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SONY Ericsson's P series was among the most successful smart phone iterations. For years, the P series enjoyed an accolade from fans that saw it as a business phone with the functionality of a multimedia device. But Sony Ericsson is also in the midst of an ever burgeoning competition from o ther players, namely Nokia and Samsung -- both of which also have their own mod els with QWERTY keyboards. Computer giant HP -- once a non-entity in the mobile phone space -- has recentl y developed its own smart phones that come with all the bells and whistles. Sony Ericsson introduced the Xperia during the Mobile World Congress early this year. The Xperia X1 wasn't a b ig surprise among Sony Ericsson users because for years, the company had been s tanding off from using Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system. Sony Ericss on was, like many of the other phone manufacturers, ready to use the platform o ther than its own proprietary operating system. While SE was successful in making that pronouncement, it was still a late move because since the announcement in February, some of its competitors have gone a head and started selling their own Windows Mobile-ready smart phones. Samsung a nd HTC were already dabbling on Windows Mobile 6.1, the latest version of the m obile OS. Sony Ericsson had to wait until November 28 to officially launch the Xperia in the Philippines. Nevertheless, the Xperia is still a phone that can't be knocked out of the cont est. In fact, it is among the more feature-rich smart phones around. Because it 's running on Windows Mobile 6.1 and is also open to many commercial and third- party applications. Sony Ericsson Philippines provided a prototype model of the Xperia to INQUIRER. NET for testing. Some of the features in the commercial Xperia might not be in the prototype model but the prototype is already close to the commercial unit. Size and design Sony Ericsson is known for its s quare and tactile designs. Even its fancier models, the F and Z series have the brandâs signature square design. The Xperia upholds that design feature, which is rectangular with a completely flat surface. The QWERTY keyboard is hidden u nderneath but slides out sideways. The sliding feature is curved inwards so the upper part of the X1 goes into a slight angle upwards. Nearly the entire phone is made with hard aluminum with only the buttons using plastic. The buttons on the upper side of the phone will give you access to the call features, the left and right menus, and the Panels button (we'll get to t hat later). The QWERTY keyboard is also made of hard aluminum and is lit blue when activate d. One concern about the keyboard is that the keys are particularly small, whic h requires some practice to navigate. People with small fingers will have diffi culty pressing the next button. Nevertheless, the tactile sensitivity of the ke ys make it rather pleasing than an ordinary rubberized QWERTY keyboard. The Xperia X1 is just about 17 millimeters, thinner than any of the P series ph one and other brands. The unit itself is quite solid and heavy partly because o f the aluminum hard case as well as the large battery. Screen and video The screen is the largest among all of Sony Ericssonâs product lines at about 3 .5 inches by 1.8 inches. The good thing is that when the phone is in "tucked mo de," the screen goes on portrait mode and then becomes landscape when the QWERT Y keyboard is pulled out. A nicely tucked stylus can be pulled out from underne ath the unit to access the Windows Mobile menus, just like in any PDA. A combin ed QWERTY keyboard and eight-way touch-sensitive directional button can also be used instead of the PDA. The Xperia boasts of an 800 pixel by 480 pixel resolution screen, which can hig hlight high resolution photos and play videos in widescreen format. The high re solution of the screen meant it can play videos in .MOV and .AVI, as well as ot her video formats, including .WMV, .MP4, and even Flash video files. However, s ome of these require codec software to play. These software can be downloaded f rom the Internet. Because the screen is 16:9 aspect ratio, some videos using th is format can be played on the Xperia without quality loss, while the video ref resh rate is just about right on this device. Camera and sound A 3.2-megapixel camera is integrated into the Xperia -- although this is common ly used in smart phones -- a 5-megapixel camera would have been better. But the Xperia delivers better resolution for taking photos and videos than most phone s in this category. It has a face recognition feature that focuses on a spot wh en taking photos. This helps a lot because the Xperia's camera has a slow refre sh rate. The sound is something to be desired. Sony Ericsson is known for its good-sound ing phones. Even the P series sounded good during its time. But the Xperia suff ers from a tin can speaker, which is no more than a slit on one side of the uni t. The sound worsens as the volume is increased. A multimedia smart phone like this should deserve a better speaker. Connectivity and battery As a smart phone, it is but obvious that the Xperia should be Internet-ready. I t is the first business phone for Sony Ericsson to have HSDPA and HSUPA, both 3 .5G (wireless broadband) connections that allow for fast Internet access. Both the standard Mobile Internet Explorer and the pre-installed Opera Mobile web br owsers can be used to access the Internet. You can use it to view most websites and even those that are in Flash. The Xperia can play Flash videos from Youtub e or other sites that use it by opening a different video application. This is more of a feature of Windows Mobile 