Sony Ericsson isn't about to throw in the towel where cellphones are concerned, and they have underlined their intent of staying in the game with the Aino - the first touchscreen slider from Sony Ericsson that stores a number pad and navigation keys right under its 3" display.
“Sony Ericsson has established itself as THE Communication Entertainment brand and Aino highlights our commitment to bringing the latest communication technology to the market in fun and innovative ways for consumers to enjoy,” said Alexandre Cardon, Market Business Manager at Sony Ericsson. “Media Home and Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3 are key steps in broadening the entertainment experiences users can enjoy on their Sony Ericsson phone and gives a taste of our vision of the future.”
Unlike the Satio, this device is not a smartphone. It runs on a modified version of Sony Ericsson’s feature phone OS. But despite that, it still manages to pack quite a punch. It’s got an 8 megapixel camera with photo flash, Touch focus, Face and Smile detection, Smart contrast, Geo-tagging, BestPic and loads of other features.
The front is dominated by a large 3 inch display, yeah, you read it right! :) The screen is capable of showing up to 16 million colours with a strange 240:432 resolution. Sony Ericsson have also done their best to improve the interface, providing a brand new auto-rotate-enabled Media menu and new interface graphics. The touchscreen only works in the Media and Camera menu though.
The Aino has Sony’s Clear Bass and Clear Stereo Sound enhancement technologies. This means that the audio quality will be top notch. Other features include A2DP, FM Radio with RDS and Sense-Me among other niceties. Stereo speakers are also a very welcome feature. The Aino also supports Java apps and 3D games (it has a YouTube, Walkmate, Tracker, Facebook and a Hyves application on-board).
The Sony Ericsson Aino features only 55MB of internal memory, but it comes with 8GB microSD card via an expansion slot.
Here comes the most interesting part - the Sony Ericsson Aino features full PS3 compatibility which means that it can be connected to your PS3. Although it looks like a genuine PSP, it’s not a gaming device. You will be able to access your PS3 using Aino via 3G via an app called Remote Play so that you can stream photos, music, and videos from your hard-drive. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Customers from Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Great Britain can also use the PlayTV option, which allows them to play, pause and record TV using their Aino.
Amidst the relatively bulky dimensions of the phone - 104×50x15.5 mm - we find another unusual feature - and alphanumeric keypad hidden beneath the surface. It slides vertically though. The Aino weighs a hefty 134 grams which is on the higher side.
On the connectivity side, the Aino supports quad-band GPRS/EDGE and tri-band HSDPA. Wi-Fi and GPS are there as well. Google Maps makes its presence felt.
The Aino should ship the beginning of the fourth quarter this year in the colours Obsidian Black and Luminous White.
Key features:
- The best of both worlds: traditional keypad and touch UI in media mode
- Media Home and Media Go™ - simple to take your content with you
- Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3 – control and access your PLAYSTATION®3 media content from your mobile phone
- 3 inch 16 million colour screen – surf the web in widescreen
- Clear audio experience – listen to music in superb quality
- Design matched Wireless Stereo Headphone MH100 and Charging Stand EC100
The guys at BelgiqueMobile have had a hands-on experience with the Sony Ericsson Aino. Here you can see the UI in action.
The folks at Mobiwoo have posted loads of live-pics of the Sony Ericsson Aino.
2 comments:
Great stuff...it is an awosome product with awesome features.
The Aino has now been launched and is available at a store near you.
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