HeyANDHRA

Sunny Singapore, at the very recently opened Resorts World convention center in Sentosa Island, was the venue for Sony Ericsson’s latest announcement. They showcased a slew of new handsets that will soon be making their way to our shelves under the slogan, ‘Evolve, Engage and Excite’. Although the handsets have already been announced we can expect them anytime within the next couple of weeks. Although I can’t say too much about the overall functionality of the handsets since all that were available were prototypes. Here’s a quick look at what’s heading our way.

Xperia X10
First on the list is the much awaited Android running X10 that stole the show. Employing Sony Ericsson’s new design concept called the ‘Human Curvature design’ the Xperia X10 is a rather large device. However it’s neither the device nor the otherwise basic Android OS that makes it so unique. What does make it unique is the UI that has been created for it that could make it worth a serious consideration. Two distinct yet similar interfaces have been developed to enhance the handset’s multimedia and Social Networking capabilities. Timescape is an elaborate interface combining facial recognition technology with plenty of social networking access directly from your contacts section.

MediaScape sorts out all your online and on-board media and categorizes it seemingly well enough to make it easy to look for. MTV is also one of the new brand partners with SE and intend to have their very own app loaded onto the handset with exclusive content. The 1GHz processor seemed speedy enough to handle all functions well enough.

Other features include -

• a 4-inch Scratch-resistant touchscreen with 480 x 854 pixels and 65k colours
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS,
• Wi-Fi (DLNA supported), Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (micro)
• GPS with A-GPS support for Google Maps (trial version of WayFinder preloaded), GeoTagging
• 8MP camera (LED flash) featuring face and smile detection
• 3.5mm handsfree port
• 1GB internal storage plus microSD card support (memory might be included, yet to be confirmed)

Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro
Trust the Mini editions of the X10 to live up to their names. They are indeed miniaturized versions of the X10, so small in fact that they easily fit into the palm of your hand. Both run on Android platforms and come preloaded with the Timescape interface. Mediascape is not part of this deal. The handsets offer plenty of connectivity. The Mini Pro’s slide out QWERTY is an added advantage for speedy texting. Like Nokia’s N97 and its Mini counterpart, the keypad has individual keys that are spaced out evenly. Unfortunately these Android handsets also come sans sufficient video codec support. Even  these small handsets bear the ‘Human Curvature Design’ Sony seems extremely proud of.

These are the common features both X10 Mini’s include -

• a 2.5-inch Scratch-resistant touchscreen with 240 x 320 pixels and 16 million colours
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS,
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (micro)
• GPS with A-GPS support for Google Maps (trial version of WayFinder preloaded), GeoTagging
• 5MP camera (LED flash)
• FM radio
• 3.5mm handsfree port
• microSD card support (memory might be included, yet to be confirmed)

All three of these Android devices feature Google Maps with the new Street View. Since that is still a major work in progress for India, we’ll have to settle for just plain old Google Maps. HTC may have quite a fight ahead as SE could make serious waves with these new Android handsets. Of course it all depends on the one final aspect – price. That has yet to be announced though. However, a little birdie told me that we may not have to worry too much about affordability as these handsets just might leave our wallets a little less worse for wear as compared to some others in their class.

Vivaz and Vivaz Pro
The Vivaz and its counterpart the Vivaz Pro with its QWERTY slide out keypad are elegantly designed handsets. The design itself, curved shape and all, does have somewhat feminine features that also include the stylus that looks like an eye liner pencil. The S60 Fifth edition OS and UI are no different from Nokia’s own handsets. There’s nothing new here except for the design and Vivaz’s 8MP camera that captures video in HD 720p formats. While the Vivaz Pro features the slide out QWERTY, the camera has been downsized to 5 megapixels.

The common features between the two include -

• a 3.2-inch Scratch-resistant touchscreen with 360 x 640 pixels and 16 million colours
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS,
• Wi-Fi (DLNA supported), Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (micro)
• GPS with A-GPS support (trial version of WayFinder preloaded), GeoTagging
• 3.5mm handsfree port
• microSD card support (memory might be included, yet to be confirmed)

GreenHeart Series
Sony Ericsson’s eco-friendly handset range of mobiles is called the GreenHeart. I’ve already reviewed the first called the Naite, that made it to India. Three more that were globally announced last year are making their way to India – The Aspen, Elm and Hazel. Like the Naite, these three handsets in their three different forms – QWERTY, Bar, Slider respectively, are all made up of recycled materials and include small packaging, eco-friendly chargers and of course SE’s Green Applications. While the Elm and Hazel are rather generic, Sony Ericsson handsets that employ their traditional OS and UI do have a couple of features that do make them a bit unique. Firstly they are ‘Splash-Resistant’ and secondly they employ SE’s Noise Shield technology to provide clear audio even in noisy environments. This technology is similar to Motorola’s Crystal Talk.

It is however, the WinMob (6.5 Professional) Aspen with its touchscreen and QWERTY keypad that bears a little more consideration.

Aspen
The resistive touchscreen on the ASPEN can prove to be quite an asset for quick navigation. Although it’s a Windows Mobile handset at heart the unique UI’s make quite a difference. The handset is quite light and the slightly curved design makes it easy to manage. Sony Ericsson has included an Xperia paneling UI set up that allows you to schedule different desktops with different functions at set times. The touchscreen seemed relatively easy to use without the need of the stylus and the keypad is soft and will take a little while to get used to.

The Aspen also features -

• a 2.4-inch touchscreen with 320 x 240 pixels and 16 million colours
• 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), EDGE/GPRS,
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (micro)
• GPS with A-GPS, GeoTagging
• 3MP camera
• 3.5mm handsfree port
• microSD card support (memory might be included, yet to be confirmed)

A total of eight new handsets from Sony Ericsson will be making their way to India by the end of the quarter. Prices haven’t yet been announced but it’s not going to be much of a wait before they’re announced officially. It seems like SE has gotten its act together in making a very bold statement with these handsets. While the original Xperia X1 may have been a bit of a bust, the new ones have potential and of course it’s been a while since SE has launched a full QWERTY handset so that’s something to look forward to.

However don’t make your choices yet as I have to review them thoroughly. Preliminary testing seemed fine but they always do till you see the real thing so hold on, it won’t be too long before you find out just how good or how bad Sony Ericsson’s new handsets are going to be.

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