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First look: four brand new Sony Ericsson phones

Mike Jennings — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:17:04 +0000

At a lavish event last night at London’s Sketch Bar, Sony Ericsson unveiled four new phones, all with the focus squarely on entertainment, gaming and multimedia.

While they may have unusual names – only one of the four new products has the traditionally impenetrable code – Sony Ericsson see this is a positive move, replacing the older names with more memorable phrases.

We’ve been hands-on with the quartet of new phones to find out if they’re up to the job – or if they’re all mouth and no trousers.

Satio your hunger

Sony Ericsson’s latest flagship product is the Satio, with its designers claiming it to be the ‘ultimate multimedia experience’ – and, after perusing its list of features and specifications, we’re hard-pressed to disagree.

A 3.5in, 16:9 touchscreen and 12.1mp camera are joined by Bluetooth, WiFi and HSDPA connectivity and an 8GB microSD card. The touchscreen felt responsive and easy to navigate and has a menu system similar to that of the Aino – scroll horizontally from section to section and then vertically within that section.

This was also the only new product launched last night that doesn’t use Sony Ericsson’s proprietary OS – instead, the Satio uses the S60 5^th edition of Symbian. It’s also linked to Youtube, Facebook and Picasa, with Sony hinting at future integration with other social networking sites, such as Twitter.

As well as testing the new interface, we were also given a chance to watch some video on the new screen, which has a resolution of 640 x 360, and came away impressed: it was sharp, bright and vivid, easily rivalling the quality seen on the best Apple, Archos and Creative devices. The media interface also bore plenty of resemblance to the XMB bar seen on PS3 and PSP, with Sony claiming last night that it’s looking to integrate this type of navigation into more products in the future.

While it’s not stacked with smartphone features, the Satio could well be one of the best consumer phones ever released by Sony Ericsson: a 12.1mp camera, gorgeous, responsive touchscreen, an absolute bucketload of media features and more connectivity than you could shake a stick at certainly make it a tempting package, albeit one that could cost a pretty penny when it’s released in the Autumn.

Aino what you’re thinking

Sony Ericsson is stressing that none of its new phones are limited to merely making phone calls and sending texts – instead, they’re entertainment experiences in their own right – and the new Aino is at the forefront of this change in attitude. Sitting in a docking station reminiscent of those included with Archos media players, the Aino also comes with a wireless Bluetooth headset and a boatload of promises regarding the entertainment experience and device integration.

The 3in touchscreen felt intuitive and easy to use last night – scroll left and right to select a section and then navigate downwards within that section – and also included several menus that aped the grid-like layout of the iPhone. The sliding unit also includes a traditional keypad, for those who aren’t too keen on using a touchscreen all the time.

Integration with Facebook, Google and YouTube is already built into the device using the NetFront web browser, with Sony Ericsson also hinting that Twitter, as well as other social networking sites, are on its roadmap for several of the new models. An 8.1mp camera with 16x digital zoom, and Bluetooth is joined by GPRS and WiFi connectivity. An 8GB microSD card is included, providing a decent amount of storage.

Plug the Aino into its docking station and, in theory, the machine can hook up with a computer running Sony’s Media Go software, synchronising your files over WiFi automatically. We’re also promised that the Aino can be used with PS3’s Remote Play feature, which was first introduced for the PSP last year, enabling owners or both machines to connect them together, sharing and using media wherever there’s a WiFi connection.

However, the demonstration we saw last night didn’t exactly go smoothly – the Aino and PS3 couldn’t get it together, despite being mere feet apart – but, if Sony can iron out these bugs before launch, you’ll be able to view any of your PS3’s media content on your Aino, sharing and swapping files in the same way that can be done with PSP.

Gaming on the go

The new Yari, meanwhile, is a mobile with a clear gaming focus and, unusually, motion sensitive features of the kind normally seen in the Nintendo Wii, with Sony Ericsson claiming this is the first motion sensitive phone to be launched outside of Japan.

The phone comes pre-loaded with Tennis and Fitness software, with Boxing and Baseball titles available for a free download from Sony’s online application store. We’re promised dozens further games will be available for the new device, but Sony weren’t at liberty to name names or confirm how many of these would have motion-sensing features.

