The platformisation of the UIQ environment starts becoming a reality with the announce by Sony Ericsson of the new M600 business phone. Powered by Symbian 9.1 / UIQ 3.0, the phone introduces a new form-factor, in between existing Series 60 and UIQ devices:
This very thin UMTS phone (15 mm, which is around 25% less than a Nokia 6680 and 112g) has no gadget feature, no camera but all what a mobile worker needs. It has a new keyboard layout, not exactly the traditionnal 12 keys of most phone nor the full Qwerty keyboard of the P990. This looks like a good compromise for people with normal fingers like most of us. The phone has of course the traditional touchscreen and handwriting recognition that came with other Sony Ericsson devices.
From a software point of view, the package looks very interesting for mobile workers:
Microsoft Office compatibility (PowerPoint, Word and Excel editors) and Adobe PDF viewer.
Certicom VPN client for secure access to corporate networks.
Opera 8 web browser and RSS support.
McAfee anti-virus & firewall software for cellular applications (as Try & Buy)
Pointsec encryption (Try & Buy)
But the main focus remains on mobile email - which is the killer application for this kind of phone - with a dedicated key on the phone side and the announced support of several solutions:
AlteXia
Ericsson Mobile Office (EMO) (Try and Buy)
iAnywhere OneBridge
Intellisync
Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
RIM - BlackBerry Connect
Seven
Visto
Standard Email - IMAP IDLE working on all standards compliant servers
“Estimates show that there are approximately 650 million business email users [1] around the globe, and the demand for true mobile email is growing rapidly,” says Jan Wäreby, Corporate Executive Vice President, Head of Sales and Marketing, Sony Ericsson. “While there are some standalone email messaging devices available, many people will welcome fast and easy messaging tools integrated into their mobile phone. “
For such a slim device the M600 has an impressive 80MB onboard memory for storing email attachments and multimedia content. An additional 64MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™), which is a new ultra-small recording media designed for highly compact mobile devices, is provided in the box. The M600 is the first Sony Ericsson product to feature this new memory card.
The M600 is available in Granite Black and Crystal White and starts shipping during Q2 2006. The different regional variations of the M600 are:
M600i - Dual Mode UMTS 2100 MHz, GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas
M600c - Dual Mode UMTS 2100 MHz, GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz for Mainland China (Launch for mainland China dependent on availability of 3G services.)
M600 will be available in 4 hardware keyboard variants: QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY and Russian.
M600 - Features at a glance
Imaging & Messaging
QVGA 2.6'' display
262K colours TFT
Video playback 30 fps
Online picture sharing
SMS, MMS, POP3 e-mail
Push e-mail
Dual function keyboard
Typing corrections and word completion
Handwriting Recognition
Touch screen
Entertainment
Media Player (support for MP3, AAC, ACC+, E-AAC+ and m4a)
OMA DRM phase 1
Streaming Audio/Video
Audio out over system connector
3D games, Java MIDP 2.0
40 Polyphonic ring tones
Connectivity
Dual Mode UMTS 2100 MHz, triple band GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz
Symbian 9.1 and UIQ 3.0
Stereo Bluetooth™ support
Infrared SIR
80 MB internal user memory
Expandable Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™)
Full HTML browser Opera 8
RSS feeds
Flight mode
PC Tools & Software
PC Synchronization
USB 2.0 Mass storage, Full speed (12 Mbps)
USB charging
External antenna connector
Stereo Portable Handsfree and USB cable in box
Business
VPN clients (for free)
Encryption (try & buy apps)
Virus Protection/Firewall ( try & buy apps)
Onboard application shop
Speakerphone
PowerPoint, Word and Excel editors
Adobe PDF viewer
[1] Source: In September 2004 Radicati predicted there would be over 6 million global mobile mailboxes by the end of 2005. There is enormous potential for push email services going forward as the current penetration equates to less than 1% of total business email users.
