Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB has unveiled a new, high-end smart phone that is smaller than its predecessor and better equipped for multimedia applications.
Based on Version 7.0 of the Symbian operating system, the P900 supports 65,536 colors, compared with 4,096 colors in the P800, and has 48MB of RAM, compared with 32MB of RAM in the P800, officials said. The phone also comes with a 32MB Memory Stick Duo and will support memory sticks with up to 128MB capacity.
The phone includes a still camera/video recorder, which can film as long as memory will allow; a video clip takes up about 1MB per minute, officials said. The clips can be attached to Multimedia Messaging Service messages.
“I personally have a very strong belief in this product,” said Katsumi Ihara, president of Sony Ericsson, at an event here last week. Ihara cited research figures showing that camera phones outsold still digital cameras in the first half of this year.
Images on the P900 can be viewed across the entire screen and in wide-screen mode, company officials said.
The phone also includes an MP3 player and the ability to create ring tones from MP3 files.
The phone comes bundled with the Opera browser and supports HTML, Compact HTML and Wireless Application Protocol content, company officials said.
Additionally, Sony Ericsson has teamed with several companies to ensure that the phone supports various push-based e-mail solutions, although Research In Motion Ltd.s BlackBerry platform is not among them. Partners include IBM, Extended Systems Inc., Visto Corp. and Synchrologic Inc.
The product has been made “suitable for the enterprise,” said a Sony Ericsson spokesman in London, who added that the high-end device is targeted at the corporate audience. The company has yet to announce pricing, but officials said it will be comparable to the price of the P800, which sells for $649.99.
The P900 will ship in Europe and Asia next month and in the United States in the first quarter of next year. A similar model, the P908, will ship in China in the first quarter.