Sony Ericson K700: Banking on style & tech

Riding high on recent news of a successful and profitable first quarter, Sony Ericsson has released a new camera phone and renewed its commitment to offer high-value handsets that integrate both style and technology.

A two-year-old collaboration between Swedish telecoms leader Ericsson and Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony, Sony Ericsson was a relative newcomer in the mobile handset game, coming in at a time when companies like Nokia, Motorola and Siemens had established themselves in the market. But Sony Ericsson quickly became popular for packing its phone models with more features and technology.

While it offered fewer model lines than its competitors, Sony Ericsson was noticed for its solidly built products, tri-band mobiles, integration of Bluetooth and GPRS technologies and an easy-to-use user interface largely based on icons, not text symbols. In the Philippines, Sony Ericsson is consistently gaining a bigger market share.

Released last week was the K700 camera phone, a midrange model that sits between the popular T610/T630 line of camera phones and the ultra-stylish and expensive P900 smartphone.

The K700 borrows a lot of design and technology cues from Sony’s CyberShot line of digital cameras. Unlike other midrange camera phones, it has 32Mb of memory that allows users to store around 450 images, the largest non-expansion base memory in a camera phone.

The K700 also integrates the QuickShare technology that allows sharing of images via Bluetooth, MMS, e-mail and infrared.

Also included is a built-in stereo 20-station preset FM radio as well as an MP3 player. As a camera phone, its unique feature is a 4x digital zoom feature. The unit offers seven hours of talktime and 15 days of standby time.

The K700 is the first of a series of new Sony Ericsson phones to be launched in the coming months.

"We are very excited about the K700. It was designed for people who appreciate the endless possibilities of powerful technology combined with a revolutionary design that will suit a fast-paced lifestyle. It’s a handset that boasts of complimentary style and functionality," said Dennis Manzano, general manager of Sony Ericsson Philippines.

The retail price of K700 is still being fixed, but Sony Ericsson executives said it will cater to the mid-range market.

Arthur Huang, Sony Ericsson’s Asia-Pacific director for marketing communications, said the K700 is a product based on the company’s philosophy.

"Sony Ericsson relies on style and technology; we create products that can pack a lot of features but do not look ugly. People feel that Nokia phones are fashionable; Sony Ericsson is more technology-driven. Now we are merging this with good design and with a distinct sense of style," he said.

"The phone’s design is dual. On one hand, we have a sleek mobile phone and on the backside, we have a digital camera; pictures can be taken with one hand instead of two. With this, we are moving closer to the design language inspired by Sony digital cameras," Manzano said.

The K700 is being previewed during the Philippine Fashion Week 2004, which ends on April 30, at the Glorietta Activity Center and the NBC Tent.