With Nokia already into the foray, Sony Ericsson is fast catching up on the PDA space. Known for its range of music phones, Sony Ericsson’s latest attempt to capture the market is the Aino. Slated for a September 2009 release, the phone is the perfect example of mixing business with pleasure. Sporting an interface similar to the popular Cross Media Bar (XMB) Interface of the Sony PSP, the device is assured to bowl over the gamers. As for the business user, there’s the email, organizer and GPS supported by Google Maps.
Though still in the test phase with some minor changes still desired, the Aino is definitely a phone to watch out for.

The Basics:
Design and Display:
The Aino is the first phone from Sony to feature a touch enabled widescreen in addition to a normal keypad. The overall construction of the phone could be described as ordinary with no breathtaking features. Weighing about 134 Gms, the slim phone gives out the impression of a full touch device which sports only the display at the front. Sliding the front display reveals the normal keypad with the navigation buttons. Though a full bodied keypad is a wonderful feature to have, it makes the phone uncomfortably lengthy and inconvenient to use. The keys and the navigation wheel though are comfortable and easy to use.
The wide 3 inch display impressive as can be expected of the Sony Ericsson phones and supports 16 million colors with a resolution of 240 x 432 pixels. The flash based navigation is similar to the PSP and comes with the usual eye candy. The fantastic touch navigation though can only be controlled by the finger and the keypad below can be used only for texting. The phone also features a built in accelerometer for automatic screen rotation.

Multimedia:
The phone comes with a fabulous 8.1 MP camera with all the features of a standalone camera. The fully touch controlled camera is auto and touch focus enabled and comes with a bright LED flash for crisp and bright pictures. Other features of the camera include face detection, image stabilizer, smart contrast and red-eye reduction. The camera also seamlessly integrates with the GPS to let you tag your pictures into maps which let you trace your memories.
The camera is also capable of capturing VGA video at 30 fps and can be used for video calls but a secondary front facing camera is definitely desirable.
The phone comes with Sony’s latest Walkman player 3.0. The player’s touch based UI comes with many graphical styles which makes playing media all the more attractive. The walkman player supports MP3/AAC music formats and also supports album art. The phone also comes with the SenseMe application which can create play lists based on pre defined moods. Simply select the mood and enjoy songs, custom built to suit every mood.
The video player is capable of playing MPEG4 video and comes with the standard controls of play, pause previous and next. A send control is also provided for directly messaging videos to contacts.

Connectivity:
Connectivity is Aino’s forte. The phone comes with Bluetooth, USB and also Wi-Fi. The phone can also connect to the PSP and PS3 to let you seamlessly transfer media to and fro. Anio is also part of the famed DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance). The phone can thus be used as a remote control for gadgets within the network.

Specifications:
Display: 3 inch TFT capacitive touch screen with support for 16 M colors.
Dimensions: 104 x 50 x 15.5 mm.
Weight: 134 Gms.
Camera: Main camera - 8.1 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, auto and touch focus, LED flash, face detection, image stabilizer, smart contrast and red-eye reduction
Second camera – No.
Audio: MP3/AAC.
Video: MPEG4.
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email.
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP, USB, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.
Internet: EDGE, GPRS, 3G HSCSD, NetFront 3.5 browser, RSS reader.
Games: Motion sensing as well as regular games built in and downloadable.
Memory: 55 MB internal with support for microSD memory up to 16 GB.
Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh, 367h standby and 4h 30 min talk time.
Extras:
* A-GPS with Google Maps and Wayfinder Navigator.
* built in picture editor and blogging capabilities.
* Facebook and YouTube ready.
* Video and photo editor.
* Voice Memo.
* FM Radio with RDS.
* Geo-tagging.
* SenseMe music application.
* 3.5 mm audio jack
* Cross Media Bar (XMB) navigation UI.
* Organizer with local calendar.
* Both enterprise and web email support. Push email.