Sony Ericsson's Cyber-Shot range of devices have come a long way since the K800i was officially launched in 2006. Although the phone only featured a 3.2-megapixel camera, the quality of the images it produced were easily ahead of its competitors with a xenon flash and BestPic storming onto the scene.

However, the Sony Ericsson C510 makes us feel like we're stuck in 2006. With a prepay price yet to be announced (budget, we're promised), but free on contract, we're a little disappointed with the C510.

Some may think that a 3.2-megapixel camera is sub-standard, but unless you're thinking of printing your photos out in A3, numbers aren't everything. Megapixels aren't what's got our goat.

What has riled us though is the quality of those 3.2-megapixel photos and to be honest, they're pretty disappointing on the C510. Five years after creating its first camera phone, Sony Ericsson should know better than to have a slow shutter and on the C510, this is a real problem. Almost like a cameraphone from 2004, the screen is always behind the motion of finding that perfect shot; a jerky movement is all you see on in the viewfinder as you pan. Press down on the shutter and that blur will be reflected in the photo too.

The newly introduced Smile Shutter technology designed to only take a photo when the subject's smiling, depends heavily on whether the person you're taking a photo of is in focus. In our tests, this seldom happened.

Other additions to this somewhat budget cameraphone is panorama shot, a feature seen on a fine collection of camerphones introduced recently. Unlike on Samsung handsets that guide you to take perfectly lined up shots by pointing you to each image (thanks to a green rectangle and arrows), Sony Ericsson gives you a semi-transparent slice of the previous image on the left hand side of the screen which you then line up with the correct part of the second section of the panorama. These are then stitched together to give a very convincing overall effect. One small flaw with this is that you can only take a panorama shot in VGA quality which isn't so effective for poster-sized prints.

Flash power is also a little disapponting. Although there's a dual LED flash, this is no rival to the impressive xenon light as seen on the Sony Ericsson K810i. A downgrade and a half, we'd say.

Once you've got your photos on your phone, you can improve them using the Photofix application or send them to your Picasa Web Album, MySpace or Blogger accout with a couple of clicks. If you're more into moving images, video records at 30fps, and there's an integrated YouTube app as seen on the W595 for you to upload your masterpieces directly onto the video site. Every social networking aspect works well, but Sony Ericsson is no stranger to implementing photo and video upload apps on its devices.

One really handy feature on the Sony Ericsson C510, like the W715, is the threaded SMS messaging. As on more advanced smartphones such as the iPhone and Palm Pre, SMS conversations show up on the screen as if you're involved in an IM chat which is really handy if you're caught up in a text conversation with more than one person at a certain time.

Google Maps makes an appearance on the Sony Ericsson C510, although its usability is flawed due to the lack of integrated GPS. You can of course use age-old triangulation techniques to find your destination, but that's not the most timely or accurate way of navigating. If you'd rather opt for GPS, Sony Ericsson's Bluetooth GPS add-on is compatible, but that's just an expense you'll have to shell out for after purchasing the phone.

Hardware-wise, the Sony Ericsson C510 is inoffensive. Our 'future black' version featured the same silver with blue stripe edging as on the K810, but is slimmer than its predecessor at just 12.5mm. The buttons on the keypad are solid plastic, with backlit icons on the right hand column if the camera is activated. In the centre below the screen is a square-shaped four-way navigation button, with a confirm key in the centre (another backlit feature to signify the camera's on), with two softkeys, call answer/end, shortcuts and cancel keys on either side.

The slide lens cover does feel a little flimsy, and its strength may degrade over time, but it does move aside with a satisfying but soft click.

As usual with Sony Ericsson handsets, the charger, earphones and USB cable all use a proprietary connection, meaning functionality is severely limited. What disappoints though, is that Sony Ericsson hasn't even bundled in a 3.5mm earphone adaptor so you won't be able to plug your own 'phones in.

The Sony Ericsson C510 is nothing more than a budget Cyber-Shot device. Photo quality is not up to scratch thanks to the shutter lag, which in turn makes the aded features such as Smile Shutter a little lost. The build quality of the device is sturdy, but we're a little concerned the lens cover may come loose after some use.

Take a look at our Sony Ericsson C510 video unboxing