6.1 though. If the 3G wireless network is not available, the Xperia can use Wifi (wireless fidelity) that can be toggled on and off via the Comm Manager of Windows Mobile . The Xperia would search for available Wifi connections and the user only need s to choose. Those that require security codes need only to input the right cod es on the Xperia. As long as the wireless connection is stable, the connection is fast. It does, however, get too technical when you try to connect the Xperia to a secure office local area network. This part, however, is only a limitatio n of the operating system. Bluetooth is also integrated in the Xperia, which is useful when synchronizing it with a PC. It is best used with Windows Vista. Battery power is almost always the major drawback for all smart phones, especia lly the ones using Windows Mobile. Some phones only last for 24 hours before ru nning out of battery while others only last for just about 18 especially when m aking phone calls. The Xperia has a more effective 1500 mAh battery, which allo wed it to be used in excess of 30 hours, or just enough to charge it via USB in a PC or wall socket. It lasted longer than the Nokia N96 battery which is only 950 mAh. The device lasted for at least 35 hours before running out of battery life. Software and Panels There are tons of applications readily available for the Xperia largely because of the operating system. One of the more useful features is the Remote Desktop for Mobiles, which lets you control a Windows XP or Windows Vista computer and access most of its applications. The Xperia can indeed be an extension of the desktop. Panels is an interface option for the Xperia. Integrated in the prototype model of the Xperia were 6 panels, but the commercial model has nine. The Panels ser ve as easy access interfaces for specific users. For example, one Panel feature s the Google interface, so users can immediately access Google from the start. Another Panel is for the phone's integrated radio feature. Another is a watch w ith some fish that follows the person's stylus movements. Verdict First, the Xperia is late and that is the biggest drawback. If it were launched much earlier, it would have been a must-have among Windows Mobile users. HTC h as models that are similar to Xperia. Nokia's N96 is also fast catching up and Apple, which had a big launch in the Philippines, already has the iPhone 3G. Still, the Xperia X1 will have fans of its own especially with the long battery life and the Internet connectivity options. Sony Ericsson's attempt to break t he mold of the P series is already evident in the Xperia and it is just a taste of things to come.

By Lawrence Casiraya INQUIRER.net SONY Ericsson definitely made some improvements in the design of its latest Wal kman phone but what caught me outright was its sort of rugged styling. Or maybe because the review unit they gave us was army green in color, which deviates a bit from the candy-color of previous Walkman phones. The quad-band W902 is a bit bigger than previous Walkman phones (the W880, for example). It has a slightly bigger 2.2-inch screen but is definitely thicker. A t around 100 grams, it weighs good enough for a steadier grip than the W880. Music and camera controls are conveniently located in the right side of the pho ne, and since the W902 is thicker, it feels more stable to fiddle around the bu ttons with your thumb. It also makes taking pictures (or recording video) a bit more stable when you t ilt the phone to its side. Those with less nimble fingers, however, may still f ind it cumbersome and like what I experienced with the W880, itâs more convenie nt to just press the center button when takings pictures. Also, unlike the other side which has a smoother finish, notice the criss-cross pattern on this side. Iâm not sure whether this is on purpose, whether itâs me ant to make oneâs grip more stable when using the camera. As mentioned, the other side has a smoother finish, but nothing smooth about So ny Ericsson insisting on its proprietary earphone jack, unlike most smart phone s that have standard 3.5mm slots. The W902, though, comes bundled with an adapter cable in which you can either c onnect the supplied earphones or any other standard earphones. In short, this phone isnât too earphone-friendly. If you must insist on using y our favorite earphones (like the one you probably use on your iPod), you have t o live with another dangling cable. Not pretty. The sound quality, though, is excellent like previous Walkman phones. Whatâs not too hate, though, is the pixel boost: the W902 comes with a 5-megapi xel camera (with autofocus) that takes better pictures than previous Walkman ph ones. It also has an LED light. Overall, not bad for a non-Cybershot model. The top button can be easily confused for an on/off button. Itâs actually a sho rtcut when you want to play music. Speaking of, the W902âs speaker (the sound comes from that small circle near th e base) plays decently without the earphones. The buttons in the keypad are spaced just enough to type SMS comfortably. The c all/clear/erase buttons are conveniently located in those three circles in the middle. Overall, save for the 5-megapixel camera, there is not much innovation in terms of function. Avid Walkman phone users, however, may welcome the W902âs design. Suggested retail price is P25,000 and this comes bundled with an 8GB memory st ick with USB adapter. Purchase of any Sony Ericsson Walkman model from now until Dec 15 entitles the buyer to a free Eraserheads: The Reunion concert CD. The CD will be initi ally available only through this Sony Ericsson-Sony BMG partnership. Other fans will have to wait awhile for the albu m's commercial release.

