Sony Ericsson Product Launch 2004
Of the phones announced today, the Z500 is the only all-new model for the Americas. It's Sony Ericsson's first EDGE phone and first dual-color-display phone.
Unlike Nokia's first EDGE phones, which only supported very low classes of EDGE, the Z500 supports class 10 EDGE. Class 10 is the fastest available (or practical) for phones, providing theoretical peak speeds of 240 kbps.
The Z500 is generally a well-rounded, feature-laden phone. A VGA camera, Push-To-Talk, and Wireless Village Instant Messaging (IM) are core features. Like the Z600, the Z500 has user-changeable front and back outer shells, a rare feature on clamshell models.
A very early-stage prototype was on-hand at the press conference. The phone is lightweight and has a good feel to it. Concave sides make the phone easy to open and hold. A thinner profile than the Z600 is much appreciated.
My only gripe is the passive CSTN displays. The Z500 is only dual-color phone I know of with a passive main display. While it's sufficiently bright and colorful, it's also painfully slow to update - a throwback to the T610's display.
The Z500 will be available in the Americas in the third quarter.
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