K790i easily wins over 5610.
K790i is a rock solid phone that features the best mobile phone camera.
5610 is more like a stylish phone.
review by cnet:
k790i camera features: 16x digital zoom, autofocus, image stabilizer, photo editor, time line view of pictures, Bluetooth printing, and a rather nifty feature Sony Ericsson calls BestPic. Think of the latter as Multi-Shots on steroids. Beyond the digital imaging goodies, this is clearly a high-end camera-phone with all the bells and whistles you can expect, from FM radio to email client, MP3 player, speakers on both sides of the mobile, speakerphone, QuickShare plus, 236kbps EDGE connectivity, 3D games, voice control, etc., to keep those who demand more out of their handsets happy campers.
5610 bottom line: The 5610 XpressMusic is a decent music playing mobile but there's not much to recommend it over its competitors.
The obvious drawcard for Nokia's XpressMusic range is the music player, but in truth, the music player isn't really much to write home about. It works well enough, the music sounds loud and clear--though noticeably louder and clearer through headphones other than the low-quality stereo headset bundled with the handset--and the music player supports album art, but, the XpressMusic player lacks the wow factor of the competition. The music player menu is practical enough, but it's also unattractive and unintuitive so that you feel as if you're always drilling in and out of drab looking lists. It just doesn't inspire use in the same way as the menus on the Sony Ericsson Walkman players do.
Likewise, the 3.2-megapixel camera on the back of the 5610 is practical but unexceptional. The specs look good, including auto-focus and LED flash, however, the test pictures we took, while colorful, were often out of focus, particularly when trying to focus on a subject. Landscape pics look great, and the pictures of people or objects are more than adequate for MMS and blogging online, just don't trust it to capture your precious memories.
I went to the mobile store to get the NOkia 5310 player but after checking couple of specs and quality of the phone, I went for Motorokr E6 as I felt it's lot better and after using it for 4 days, yes, I feel that I took the right decision.
IMHO, nokia XM has got huge publicity but the only thing that is good in it is music and nothing else.
and my suggestion for you is to go to a cellphone store
test 5610 and K790i (build, ruggedness, call quality, audio quality, camera quality, speed etc) and then make a decision. DOn't rely completely on what we say.
K790 is a good choice too, but he need a music phone i.e. he need to listen to music and for that he also need a thing called memory card which will bump his budget. AND I, personally, am fed up with phone having a joystick. Joystick is easier and comfortable to use for a few months but afterwards starts acting up and needs to be repaired every 4-5 months or so.
Also W610 is not vfm unless you want those portable stereo speakers which come with it.
afaik, the joystick problem was rectified long back and is pretty good even after long use.
