sony ericsson idouThe multimedia flagship Sony Ericsson W995 Walkman, has left many pleasant impressions. Judge yourself – in a pretty tiny metal case was combined the best from two series – musical (Walkman) and camera (CyberShot). 8,1 MP camera, stereo speakers, for the first time – 3,5 mm audio jack on the case, and much more – it is a really significant innovation of this summer. Well and today we have got second impressive device from Sony Ericsson – Idou. We shouldn’t even mention that the model is fiercely discussed and popular, which is quite deserved. It is the first phone with 12,1 MP camera and the first Sony Ericsson smart phone running Symbian of the fifth S60 edition. Before getting into more details below, I just want to remind you that Idou is still a code name given and actual index will be announced with the actual release of the phone.

Technical specs of Sony Ericsson Idou

  • Connectivity: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 + UMTS / HSDPA 900/2100
  • Memory: slot MicroSD up to 8 GB
  • Camera: 12.1 MP (up to 4000×3000), Autofocus, xenon flash, video (VGA 30 fps)
  • Display: touch-sensitive, 3.5″, QHD (640h360), 16M colors
  • Communications: USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, supports A2DP, Wi-fi 802.11 b / g (DLNA), TV-Out
  • Navigation: A-GPS
  • Battery: BST-38, capacity – 930 mAh
  • Dimensions: 111×54x15-18 mm
  • Price: To be announced
  • Expected Release: December 2009

At that time we brought photos and video demonstration from the MWC in Barcelona, and now we are getting acquainted with the device in detail. First of all I would like to say that Idou is not a concept as it was nicknamed by some others who don’t see its future. New firmware comes out every day, stability of the software constantly improves, in our prototype the camera works already, there is a Touch Focus system, stable gallery, the majority of the menu. There are certainly and the incomplete parts, but we will not talk about it yet. After all, the device will appear in the market not very soon, in almost half a year, and many things can change. The main thing is to understand that the device is real, and it is in the interests of the company to release the device to the market. Looking ahead, I can tell you that Idou will appear in the fourth quarter, November-December, and will cost about $550.

sony ericsson idou

Sony Ericsson Idou, as we said, is only the concept name, meanwhile the device index is not known, after all there is a lot of time until the release. The smart phone will not be in the  Xperia series, in this line there will be only Windows Mobile communicators, in particular Х2, which will be released closer to autumn of this year. Idou is Entertainment Unlimited, a new line, multimedia without limits. And for this purpose there is practically everything in the device: the powerful Symbian platform, new hardware platform OMAP, 12,1 MP camera with Sony Exmor sensor control.

sony ericsson idouIdou is a smart phone running Symbian 5th edition, the first device from Sony Ericson to be announced. It not just a S60’s fifth edition with support of touch screen, which is used in Nokia N97 or Samsung i8910 and is only compatible with Symbian Foundation, but a new OS with a number of differences. For example, there is a completely changed multimedia menu, gallery (the device strongly differs from Nokia touch-phones), a player, a desktop, and so on. Sony Ericsson completely customized the presentation of the majority of menus, there is nothing left from the quite boring S60 base. There are completely new icons, new arrangement of elements on the screen, modes and so on.

The camera interface is pleasant and convenient; it has a Touch Focus system, and also standard camera functions –face and smile recognition, geotagging and so on. Naturally, at this stage it is not meaningful to estimate the quality of a camera, so we will not show photos. Something pleasant for the fans of this brand – Idou video clips allow to write down in VGA permission and with the speed of 30 frames in a second.
The impression from the design and the assemblage is simply excellent, Sony Ericsson Idou looks beautiful, expensive and futuristic. The camera shutter adds charm, it slides smoothly, and just a little bit thickens the device. The materials of the case are pleasant, it is generally soft-touch, and the camera shutter is from metal. For the pre-selling sample the quality of work is high. All in all, it is, perhaps, the only touch phone which is completely not similar to the old iPhone style. Sony Ericsson Idou has its face, which will be remembered by many.

The slot of memory expansion, by the way, has a high-graded support of hot swap (slot for the card is situated on the left side, and is covered by a shutter) supporting microSD cards. The latter is actual in the standardization world, SD micro cards nevertheless are more widespread in comparison with M2, but touch-phone leaders Nokia N97 and Samsung i8910 which have built –in memory, seem more favorable, there is 16-32 GB built-in, besides the support of the memory cards. However, the complete set of Idou will also include 8 GB card, which is quite enough for the majority of consumers to begin with.

The screen pleases; it is 3.5” and has a resolution of 640×360 pixels, 16 million colors, which is absolutely identical with Nokia N97. The quality is also comparable; picture colors are natural, live. No stylus is provided with the device (again similar to N97), at such sizes of the screen this element seems unnecessary
On the top side there is the power button/change of profiles, on the right – the keys for the camera, switching of the modes of shooting, the start of gallery and the key for volume control. In its form, the arrangement of the keys on Idou remind the cameraphone S905 of Sony Ericsson. The keys are convenient, large, no problems with them.

There is no standard 3,5 mm audio-jack for connection sets. Perhaps, this is the biggest shortcoming of this device. Though at traditionally strong offer of every possible Sony Ericsson accessory, this moment will not be critical for the fans of the brand.

We would like to stop on this, next time we will tell you about the realization of some functions in more details. And, as a result, it is necessary to notice that Sony Ericsson has again managed to amaze everyone in the good sense of this word. Idou will wait, its popularity simply reads off scale. It is pleasant that new firmware come out regularly, the developers constantly improve the system, and the obvious difference is noticeable from what we have seen in Barcelona on Mobile World Congress 2009. The device is not something unreal any more. This is a working device, which will appear in the market this year. We are waiting impatiently for newer firmware, and we will closely observe, in general, the destiny of this smart phone. Stay with us, it will be interesting.

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