Posted by Vipera ammodytes
London, October 10, 2005 – Sony Ericsson emphasised its continued commitment to Symbian OS today with the announcement of its next generation smartphone to the global development community. The P990 will be the first commercially available smartphone to adopt the enhanced Symbian OS version 9.1 and UIQ 3 software platform. This flagship UMTS smartphone is Wi-Fi enabled, has a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus and features a new hardware keyboard beneath the flip-down keypad. The phone will start shipping during Q1 of 2006.
The P990 is the next in a line of successful Sony Ericsson smartphones - the P800, P900 and P910 – and is based on the same proven concept and recognisable form factor. All have been popular with users, operators and software developers thanks to their powerful productivity features. Operator feedback and download statistics from the Sony Ericsson Application Shop have shown that consumers, both business and personal, are interested in using their smartphones to the fullest potential. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) can be as high as 4 to 5 times that of more traditional voice-centric mobiles.
To ensure a large proportion of applications are available on the new Symbian and UIQ software platform when the P990 goes on sale, Sony Ericsson has decided to announce the smartphone well in advance of availability so that developers have time to create and certify as many applications as possible.
“The technical prowess of the P990 will be brought to full life by applications from the third party developer community,” said Jan Wäreby, Executive Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing. “Demand for applications on the P800, P900 and P910 has been very high. Our smartphones have been recognised as the most advanced and useful on the market, and we want to maintain this reputation with the P990 by ensuring there’s a rich supply of top applications for enterprise, productivity, leisure and gaming when users make their first visit to the Sony Ericsson Application Shop.”
As with its predecessors, the P990 is designed to be first and foremost a great mobile phone. It also offers all the benefits of UMTS including video calling, high-bandwidth multi-media downloads and the ability to browse the Internet with full HTML pages. These are viewed in landscape on the new Opera 8 browser. In addition, the P990 is prepared for all major push e-mail clients enabling full e-mail access with attachments, anywhere, anytime.
The P990 has multiple text input methods enabling it to support all users’ needs and preferences. Writing e-mails is made easier by the new hardware keyboard positioned beneath the flip-down keypad on the main body of the phone. Reading them is made simpler on the large 2.8 inch QVGA touch screen. Multi tasking – being able to browse the Internet, send and receive files at the same time as talking – is now possible due to the enhanced capabilities of the new software platform.
Memory has been extended in order to handle all multi-media downloads and e-mail attachments. Memory Stick PRO Duo up to 4GB will be available in the market at launch and the P990 now has up to 80 MB user free memory. A 64 MB Memory Stick PRO Duo is included in the box, preloaded with a VPN client and trial version of a virus scan package.
The combination of UMTS and WLAN features will also significantly improve the efficiency and flexibility of applications such as e-mail, browsing the Internet/Intranet and video telephony. WLAN, available in hot spots all over the world, acts as a complement to high speed 3G services, enabling widespread access to corporate network services.
Other new features include automatic time zone change to the Calendar diary and updated PC sync software with extended synchronization possibilities. Additionally the 2 Megapixel camera with autofocus, digital zoom, photo light plus the bright TFT screen and video recording provide a high quality imaging experience.
In a separate announcement today, Sony Ericsson Developer World and UIQ Technology outlined their plans to support UIQ 3 developers.
Developers can program in C++ or Java™ to create powerful professional and personal productivity tools for the P990. The smartphone is based on Java Platform 3 (JP-3). It supports four new Java Specification Requests (JSR’s) including Web Services (JSR-172) and is the twentieth phone from Sony Ericsson supporting Mobile Java™ 3D, demonstrating the company’s leadership in this new technology. Standard Java™ applications can be run with either the flip-down keypad open or closed.
The P990 will be commercially available in Q1 2006. The variants will be:
P990i Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa
P990c Dual mode UMTS (2100MHz) - GPRS 900/1800/1900 for Mainland China. Launch for mainland China dependant on availability of 3G services.
The P990 will be available in 4 hardware keyboard variants: QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY and Russian
The P990 will be demonstrated in booth # 124 at The Smartphone Show 2005 in the ExCeL Centre in London on October 11-12, where Sony Ericsson is headline sponsor. Rikko Sakaguchi, Senior Vice President and Head of Product & Application Planning, gives a keynote presentation.
