So we start to come to diversification in Sony Ericsson’s UIQ offerings, Up to now, each new Pxxx phone has effectively ‘replaced’ the preceding model (the P910 adding a mini-keyboard to the P900, which updated UIQ 1 to UIQ2 from the P800). With the launch of the M600i from the Swedish/Japanese partnership, we now have two brand new UIQ devices designed to co-exist on the market.
So the obvious differences in the hardware are the missing Wi-Fi, no flip, and both the number-pad and the qwerty keyboard are now combined in the keys at the base of the unit in a style much like the recent Blackberry phones. But the big give-away to the target audience is that there are two colours available for the unit – crystal white and granite black. That’s right, SE is (finally) aiming away from just the business/enterprise market to bring Symbian UIQ to the iPod Nano-toting consumer market.
To a certain extent this explains away the lack of Wi-Fi and the extra part cost involved in the number pad flip that the P990. This device is going to have to be competitively priced to get anywhere in the mid-tier market. With the Pxxx devices, you knew that these were going to be snapped up by businesses, but not with the M600i. Price is going to be one of the key factors in the success or otherwise of this UIQ device – you have to hope the networks pick this smartphone up and take it to market with a good subsidy. It’s a good bet the networks will do this – the Sony Ericsson K700i has been a hugely popular phone, and if this can be pitched as a ‘replacement with more oomph’ then there should be smiles all round.
It's also very nice to see that infrared is still available on the phone. While Bluetooth may be all the rage, there’s a certain reliability with IR that you don’t get with any other ad-hoc connection. And even with all these features packed into the phone, there’s still a vibrating alert function.
Looking at the music functions, two features stand out that will drive ARPU and adoption. The first is PlayNow, essentially an on-device ringtone store that with three clicks allows users to download new ringtones to their device. If this isn’t enough, then MusicDJ (a small, MIDI based application, with sample loops of various instruments) will allow you to compose your own polyphonic ringtones.
Plus there's a sampler music tool with MIDI drum, guitar, keyboard, bass and brass loops in different music styles that you can combine to make your own polyphonic ringtones.
While there’s no ‘Walkman’ branding on the phone, Sony has slapped the trademarked ‘Mega-bass’ graphic equaliser function onto the phone, which will probably be part of the Media Player. As before, both audio and video playback is possible – and while the 80Mb of on board memory might not hold much more than a few albums, you can increase the available storage with a Sony Expandable Memory Stick Micro (yes, another new format!) These go up to 2Gb, again enough to mimic the iPod Nano for storage capability. While it wouldn’t surprise me to see a 64Mb or 128Mb stick in the retail packaging, any effort to keep the cost as low as possible will see that peripheral option being the first to disappear.
No word yet on which 'document editors' are going to be part of the ROM. I’d expect to see the Quickoffice suite bundled here in some form, given that they are included in the P990. Sony Ericsson is also shipping the M600i with the Opera web browser for Internet access, along with the messaging application to handle Email alongside SMS and MMS.
Alongside the Java MIDP client, Sony Ericsson are also including the Flash Lite runtime with the device. The specifications note this is for "impressive animated wallpapers, menus and other graphic elements" although the capabilities of this runtime (a subset of the full Flash spec) should allow a range of simple applications and games to run on the M600i. Java and Flash apps are going to be vital at launch, given that Symbian OS 9.1 is powering the phone. The number of C++ native applications initially available is going to be very small – existing UIQ apps will need to be recompiled and in many cases the source code will need altering.
Input comes through a fixed qwerty keyboard at the base of the unit. A lot of the navigation should be possible with the three way scroll wheel on the side of the unit (up, down and in), and the touch screen allows handwriting recognition. The inclusion of the touch screen is an unusual choice. given that the M600i looks a perfect candidate for a one handed, Series 60-like interface, similar to some of the screenshots we’ve seen of some UIQ reference designs, but sticking with the dual (keyboard/stylus) interface we're used to with UIQ has its own benefits. The M600i is the first UIQ device to be aimed at the mid-market. There’s already one major upheaval in switching to Symbian OS 9. And let’s not forget that UIQ3 was announced over two years ago and we’ve still to see a device actually reach the shops, as opposed to a conference hall floor...
Sony Ericsson have taken a contrasting approach to Nokia in smartphones. Instead of multiple devices families (Eseries, Nseries) with multiple devices in each family fulfilling different niches, Sony Ericsson have looked to cover a wider range with fewer devices. The end result is feature packed devices which appear to be targeting multiple segments of the market at the same time. In the case of the M600, this Janus aspect takes the form of an extremely capable messaging communicator, complete with support for multiple corporate email systems and a usable input mechanism, together with multiple consumer features such as high end music capability and typical Sony Ericsson design flair. However, the M600 lacks any camera so it isn't going to appeal to every consumer. With cameras becoming a must have feature on phones the omission is interesting and perhaps hints that Sony Ericsson are looking more to the Enterprise market with the M600 when compared their other UIQ 3 phones the P990.
The M600 may therefore appear schizophrenic to some, but it's class and capability should not be underestimated.
This is an aggressive market space that they’re entering, and while the device specs are up to scratch, there’s going to need to be an effective advertising campaign and strong network support to make the M600i a hit. Sony Ericsson and UIQ have long promised that UIQ3 will drive adoption of their phones. While the P990 is going to be the ‘uber-geek’ phone, it’s the M600i that’s going to have to deliver.