We’re not entirely sure of the Yari: while the motion sensitive camera worked well when demonstrated last night, the endlessly enthusiastic demo videos featured a group of models playing bowling, boxing and golf games on the train and in a restaurant – and who would do that in public?

The joy of texts

While these three products don’t sound much like Sony Ericsson releases, there’s no mistaking the Walkman W995’s heritage. It’s a slider phone that, like the Satio, promises to include almost every feature you’d seemingly want with a definite entertainment focus.

As well as working with Sony’s new PlayNow With Movies service, the W995 includes integration with the BBC iPlayer as well as proprietary Sony services that could offer small ‘webisode’ content based around existing franchises – the previews we saw last night featured Dukes of Hazard content, for instance. Sony didn’t confirm if they’d run into any issues regarding the license fee with iPlayer, though, responding cagily when asked.

Sony also announced that, if used on the 3 network, the W995 will integrate with SkyPlayer, offering Sky Sports and Sky News coverage and, intriguingly, the ability to remotely connect to your Sky+ box at home and record any shows you’ve missed.

Elsewhere, there’s all the usual high-end Walkman trappings: an 8mp camera, a superb mp3 player, motion gaming, YouTube links and Bluetooth, WiFi and GPRS network connectivity. It’s just a shame that there’s no HSDPA.

In some ways, then, this line of new Sony Ericsson products is very similar – all have a clear focus on entertainment and multimedia, for instance – but we’re not sure if all of these will be entirely successful: after all, who’s going to go shadow boxing with a phone in the middle of the street? Nevertheless, these look like some of the best new media devices we’ve seen for a while, so keep your eyes peeled for full reviews as soon as we get hold of some of this exciting new kit ahead of the Autumn release dates.

In defence of patching, crashing and tinkering

Mike Jennings — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:44:19 +0000

PC gaming gets a bad rap, especially from the console crowd – whereas they rock up, slide a disk into their slot-loading optical drive and play away, enjoying the latest games on the PC is, well, a more frustrating, long-winded and drawn-out experience – and it’s all the better for it.

Ask any avid PC gamer and they’ll regale you with stories of the many hours spent getting their machine to work at all. Putting in a new graphics card sounds like a basic upgrade but can often deteriorate into a horrendous rigmarole of driver updates and seemingly random problems and crashes. And that’s a relatively simple upgrade.

I should know the pain of upgrading: I recently built a new PC from scratch. My old rig really wasn’t cut out for gaming any more – it ran on integrated graphics and had no PCI Express slot – so it was definitely time for a change.

Stuart Turton recently wrote that computers no longer have a soul, but I disagree. After installing the motherboard as well as everything else, I had to rip it all apart again and re-seat the CPU heatsink the correct way round; I was convinced that my PC had a soul, and also convinced that it was demonic and needed to be thrown through the nearest window, alongside the rest of the components.

When it was built – and I’d made sure that every header and connector on the motherboard was plugged into the right sockets – I sat back and prodded the power button. Against all odds, the little access light flickered and the fans chugged into life. It was true – I’d built my own computer. We put together many rigs in the PC Pro Labs, but those are different – they normally sit on specially-designed test beds and lack many of the mod-cons that feature in the average home PC.

This was different. My very own PC, assembled from the ground up. Sure, neither the hard disk or the optical drive were actually secured into the chassis – instead, they had been crammed into the respective bays and left to lean on struts of metal – but it didn’t matter. Neither did it matter when I realised that my fan, which was purchased because it had automatic control, needed to run at full pelt to keep the CPU cooled. I simply turned up the speakers and zoned it out, marvelling at the stunning graphics that the new rig enabled me to see.

Hopefully, the point of this long and rambling rant is that computers – and gaming on computers – really shouldn’t be discounted. People claim that playing PC games is far more expensive than playing them on consoles – but I’m not so sure. A reasonable processor, graphics card and couple of gigabytes of RAM can be had for under £200 and will still let you play modern titles at decent levels of quality – and take any of your slightly older games and play them at the highest levels of graphical excellence, as they were originally intended. Up your budget to £300 – which is how much the PS3 and Xbox 360 cost until recently, don’t forget – and your upgrade will have you playing at with many of the settings ramped up to the max, even in the newest games.

