides info, and both also work well as laptop sidekicks.

Conclusion
While the Nokia N93 may have marginally better image quality, a larger viewfinder, superior sharing capabilities and that oh-so luscious VGA video recording, it's not only a hulking behemoth of a phone but also costs almost €100 more than the Sony Ericsson K800i. If you can't make it without the VGA video recording of the N93 we suggest you go ahead and pick one up, but the K800i is the better deal as it offers just what you need at a friendlier price tag and far more comfortable size.