For most, the thought of spending $500 or more on a phone conjures one of two images: a high-end, do-it-all smartphone, or for 98 percent of the populace, insanity. There’s a rare breed out there, though, that’ll gladly shell out serious dough to get that ultimate, well executed, gorgeous, glossy phone delivered from the furthest reaches of the globe. Notice we said “phone” — not smartphone — and that’s a key distinction here. The Sony Ericsson K850i blurs that line in some respects, but at the end of the day, you’re paying some serious dinero for a powerful piece of kit that’s still fundamentally tied down by its closed, proprietary platform. Yep, that’s right, the K850i’s a dumbphone — albeit one of the hottest dumbphones we’ve ever seen or used, complete with triband HSDPA. So is the price justified? Does Sony Ericsson have any business stuffing this much power into a non-UIQ handset to begin with? We’re pretty sure it’s “yes” on both counts; read on to find out why.

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