There’s a huge amount of satisfaction when it comes to upgrading or building a machine. I recently spent a morning in the office ripping apart an old Shuttle machine and rebuilding it for some Blu-ray testing – and, remarkably, it was pretty enjoyable. Granted, it wasn’t as fun when I realised that I’d got the wrong RAM and had to trek downstairs to get some more, but to see it burst into life at the end of the re-build made me feel like a proud father.

Building or upgrading a PC immediately guarantees that you’ll have more of an emotional connection to a machine than you would with a console. I have a PS3 and the set-up process consisted of no more than getting it out of the box, plugging it, and registering a new account. It’s a remarkable thing and has delivered many hours of gaming pleasure – but, as Stuart pointed out in regards to his current PC, it’s a mere machine. The same could be said of my PS2 and PSX; the only consoles that differ are my old Megadrive and Atari, and those are probably tainted with the rose-tinted goggles of nostalgia more than anything else.

My computer is something different entirely. Turton may argue that now, with machines no more than incremental upgrades over the last expensive, must-have part, they offer little in the way of personality to compare to the past. Not true. I know the various grunts and groans from my hard disk, recognise the exact moment to turn my fan down if I want any silence at all, and can predict when I’ll come a cropper because I’ve been a bit greedy and turned a few settings up too high.

Also consider that new console games cost £40, whereas the latest PC releases are almost never this expensive. Grand Theft Auto 4 costs less than £25 including VAT on Amazon for PC – fifteen pounds cheaper than it did when released on PS3 and Xbox 360 earlier in the year. You’ll soon recoup your potentially higher investment as you work your way through the year’s top releases.

There’s also the overriding factor when it comes to PC gaming: some games are just better played on a desktop. David Bayon will argue against this, but first-person shooter games demand a mouse and keyboard. RTS titles are the same. Whack a decent graphics card in your PC, and almost all PC games will look better than their console equivalents, too. Invest in a gamepad or steering wheel and you’ve got a machine that will put any console in its place.

Consoles do have their charms: I love playing FIFA 09 on my PS3, and I’ll concede that plenty of games – such as Guitar Hero or Rock Band – are better played in front of the TV. There’s something different about PC gaming, though – from the whirring, juddering machine in the corner crafted by my own hands to the better graphics and sheer depth of software available – that means it’s my favourite format. And I don’t care how many people slag it off.

Next month’s issue is cancelled

David Bayon — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:15:05 +0000

And here it is.

Virgin on Oxford Street (what’s Zavvi?!) had less than ten copies left at 9:45 this morning, and this copy is currently under lock and key somewhere secure and secret at Dennis Towers (err…my bag).

It’s not for PC Pro; hell, it’s not even on the PC, but it will eat up the best part of my May, June, probably even July when everyone else out getting sunlight and exercise. I’ll move the telly next to the window and wave at them with pity. Fools.

It’s actually provoked a feisty debate here at Pro. In one corner sit myself and Mr Mike Jennings, for whom this release was the main reason for investing in a PS3. In the other corner sit Messrs Fearon, Sparkes and Turton, bitterly throwing the usual “it’ll just be GTA with better graphics blah blah blah” arguments for want of something useful or interesting to say.

They’re wrong.

So, by the way, is Jack Thompson, the famously game-hating U.S. attorney – he’s called GTA IV “the gravest assault upon children in [America] since polio”. Maybe things are different over there, but if he took even a cursory glance at the UK box he could hardly miss the huge (twice the size of those on DVDs) “18″ certificate which should prevent respectable retailers from allowing it anywhere near children. There’s simply no excuse for parents to claim ignorance when the adult nature of the thing is made so patently clear.

For those of us over 18 and capable of distinguishing fantasy from reality, April 29th 2008 will go down in history as the day gaming grew into an art form comparable with the finest examples from the world of film*. In fact, reports are suggesting the sheer number of young adults locking themselves away with the game may even cripple the opening weekend of the new superhero movie, Iron Man, despite impressive reviews.

Whether it’ll tempt our esteemed editor away from the only game he plays – 1999’s crap racer Re-Volt – remains doubtful. The only certainty is that next month’s PC Pro may be somewhat lacking in articles by me.

*Ok, the game is still in its wrapper so I admit this may be a teensy bit premature. It will certainly be better than The Godfather Part III, though. And all three Star Wars prequels. Possibly not quite as good as Howard The Duck.