Sony Ericsson rolls out Cyber-shot phones
The huge success of the Walkman handsets in 2005 has clearly prompted the Japanese-Swedish phone maker to carry yet another Sony trademark branding into its latest mobiles. The Cyber-shot marque, traditionally used for Sony's dedicated digital cameras, will for the first time be adopted by two of Sony Ericsson's latest camera-phones, the K800i and K790i.
Peter Ang, Sony Ericsson's director for Product Marketing, Applications and Content, believes the Cyber-shot phones will "create a new lifestyle of 'imaging communication' by combining Sony Ericsson's unique mobile applications and Sony's digital imaging technologies".
True to its Cyber-shot branding, both the K800i and K790i offer top-of-the-line imaging features such as a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and 16x digital zoom, Xenon flash (not LED lights), active lens cover, PictBridge support and a Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot. To prevent hand shake during video and still image capture, there's even a built-in image stabilizer function as well.
The key feature on both camera-phones, though, is BestPic. Implemented in a Sony Ericsson phone for the first time, the application is a proprietary imaging technology that aims to help users capture the desired image. This is done by recording a sequence of nine images (at resolutions of up to 3.2 megapixels) from which users can then pick and save those they want.
Another highlight of the K800i and K790i is the integrated mobile blogging and Web search utilities, both powered by Google. The two new features are a result of collaboration between Sony Ericsson and Google, which was officially announced at the launch. The new utilities will also be available in the upcoming K610i phone.
After unveiling the W810i and W950i earlier this year, Sony Ericsson has announced yet another addition to its Walkman phone family. The W300i, the company's seventh Walkman handset, is also the first clamshell model in the series. It comes with quadband support, EDGE, 3G, onboard music player, a Memory Stick Micro slot, and is rated to offer up to 30 hours of music listening.
The other three phones at the launch were candy-bar mobiles targeted at the mainstream market. The K510i is the upgrade model to the K500i, featuring a 1.3-megapixel camera and Bluetooth, while the K310i succeeds the K300i and offers a VGA sensor. The midrange Z530i supports Bluetooth and expandable memory in the form of the new Memory Stick Micro cards.
In addition to handsets, Sony Ericsson also unveiled new Bluetooth accessories comprising the HCB-100 car speakerphone and three new headsets--HBH-IV835, HBH-GV435 and HBH-PV705.
| Model name |
In a nutshell |
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Wow factor: Sony Ericsson's first Cyber-shot branded phone. Comes with 3.2-megapixel camera, Xenon flash and brand new BestPic feature.
Other notable frills:
3G and triband
2-inch QVGA LCD display with 262K-colors
Onboard media player
Video and image stabilizer
Google Search and Picture Blogging
RDS FM radio
Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot
Bluetooth, infrared and USB
Flight mode
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: This Cyber-shot branded phone is similar to the K800i, sans the 3G connectivity and second VGA camera.
Other notable frills:
Triband with EDGE support
2-inch QVGA LCD display with 262K-colors
Onboard media player
Video and image stabilizer
Google Search and Picture Blogging
RDS FM radio
Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot
Bluetooth, infrared and USB
Flight mode
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: Sony Ericsson's seventh Walkman phone to date and the first to sport a clamshell design.
Other notable frills:
Quadband with EDGE support
160 x 128-pixel LCD display with 262K-colors
Onboard media player
VGA camera
RDS FM radio
Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot (256MB included)
Bluetooth, infrared and USB
Flight mode
Sony Mega Bass
Macromedia Flash support
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: Midrange mobile with Memory Stick Micro expansion slot
Other notable frills:
Triband
VGA camera
160 x 128-pixel LCD display with 65K-colors
Onboard media player
Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot
Bluetooth, infrared and USB
Full HTML browser and RSS reader
Style-up covers
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: 1.3-megapixel camera-phone for mainstream users
Other notable frills:
Triband
160 x 128-pixel LCD display with 262K-colors
Onboard media player
28MB of onboard memory
Bluetooth, infrared and USB
Full HTML browser and RSS reader
Speakerphone
Style-up covers
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: Entry-level candy-bar handset
Other notable frills:
Triband with EDGE support
160 x 128-pixel LCD display with 65K-colors
Onboard media player
15MB of onboard memory
Infrared and USB
Full HTML browser
Speakerphone
Style-up covers
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: Bluetooth speakerphone kit for use in automobiles
Other notable frills:
Digital Signal Processing (DSP) with digital noise cancellation and echo reduction
Comes with cigarette lighter adapter and standard charger
Color ID for different handset connections
89g
Up to 20 hours talktime
Up to 600 hours standby
Available in black and silver
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: Ultraportable Bluetooth 2.0 headset
Other notable frills:
Fast automatic volume adjustment
Bluetooth 2.0
Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
Comes with standard charger and strap
10g
Up to 3.5 hours talktime
Up to 160 hours standby
Available in matt black, glossy black and silver
Expected: Q2 2006
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Wow factor: Bluetooth headset with discreet design
Other notable frills:
Auto pairing
Bluetooth 2.0
Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
Comes with standard charger and strap
18g
Up to 8 hours talktime
Up to 300 hours standby
Available in matt black, glossy black and silver
Expected: Q3 2006
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Wow factor: Lightweight Bluetooth headset with long talktime
Other notable frills:
Compact pen-shaped diesgn
Comes with standard charger and strap
14g
Up to 12 hours talktime
Up to 300 hours standby
Available in sand and silver
Expected: Q3 2006
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