Technical specifications
Function or feature, P990 support
Operating system - Symbian OS v9.1
Software platform - UIQ v3.0
Size - 114 x 57 x 25
Weight - 155g with battery and flip keyboard
Screen - Large 2.8 inch QVGA (240 x 320) touch screen with 262 k colours that supports landscape view for camera, video imaging and browsing
Interaction - Using touch screen, 3 way Jog Dial and dedicated buttons
WLAN - 802.11b compliant
Bluetooth - Includes car handsfree profile
Infrared - Yes
USB - Yes and charging via USB
UMTS - E-GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900 and UMTS 2100
Application memory - Up to 80 MB user free memory
Camera - Integrated 2 megapixel CommuniCorder 24 bit colour depth, autofocus for still pictures, video clip recording and video calls
Video telephony - Application included which allows video calls and video conferencing via the built-in dual cameras
Media player - Supports playback, streaming and playlists
Activity menu - Customizable top level menu
Upgradeable - Via Sony Ericsson Update Service
FM/RDS radio - Yes
Browser - Opera browser (version
supporting frames and javascript
Push email - Prepared for all major e-mail solutions including Research in Motion (Blackberry)
Messaging - SMS, MMS and email
PIM applications - Contacts, Calendar, To Do, Jotter for notes and sketches, Voice memo and Calculator, Converter, Stop Watch and Timer
Viewers - Microsoft Excel. Word, Powerpoint and Adobe PDF
Editors - Microsoft Word and Excel
Themes - Easy personalisation of animated icons, screensavers, wallpapers and skins
Speaker phone - Yes
Memory Stick - Memory Stick PRO Duo slot for up to 4 GB removable memory. 64 MB supplied
Flight mode - Includes option to turn Wi-Fi on
Local and remote synchronisation - via SyncML
Business telephony - Yes
Java™ ME platform support - Both CDC and CLDC environments supported:
JTWI 1.0 (JSR-185) consisting of Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) 1.1 HI (JSR-139), MIDP 2.0 (JSR-118), WMA 1.1 (JSR-120). - PDA Optional Packages (JSR-75), Bluetooth (JSR-82), Wireless Messaging API 2.0 (JSR-205), Web Services (JSR-172), Mobile Media API (JSR-135), Mobile 3D Graphics (JSR-184), Nokia UI API 1.1
Connected Device Configuration (CDC) 1.0 (JSR-36) - Foundation Profile 1.0 (JSR-46), Personal Profile 1.0 (JSR-62),PDA Optional Packages (JSR-75)
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/aleksandar-simovic
[ This Message was edited by: sasha-SE on 2005-10-10 09:38 ]
[ This Message was edited by: sasha-SE on 2006-08-28 12:02 ]
Posted by Lucas
webcast
http://mobil.mkf.se/ArticlePa[....]MOB_Administratorer805.dbp.asp
Posted by dancingfate
Any official pictures yet?
Wow... my next smartphone...!!!
Posted by masseur
Posted by Vipera ammodytes
http://www.sonyericsson.com/downloads/P990_front.jpg
Posted by eyecam
Well it looks great but it is at least 3 months too late, a lot of people with the p910i got it a year ago and are going to upgrade soon, end of november for me.
So lets hope the new HTC's are good.
Bye Bye Ericsson its been a fine ride.
E
Posted by skjalg
I thought it would be alot smaller than P910 but its about same..
114 x 57 x 25 P990
115 x 58 x 26 P910i
Both weigh 155 gram
Posted by Arne Anka
If it was "alot" smaller it would be the size of K750 with a small screen, no QYWERT and no WIFI. But it is still "abit" smaller.
[ This Message was edited by: Arne Anka on 2005-10-10 09:58 ]
Posted by Super G
Looks soooo much like the N70
Posted by S4k1s
Some pics
Posted by DARREN S
It looks a very impressive phone but (as an original P800 buyer) I was really hoping for something smaller. I haven't upgraded my p800 because what I've been looking for is something with similar functionality but smaller.
I was hoping the p990 would be the one for me but I doubt it now.
I think I'll wait and see what the new MS 5.0 phones are like and take a decision early next year
Posted by dr_thug
not as beautiful as p910i.
Posted by fu1at
yeah... further more UIQ 3 don't support UIQ2.* application more... better wait for the Windows Mobile 5 to compare which one more suitable
Posted by whizkidd
Great feature set!!
The 2mp cam looks great!!
But the overall looks could have been better..(imho)
I still love the understated look of the P900/10. mORE BUSINESS LIKE.
Posted by pinolo77
This phone is bigger than k750, which means it has more room for a camera... Why only 2MPX when there already are 3MPX phones out there (seen on tv one in a report about a soap opera for mobiles being released in China)?
The phone is big, but somewhere folks at SE had to draw a line between having everything a PDA does and being small... I would love for SE to release a couple of "smartphone" like phones, i.e. not quite as PDA but nevertheless very feature packed, as well as a MINI p series, a little smaller but with pretty much the same stuff in it...