By Erika Tapalla INQUIRER.net MAKATI City, Philippines â It is light, supports 3G and comes with a touch-scre en. Sony Ericssonâs G700 belongs to the newest line of smartphones aimed at the mas s consumer. And although it costs less than the high-end mobile phones and pers onal digital assistants (PDAs), the G700 is built with most features found in m ost PDAs. Watch this quick tour of the phone's functions. So if you're looking for something more economical and savvy, the G700 would pr obably fit your standards. The smartphone is 4.2 inches long, 1.9 inches wide and about half an inch thick wide. It weighs 99 grams, making it easy to misplace or even drop since the ac tual casing of the phone is smooth. It sports a 2.4-inch touch-screen that works with you fingertips, stylus or eve n your fingernail. But because of the small screen, people with large fingers m ay find it difficult to use, probably the same reason why Sony Ericsson didn't remove the traditional keypad controls. The camera function of this phone would gain two plus points from me. It's equipped with a 3.2 mega-pixel camera with an image stabilizer, red-eye re duction, panorama stitching and four effects allowing you to take or edit photo s in black and white, sepia, solarized, and negative. After which, you can tag, create new albums, and select one of those built-in thematic slideshows comple te with sound and transitions for fun viewing. Another reason why I truly enjoyed the camera function was because of the photo light enabling anyone to take pictures and film at night. So, when using the ca mera on this phone, you're not dependent on the daylight or any available light for that matter. The processor is fairly fast and the overall operating system experience is smo oth, jumping right in to video and plays video with no major lagging. After whi ch, you can send photos and videos via Bluetooth, MMS or directly onto your blo g. The Sony Ericsson G700 has functions that allow you to configure your blog and use the phone to live blog when you're not in front of your PC or laptop. This is very smart considering people are becoming more and more mobile-oriented and gravitating towards social networking and personal blogging. Apart from the blogging feature, the G700 allows you to create word documents a nd presentations using QuickOffice, which you can send as an attachment via ema il you can set up or via Bluetooth. However, it does not have infrared or wireless fidelity support, but it allows you to browse the web and subscribe to RSS feeds from selected websites and blo gs. From what I gathered and experienced, the G700 phone is big on âorganizing your life.â The drop-down 'Today' menu on the homescreen is detailed from the calendar even ts you've placed, to the tasks you've written, and to the notes and alarm you'v e scheduled. The calendar doesn't merely indicate what you need to do and what time you need to do it. You can actually synchronize it with the alarm, your contacts, and t he notes function so that the phone can notify you about your meeting or appoin tment, give you a breakdown on the people attending, and remind you on little t hings you've jotted down on the notes. The notes function is also not the typical lined screen or blank screen like on most phones. The G700 boasts of a very elaborate notes function that allows yo u to scribble, type, or draw notes which is then displayed like little colored post-it. One thing I didn't enjoy with the G700 was the handwriting recognition software . Ideally, it's supposed to make writing faster by transforming the configured scribble into its corresponding letter on the keyboard. But I found that I almo st had to relearn how I write letters in order for the phone to interpret what letter it is I was referring to. Going over to the media side of things, the G700 has a music player with superi or sound quality for such a small phone. It supports mp3, wma, wav, and aac fil es that can be organized and viewed in various categories, and created into pla ylists. It has an FM Radio player but your handset needs to be connected before you hea r anything since it serves as the antennae. You can set it to sleep mode and as an alarm so you get to wake up to your favorite radio station. But since it only works with the headset plugged in, you have to be careful whe n you use it while sleeping. You don't want to twist yourself all over the wire s or move too much