The Mobile Web Tablet

A short video showing what the Sony Ericsson Satio can do when it comes to 3D graphics.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Disappointing not to see an Android-phone from the Sony Ericsson MWC press conference. But one thing is interesting. For the first time (as far as I know), Sony Ericsson used the internal project name for a phone in public and as part of the launch (at least according to Engadget). The phone is called Idou.

Why is this significant? Well, most companies do like this: before a product is launched it has an internal project name. The final name of the product is decided by the product manager and marketing department right before launch. Up until then, the phone is a secret, so the internal project name can not be leaked. It’s super-secret and very sensitive information.

But now Sony Ericsson is using this name in public, as part of the launch. When I worked for the company a few years ago, this would have been a big no-no. There were (and still are) numerous rumor sites showing pictures of upcoming devices and Sony Ericsson did all they could to stop this. But, this means all the buzz, all the conversation, will be about a product name that’s not “endorsed” by the company. That also means all the Google searches will go to web sites beyond Sony Ericssons control. Sony Ericsson employees will also be forced to use a different term for the same product that their greatest fans are discussing.

That is pretty bad conversation architecture.

I don’t know if this is a shift in the way Sony Ericsson launch their products or just a one time coincidence, but it’s at least interesting that they are lifting the veil just a little bit and opening up to be part of the conversation. It reamins to see if they keep the name when the phone hits the stores, but I doubt it.

Popularity: 23% [?]

• It has the latest Java Platform 8. Perfect for a mobile developer. You can run Google Mail, Opera Mini, Zyb Mobile Client and it comes included with Google Maps.
• Multitasking makes switching between the applications fast. This is what my application switching screen looks like:
  
  The main menu I only use for launching the apps.
• It’s cheap. I paid 1400SEK including VAT, about €140.
• It’s small and light.
• The camera doesn’t have autofocus and no flash but it is fast which means you will take more pictures. Personally I prefer speed over the still mediocre picture quality of the 8 megapixel monsters like C905 but YMMV.
• Picture and videoblogging with Blogger built in.
• HSDPA!
• Battery time is excellent.
• Did I mention it’s cheap?

Not so good:

• Why isn’t the web browser listed in the running application list?
• Build quality could be better, but I guess you get what you pay for.

In summary: if you want an excellent phone at a low price the G502 is it. Install your favorite java applications and enjoy a smartphone like experience at a pricepoint far below that of its Symbian or Windows Mobile cousines.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Capuchin monkey.

Sony Ericsson has announced Yet Another Mobile Platform:

Project Capuchin will provide developers with an intuitive tool to create applications with a cleaner user interface (UI) without sacrificing the strong, feature rich and widely deployed Java ME
infrastructure, including secure, well-developed content distribution. Project Capuchin’s bridging software will empower two distinct developer communities to leverage their respective expertises to create the next generation of highly engaging and immersive mobile content.

The GUI layer in MIDP2 is one of its biggest drawbacks, limited and full of bugs and incompatibilities. Merging Flash Lite as a GUI layer with the Java APIs as the underlying engine could be a brilliant move towards a new platform.

The question of course is: do we need yet another mobile platform?

Anyway, nice to see Sony Ericsson be at the forefront of the upcoming merger between the web and telecom from a technology perspective.

I guess the upcoming JavaOne sessions will be more telling than the press release. Go see Viktor Mårtensson talk about CHAPI (JSR211) if you’re there! Should be interesting.

Updated: Adobe is announcing a move towards a more open Flash, even removing the licensing fee for mobile devices.

This means that the Sony Ericsson feature phones will have a powerful and open development platform based on JavaME and Flash. Now, if they only could bring in the web browser and XHTML/Javascript in the mix…

Popularity: 11% [?]