MWC 2009: Sony Ericsson overview

Sony Ericsson W995

The Sony Ericsson W995 or otherwise known as Hikaru may as well be one of the best equipped phones by the company. It's their first feature phone with a 2.6-inch screen, not to mention the clever kickstand.

Sony Ericsson W995

They say the W995 is tuned for video, but for us it's nothing more than a marketing trick. Sony Ericsson have long been ignoring the video playback and video recording on their phones, and honestly, we don't see much difference now that the W995 joins the gang (except perhaps that kickstand of his).

Sony Ericsson W995 held in hand

Sony Ericsson are staking too much on their MediaGo sync software, which has as its main priority to crunch down multimedia content to a form thatthe Sony Ericsson phones can easily swallow. Judging from our experience with similar types of software - it's never as trouble-free as advertized and the output files are rarely as good as expected.

A true video device should have a large screen with widescreen aspect ratio (not W995), various video format support including DivX and XviD (not W995) and powerful smartphone hardware to successfully decode various videos without dropping frames (not W995). Well, having a kickstand doesn't hurt either. And don't get us started on video recording.

Sony Ericsson W995 - focus on details

Now don't get us wrong, we actually enjoyed the Sony Ericsson W995 and we are delighted by the fact that for the first time Sony Ericsson have combined superb connectivity capabilities (HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS), cool multimedia management (their fluid Media center) and nice imaging capabilities (8 megapixel AF camera) all in one phone.

Sony Ericsson Idou

Sony Ericsson Idou easily grabbed the interest of our readers and it's been a top dog ever since it was first showcased. Though it may be another 6 months or more before we see a properly working unit, the interface demos have been impressive so far.

Enjoy this live video directly from Sony Ericsson MWC 2009 booth:

You'll notice that the Sony Ericsson Idou is nowhere near complete. We weren't even allowed to play around with its interface and the show-off units were at various stages at development. Most of the, barely made the demo, but it's not the point.

Sony Ericsson managed once again to snatch the public imagination as they did last year with the XPERIA X1. Now that move is as clever as it gets and we really hope the momentum will keep them rolling through out the year, while they get back on their feet.

Sony Ericsson Idou - focus on details

Sony Ericsson C903

The Sony Ericsson C903 was no MWC2009 news, but it was our first hands-on experience with it and we couldn't help but post a bunch of live shots.

Sony Ericsson C903

Inspired by Sony T-series point-and-shoot digcams with a large camera lens cover, the Sony Ericsson C903 is an impressively looking, but quite compact cameraphone.

You can probably notice right now that the shiny plastic surface is a real smudge magnet.

More views of Sony Ericsson C903

Sony Ericsson W395

Though mobiles like the Sony Ericsson W395 are rarely something to write home about, they drive the midrange market and do what's most important to companies - close deals and create profit.

Sony Ericsson W395

While the higher-end devices attribute to the company's image, quite a small number of those actually reaches the customers as most of them are too expensive for the mass consumer base.

More views of Sony Ericsson W395

Basking in the rays by its big brothers, the Sony Ericsson W395 is actually one nifty little gadget that does music. And it does it in style at a price that many can afford.

Sony Ericsson W395 held in hand