Sony Ericsson teases with 12 MP Idou, Hikaru turns into W995

Sony Ericsson have just announced their very own multimedia monster - the Sony Ericsson Idou. It's pronounced 'I do' but Sony Ericsson say they will market the phone under a different name. In the meanwhile the heavily rumored Hikaru got its own announcement as well. Folks, meet the Idou and the W995.

Sony Ericsson Idou

Enough teasing here's the scoop. Sony Ericsson have gone the whole nine yards with the camera of the Sony Ericsson Idou, they've given it a 12-megapixel camera with xenon flash and touch focus. The camera is hidden under a sliding cover.

No phone can truly call be a 'multimedia' device without the screen being awesome and it is the case with Idou. The touch screen is generous with its 3.5 inches and 16 million colors. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio (360 x 640 pixels) to emphasize that the phone is aimed at multimedia. 3G and Wi-Fi are on board so streaming content from the Internet won't be a problem.

Sony Ericsson Idou

The OS that the Sony Ericsson Idou will run on is a new user interface of the well-known Symbian OS based on the S60. That's the first implementation of the spanking new opens-source Symbian user interface developed by the Symbian Foundation.

Sony Ericsson traditionally have had good YouTube integration and with the Idou they would offer 16:9 aspect ratio and high-definition option.

Speaking of videos, here's the official video ad of the Idou by Sony Ericsson:

The Sony Ericsson Idou also has integrated GPS receiver and with that big screen, it will make an excellent navigation device provided they give it proper software.

You would be rather surprised however that the Sony Ericsson Idou has a microSD memory card slot. That means that the manufacturer of the device is again not Sony Ericsson themselves - just as XPERIA X1.

Sony Ericsson have launched a demo website of the Sony Ericsson Idou and if you are interested, you can find it right here.

Sony Ericsson W995

While the announcement of the Idou was a surprise (what a surprise, indeed!) there's not much to reveal about the next handset that sees daylight for the first time today - the Sony Ericsson W995, formerly known as Hikaru.

Sony Ericsson W995

As we've already said, this is the first 8-megapixel Walkman-branded mobile phone. The Sony Ericsson W995 is a classy slider with a metal housing and a large 2.6-inch QVGA TFT display.

Even if some have been expecting the 8 gigs of memory to be built-in they come in the form of a memory card placed next to the little fellow in the box.

The other specs are also known from before. Definitely the most interesting parts about them are the kick-stand on the back, the 2.6-inch screen and the standard 3.5 audio jack on board (the XPERIA is the only other SE sporting one of those).

The Sony Ericsson W995 packs HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS (with a 3-month trial version of Wayfinder Navigator). Check out the other goodies in the specs list right here.

Full specifications for the Sony Ericsson Idou are yet to be announced. Both devices are expected to hit the shelves in Q2 of 2009

You can read our live Sony Ericsson preview here.