Over all the phone's features are impressive indeed, but it is not the phone for me... I still rather carry a laptop and my k750 around...
Posted by S4k1s
hmm ...
Guys, it is coming out Match 2006!
It will be old by then and nothing special :|
Posted by space2
I think I would have liked a bigger screen:
- the querty keyboard could be an additional flip
- the screen would be bigger, covering the qwerty keyboard area as well.
But it's still looks nice, and I like that they finally put an FM radio inside
That was the thing I missed the most on the p800!
Posted by Rva@
Woohoo :!: Finaly it is here, and just in time - Cos my P900i is now worn completely down...
Posted by skjalg
No removable flip, small screen, big size, late release date, small internal memory, same old design..
This phone would impress me if it was in stores today, but coming march next year is too late!
Posted by whizkidd
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A 2mp cam is good enough for a smartphone imho..
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That could be a distinct possibility in the near future due to the flexibility that UIQ 3.0 offers..
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I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize [ This Message was edited by: whizkidd on 2005-10-10 10:36 ]
Posted by dr_thug
comparing the screen size,which is bigger??i think p990 has wider screen.
i thought se was going to announce 3 phones today.wat haaened to the other 2??
Posted by skjalg
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P910i 208x320 pixel
P990i 220x320 pixel
Posted by xerx
my next phone!
Posted by fleshlord
official p990 page:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/s[....]1_1_1&zone=pp&lm=pp1&pid=10336
official pictures page:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/s[....]pc&lm=pc3_2&pid=10336&esi=true
Posted by masseur
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I'm heading down there tomorrow as they sent me a quick entry pass so I'll try and get some live pics.
Posted by Bambino
yeah ppl don't like it! come on buy comunnicator on christmast! u won't regret it!
Posted by Arne Anka
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Thats the resolution. The screen sizes are
p910 2.8"
p990 2.76"
Furthermore P990 will use a new version of Ezitext instead of T9. Also during video conferencing it is possible to switch to the camera on the back to show objects in the surrounding.
Also it will be priced approxemately as N70 around 649 USD (~525 EUR).
[ This Message was edited by: Arne Anka on 2005-10-10 10:54 ]
Posted by hyperken
definately my next phone lol
So nice to see P990 launched at last !!!
My P910i going to expired its warranty on 15th october 2005 lol
Time to get P990i hahaha
Posted by andrewlane
Odd that this is coming next March but announced today, yet the W900i which is out before Christmas hasn't been!?
Posted by fleshlord
As you can see from the picture;
they are adding hardware keylock(or phone lock) and play/pause button. I am wondering if it will have walkman features or not?
Also specs says that phone will have landscape feature in camera and browser.
We can expect to see some more landscape programs from third party developers. But main OS will be portrait I guess.
http://www.sonyericsson.com/downloads/P990_open_front_2.jpg
Posted by hyperken
i wonder how much is the 4GB memory stick duo pro when it launched lol
Posted by itguru2
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My thoughts too .... seems odd that SE won;t have a smartphone in their Chrimbo line-up . Btw personal thoughts are that this is a real "kludge" of a phone .. I'm on a p910i at the moment - been through all the P series and looks to me that this is a step back - more reminiscent of the p900 which had a really rubbish flip which kept breaking (ok key would get harder to press and eventually you'd break the screen surround from pressing it so hard!)
IMHO it seems to me that they really are after that Blackberry market ... but notice that the specs say "prepared" for push email .... so no built in client yet - even after Symbian's deal with MS for Exchange - how annoying.
Personally I think the flip looks a bit tacky ... shame they couldn;t have kept the p910 shape/key size - especially for those with bigger fingers ... and on that note it would be iunteresting to know how many people find that its quicker to use the keyboard than to write on the screen ... again, especially if you've got larger fingers.
As has been said before, its a shame that it won;t be "realeased" until March - by then it will look decidely "old spec" - they'd probably have to update it within a couple of months to the p995!!!
btw - whats the p1000 going to be then - the model denotation has gone sufficiently far up the 900's to indicate that there will be a major model change ?
[ This Message was edited by: itguru2 on 2005-10-10 11:15 ]
Posted by forceabuser
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that is pretty cheap, the p800 did cost 800€, and this one is soo much more feature packed
i like the amount of function (/gadgets) in this new p series, so it is kinda logical that it is pretty heavy and big
i agree that SE should release a sort of p800 redo wich is >30% smaller
BTW why no 802.11G ?
Posted by bigalis
80mb of internal and 64mb of external(msdp) are not even acceptable amount of memory for such a phone...too bad!
