Sony Ericsson P990: 3G, WiFi Smartphone

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So the much rumoured “Hermione” phone from Sony Ericsson turned out to have a much more traditional name after all, the P990, but its specs suggest it will be no less dazzling than its fancy pants former codename.

UMTS, Wireless (802.11b), new Symbian OS 9.1 and UIQ 3 software platform, two megapixel camera, video calling, MP3 and Mpeg4 file support, FM radio, 2.8in QVGA screen using the Opera 8 browser, the list just goes on and on. And just like its predecessors (the P900 and P910i), the P990 has a QWERTY keyboard positioned beneath the flip out keypad.

There’s some serious functionality behind this feature list too, with proper multitasking (I’m talking surfing the web while on the phone, for example), a VPN client and – interestingly – a virus scan package, which shows the level of concern at the first round of handset viruses. As for storage, there’s 80MB onboard with the inevitable bummer being the need to buy Memory Stick cards for extra space. Given that a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo will debut around the same time as the P990 (Q1 2006) that could offer some consolation, though it is likely to cost more than the phone itself.

How much the P990 itself will cost is unclear at this stage and a lot is going to depend on the size of your network contract. Even with a gazillion minutes, however, expect it to still make a sizeable hole in your wallet. At least at 114 x 57 x 26mm and 155g it then shouldn’t fit too badly into the gap where your money used to be.

Link:
Sony Ericsson UK

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