Sony Ericsson Product Launch 2004
Mar 8, 2004, 7:00 PM by Rich Brome @richbrome
Live report from the unveiling of five new phones by Sony Ericsson in NYC: the S700, K700, Z500, T637, and T237.
Intro
Sony Ericsson today launched five new GSM phones, including two new global flagship models, and three models specifically for the Americas.
Like most manufacturers, Sony Ericsson is focused squarely on camera phones. The three big camera trends for 2004 - video recording, flash, and megapixel sensor - are all represented in the new lineup.
One way Sony Ericsson is trying to stand out from the crowd is emphasizing landscape mode for taking pictures. In other words, the phones are meant to be held "sideways" when taking photos, which feels more like taking a photo with a standalone digital camera. Both the physical design and interface are designed around this idea. Sony Ericsson is quick to point out that the back of its camera phones now look more like cameras than phones.
Two other major new trends for this year - Push-To-Talk and EDGE - are also represented in the new lineup. The new Z500 includes both.
S700
The S700 is the (blinding) star of today's announcements. This high-end phone is essentially the GSM version of Sony Ericsson's incredibly popular and successful SO505i for Japan. (50,000 were sold on the first day, and 1.5 million were sold in the first four months.)
The really impressive part is the nearly 1:1 carryover of features from the SO505i - the S700 is not some stripped-down version of a Japanese model - it's the real deal. The S700 sports the same QVGA display and megapixel camera as its cousin, and even adds a few upgrades, such as Bluetooth, an internal antenna, and a sleeker design.
On the camera side of things, the star attraction is the 1.3 megapixel camera. According to Sony Ericsson, they've been working closely with Sony's digital camera division to deliver industry-leading camera quality on these new models.
Opening the integrated lens cover automatically activates camera mode, and an integrated flash aids low-light shots. Video recording is supported, at QCIF resolution.
The trendy swivel design appears well-implemented. Virtually all of the features of the phone can be accessed with the phone either open or closed. The phone really only needs to be opened for entering numbers or text.
Unfortunately, a working model wasn't available at the New York press conference, but the mock-up on hand had a great feel to it. It's one damn sexy phone.
The S700i (international) and S700c (for China) will be released toward the end of the year. Although T-Mobile users may be able to import a S700i, AT&T and Cingular users will have to cross their fingers and pray Sony Ericsson decides to release an S700a (with GSM 850) for the Americas.
K700
The K700 is the widely-anticipated successor to the T610 (which was introduced almost exactly one year ago). Although the T630 provided an interim update with its improved display, it wasn't really a whole new model.
The K700 addresses two of the most common criticisms of the T610/T630: low camera resolution and small memory capacity. The K700 steps up to a respectable VGA resolution camera, and steps way up to a whopping 32 MB of built-in memory.
The memory isn't expandable, but that should only be a limitation for those wanting the use the K700 as an MP3 player. It can play full MP3s, but with only 32MB, you won't be able to store many songs at good quality. FM radio (also new) is the main music feature. The 32 MB of memory is really intended more for photos, MP3 ringtones, and video clips.
Speaking of which, video recording and playback is another major new feature. Video can be recorded at QCIF resolution for as long as memory allows. With 32 MB of free memory, you should be able to record continuously for over an hour, although the battery may not last that long. An integrated flash helps illuminate low-light scenes.
Also improved is the display. The K700 steps up to 176 x 220 pixels - an excellent and increasingly common resolution. Other phones with that resolution include Microsoft Smartphones and Motorola's new high-end phones (V600, V300, E398). Taking advantage of the new display size is a redesigned interface. Incredibly slick fading/moving animations grace the main menu, and certain settings are now easier to access.
The downside of the K700 is its increased size compared to the T610/T630. Although with a larger display, better camera (which usually means larger), flash, and FM radio all crammed in, it's really no surprise. It's still a small phone by any measure. Perhaps more disappointing is the loss of the concave sides that made the T610 easy to hold.
As with the S700, the K700 has so far been announced only for Europe and Asia, although it is a world phone that should work here. Europe should see the K700 in the 3rd quarter.
Z500
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.
T637 & T237
The T637 is essentially the U.S. version of the T630. Initially, the only difference will be support for the GSM 850 band used by carriers such as AT&T Wireless and Cingular. Since it's so similar to the T630, it will be available fairly soon - in the 2nd quarter.
Later, a version of the T637 will be released with software supporting Push-To-Talk. It won't have a dedicated PTT button, but it will be one of the smallest PTT phones on the market.
Also announced was the T237, an upgraded version of the T226 (or a U.S. version of the T230, if you prefer). Compared to the T226, the T237 steps up to a better display (4,096 colors vs. 512), and adds IM, and speakerphone. The appearance has been updated to a grey color scheme, but is otherwise identical.
Both phones will be available before mid-year.
About the author, Rich Brome:Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
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Comments
Z500
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no support for cingular?
why do they do this
(continues)