that the earphones would come off and end up oversleeping. B ut thatâs just me. Nonetheless, the phone does have quite a handful of features for something so s mall and relatively inexpensive. But it does have hang-ups, literally. When you have too many programs running at the same time, the phone tends to fr eeze and you have to restart it by removing the battery. The battery is easily drained running on about a day and a half without chargin g when heavily used (including approximately a cumulative of two hours talk-tim e). It has low storage capacity of only 160MB and considering its multimedia capabi lities, 160 MB is too little. But since it has a slot for Sony's Memory Stick M icro memory card, which supports up to 8GB of storage space, you can opt to pur chase that memory card separately to truly enjoy the multimedia functions of th e G700. I also found that because of the small screen, composing documents, Internet br owsing, and note-creating difficult as it strained my eyes as I fumbled around the features. But, you can't have everything and for something light, economical. The G700 do es the trick.

FINE arts students from the University of the Philippines bagged the top prize in a recent Sony Ericsson competition for the best viral video, beating contest ants from Thailand, India, Singapore, and Indonesia. A copy of the winning Filipino group's video is currently viewable on YouTube. The group's director, Jaime Quiano, gathered nine of his friends and classmates to compete in the local contest in which they had to present a storyboard idea to competition organizer Sony Ericsson. The other members are Clarence Santos, Lilli Beth Gelvezon, Cathlene Samiano, Pocholo De Villa, Marius Talampas, Emme nuel Carandang, Frank Magalona, and Joseph Torrijos. The studnets won $5,000 in cash for the competition. They had previously won an other $2,000 in December 2007 for a local competition that decided who would re present the Philippines at the Asia-wide level. The group shot their video at a dimly lit street in the Escolta district in dow ntown Manila. The clip involves a big, balding bully who forcibly takes a "Shake Pop" bottle from a child. Unfortunately, the bully shakes the bottle too much, causing it to burst and kn ocking him off his feet. The child then draws a chalk line around the knocked-d own bully before walking away.

By Relly Carpio INQUIRER.net SONY ERICSSON recently launched three new Walkman phones which incorporate the Walkman On Top concept: the Sony Ericsson W350i, W380i, and W890i "It's having the Walkman interface easily accessible to the user with it being on top of the phone," explained Vincent De la Cruz, product group marketing man ager of Sony Ericsson Philippines. "We believe there is a market that wants to put music first and foremost over t he phone. Particularly a phone with the basic features, but allows people who w ant to enjoy their music access it easily. Always putting their music experienc e first," he added. "With these latest phones, we address the needs of a broader audience who want a stylish yet compact phone with the W350i; the young, fashion-conscious music lovers with the W380i, as well as music connoisseurs who demand the latest Walk man features and fast downloads offered by the W890i," said Patrick Larraga, ma rketing manager of Sony Ericsson Philippines. The Sony Ericsson W350i Walkman, is a 10-mm slim, flip phone with the music pla yer controls on the keys cover. The Sony Ericsson W380i is a clamshell with Gesture Control, with the music pla yer controls on the top side of the clam. Here's a demo of Gesture Control, whi ch allows you to mute incoming calls or snooze the alarm by waving your hand ov er the phone. The external display comes to life only to show the name of a mu sic track or identify a caller. The Sony Ericsson W890i, is a super slim phone with SensMe and the latest Walkm an Player 3.0. Here's a demo of the phone's SensMe function, which is a new way of selecting music that fits your mood, based on the song's tempo and style. All three phones are featured in the Sony Ericsson Music Tripping summer promo. Here's a video of Callalily performing "Eto Na Ang Summer" at Club Paraw in fro nt of a packed crowd to kick off the Sony Ericsson Music Tripping concert serie s in Boracay. Video used with permission from Sony Ericsson. Editor's note: Videos taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Relly Carpio.