Posted by hyperken
support up to 4GB memory stick duo pro ....
more than enough for a full length DVD movie with out conversion !!!!!
Posted by Arne Anka
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Probably more than you can afford (= more expencive than the phone iiself is my guess).
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SE use a new price strategy to be able to compete e.g. with Nokia.
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With the new UIQ it is possible to manufature candy bar phones such as K750, so I'll guess we will see such phones during next year.
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To short range to be useful (most hot-spots uses 11b to my knowledge) and consumes to much power is my guess.
More pictures
http://mobil.mkf.se/ArticlePa[....]MOB_Administratorer632.dbp.asp
[ This Message was edited by: Arne Anka on 2005-10-10 11:23 ]
Posted by forceabuser
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euhm...
a retail DVD movie is most likely a DL dvd so around 6 or 7 GB
and why do you wanna see a 720x480 movie on a 220x320 screen?
Posted by bigalis
And what about the cost of that memorystick?The half price of the phone???I was expecting at least 512mb...
Posted by !ndy
80mb of internal and 64mb of external is a complete joke!!! especially when the W800 comes with a 512mb duo.
Im starting to have second thoughts about getting the p990. Will have to wait and see what the competitors have to offer next year.
Posted by amnesia
man I DONT WANT THAT KEYBOARD.
why couldn't they make it removable or I dunno invent some super amazing technique that if the keyboard is removed there would be a screen underneath.
:'(
I want a larger screen, and does that phone look thicker?
Posted by etaab
I like the front of the phone, very nice. But the sides and rear are ugly IMO. The QWERTY buttons also appear to be rubber, id have preferred them to be plastic. Rubber keys attract dust, and are harder to press IMO.
As for the specs, they arent bad. I dont think by March there will be anything more impressive about, but the lack of a higher resolution camera is a let down for me.
Think about it though. If they'd have given the phone 512mb MSPD it would have pushed the price up further, but i do think SE are being a little tight by not bundling a 128mb Duo with it. The 64Mb it comes with you'd use up with the camera very quickly, just like the K750i.
Posted by Arne Anka
The 4GB is not out yet (you have to wait a couple of month more), so we don't know for sure how much it will be. But concidering the high price of e.g. 2 GB my guess is that 4 GB MSD will cost around 510 USD (~ 420 EUR).
They could however have provided an 128, 256 or a 512 MB MSD without increasing the price too much. However, this is not a final decission and thing may change until March if there are enough of complains.
From the beginning, W800 was not either planed to be delivered with an 3.5 mm adapter. But SE changed their mind after complains.
[ This Message was edited by: Arne Anka on 2005-10-10 11:38 ]
Posted by bigalis
...And we are talking about at least 4 months by now....TOO SMALL MEMORY.I hope to change their plans and put --at least-- a 512mb instead of 64...!!!
600(at least) the cost of the phone and 300(at least) the memory stick=900
I think we have to make that clear to the company...the cost of including a 512mb msd is too small for them...if they want us to buy that phone at the time that cheaper models will have much more memory THEY HAVE TO INCLUDE A 512MB MEMORY STICK!
[ This Message was edited by: bigalis on 2005-10-10 11:40 ]
[ This Message was edited by: bigalis on 2005-10-10 11:41 ]
Posted by janjanman
yup they should include at least 512mb with the package....
Posted by Guy H
Why does it need more internal memory when all the apps will easily run in that. you have the option of duo pro if you want more.
Posted by bigalis
Because a cheaper model such as w800 has already a 512mb msd...and we are talking about the leader-phone(p990) of the company...and we are talking about at least 4months from now!!And we are talking about 144mb!!!NOT EVEN 256mb...it's rediculus!!
[ This Message was edited by: bigalis on 2005-10-10 11:46 ]
[ This Message was edited by: bigalis on 2005-10-10 11:47 ]
Posted by JonH
I think the phone looks great. Just what I want. Very happy
Posted by phil_trick
Did someone at SE with real size fingers try out that keyboard?
Looks like it will be a real PITA to use it on the phone.
Hope to be proved wrong though
@masseur: could you get lots of photos, and try that keyboard?
Phil
Posted by Guy H
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But if 64mb is enough to run the apps then why would they need to put more in and push up the price?
the W800i has to come with a bigger card as it is marketed as a walkman phone thus the device mus tba capable of storing music. The P series is a phone that you can decided how you want to use it. If you want to store music and films etc then you buy a bigger card. Simple.
I agree though a bigger duo pro would be better but most people will buy the biggest available at the time of launch anyway.
Posted by S4k1s
Why should they send a 128mb msdp stick when u are probably going buy a bigger one anyway?
Also do not compare the p990 to the w800.