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Sony Ericsson G900

Sony Ericsson’s G900 has all the features of the G700, with a few notable additions such as WLAN connectivity and a 5mpx digital camera. Like the G700, the aim of the game with the G900 is a device with high-end features that is accessible to the mid-range market without a complicated and user interface.

The physical styling of the G900 takes on a more M600i-approach, with a slimline profile, large display on the front and even a similar colour scheme. The G900’s touch-supported LCD is 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches and capable of displaying up to 262,144 colours.

The Symbian operating system (version 9.1 for those playing along at home) is utilised by the G900, with the UIQ 3.0 platform for controlling the UI and touch side of things. Symbian has rarely been used by Sony Ericsson, the company usual opting for their own proprietary user interface. Symbian’s advantageous include thousands of add-on applications and it’s well-known, stable, and easy to use interface.

Sony Ericsson have harnessed the “power of touch” with the handset and provide seamless ways to jot down notes using the touch-screen, one-tap phone calls and media browsing, and effortless schedule organising. When it’s time for messaging or number input, use the numerical keyboard for higher efficiency.

The G900’s 5mpx digital camera brings print-quality imaging to your pocket. The camera is equipped with auto-focus so you never have to deal with a blurry image again, image stabiliser, a photo light (with red-eye reduction), and up to 3x digital zoom.

Up to 160MB of internal memory will be available with an out-of-box G900, with the ability to expand by way of Memory Stick Micro memory cards.

GSM 900/1800/1900MHz and UMTS 2100MHz networks are supported. The Opera web browser comes pre-installed, with support for WAP 1.2.1/2.0, xHTML, and RSS reading support. Thanks to the integrated WLAN chip the G900 can connect to an available WiFi network (802.11b/g^) for cheap Internet access. The usual range of security profiles are supported, with final specifications to be confirmed.

In terms of short-range connectivity the G900 supports USB version 2.0 and Bluetooth version 2.0. The stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) profile will stream high-quality stereo audio from the handset to a compatible headset, and the USB Mass Storage Device profile provides driver-free transfer of files between the handset and a compatible computer.

The G900 has an impressive battery life with up to 12 hours talk time on 2G networks (4 hours when using 3G). Up to 380 hours on standby can be achieved on both 2G and 3G networks. The forward-facing camera can be used for face-to-face video calls, with up to 2 hours and 30 minutes squeezed out on a single charge.

Both the G900 and G700 will be released at the same time sometime during Q2 this year. The G900 will be available in two colour variants: Dark Red and Dark Brown.

Accompanying features
Connectivity options	Bluetooth version 2.0, USB version 2.0 (Mass Storage Device profile supported), and WLAN (802.11b/g^)
Camera support	5mpx digital camera with auto-focus, image stabilisation, video recording, photo-light with red-eye reduction, and 3x digital zoom
Data support	GPRS and UMTS
Exchangeable covers	None
Internet applications	Opera browser (WAP 1.2.1/2.0/xHTML supported)
Memory   Internal -   External -	Yes, 160MB Yes, Memory Stick Micro
Messaging capabilities	SMS/EMS, MMS, and e-mail messaging with T9 predictive text and handwriting recognition
Ringing tones	Polyphonic MIDI, True Tones, and MP3/AAC ringing tones^
Synchronisation with PC	Yes, via PC
System for...   Add-on applications -   Gaming -   Phone -	Java MIDP 2.0 Java MIDP 2.0 Symbian OS v9.1 with UIQ 3.0
Extras supported (not listed above)	FM Stereo radio with RDS support Red-eye reduction flash Document readers and editors PlayNow and TrackID Music player with MegaBass