Counting on “small details” to differentiate its latest product launch, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. announced it will launch its new S500 handset in the United States. Pricing and distribution were not announced.
The quad-band, EDGE-enabled handset focuses on colors, materials and finishes-CMF, in industry parlance-as well as changing themes on its screen, which SEMC referred to as the “desktop.”
(The “desktop” notation may well be a semantic distinction that reflects leading handset makers’ aim to get consumers to begin thinking of their handsets as a replacement for the PC environment.)
SEMC touted the S500’s hidden lighting effects and screen themes, which change with the time of day. The handset is equipped with a media player, a 2-megapixel camera, Web browser, messaging options, Bluetooth, PIM and other features now considered de rigueur in a mid-tier handset.
The handset will be available in “mysterious green” and “spring yellow.” The device includes software for transferring music from PC to phone and for transferring images from phone to PC.
World phones
The vendor announced three other handsets last week, destined for Europe and Asia. At the high end, SEMC will offer the P1 for enterprise users in the third quarter. The bar-style, UMTS device packs multimedia, multiple e-mail solutions, Web-browsing applications, Wi-Fi and runs on the vendor’s UIQ user interface riding on the Symbian OS.
The T250 bar phone-which emphasizes its stripped-down functionality (FM radio for music) and thus probably is destined for emerging markets-will be offered in a GSM/GPRS/900/1800 configuration as well as GSM/GPRS/850/1900. The device is expected to begin shipping in Q3. The T650 is another bar phone with UMTS connectivity, 3.2-megapixel camera and media player. Animations on the home screen link to lighting effects around the keypad, mounted in a stainless-steel casing.
