For Sony Ericsson one of the prioritized fields is development of UIQ-smartphones, yet limited funds and R&D-resources don’t do the company justice, not allowing it to release a batch of offerings at a time. The year 2006 saw three smartphones of this kind – the P990i, M600i, W950i (with local editions of these devices ignored). In 2007 the company was setting off to launch at least around 7 handsets, out of which three will be the base editions and the other four will act as variations (music edition, with/without camera, enabled/disabled WiFi). But these intentions will never become something bigger and more real; over there they have totally revised the UIQ-related strategy.

Overall Design

The P1i is unmistakably related to the M600i. The size is almost identical, as is the basic design, but it has been spruced up a bit to resemble some of their latest phones. Instead of all-matte black or white casing, there is a two-tone silver and glossy black. The keys are still matte and have a nice feel. The glossy black looks like the same material as the PSP, and the silver border is the same as the Sony Ericsson W880i music phone.

The unique form factor of the earlier P series definitely has its fans, with flip closed mode offering an excellent one-handed experience. However, the reduction in size, in my opinion, should easily outweigh the lack of a flip for most people.

The P1i uses a subtly different implementation of UIQ 3 to the P990 - SoftkeyStyleTouch versus PenStyle - it's now better suited to one handed usage. From the screenshots below you can see some of the differences between the SoftkeyStyleTouch (P1i) and PenStyle (P990) implementations of UIQ 3. You will note that the status bar and on-screen 'back' key move from the bottom to the top and that that action/command softkeys are always found on the bottom of the display. The main menu is accessed via the 'More' softkey as opposed to a drop down menu from the top of the screen.

The P1i is much sleeker than previous models, owing more to the styling found in Sony Ericsson’s range of feature phones. The materials used in the case are a combination of brushed aluminum (framing the front and sides), a hard shiny plastic (front face and keyboard) and a hard rubber material (rear and battery cover). The overall build quality is excellent and the materials have been intelligently placed. The rubber material on the rear of the device improves grip when holding the device, especially when using the keyboard for two handed text entry.

The back of the device houses the main 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera along with a dual LED flash. The camera lens is slightly recessed into its housing, providing some limited protection. The right hand side of the device features the camera capture button, the memory card slot and the internet key. By default, this key is configured to launch the Web browser but this can be changed in Control panel. For power users the most useful configuration is to set this as a shortcut to the task manager, so as to enhance multi-tasking functionality.

The left hand side of the P1i features the two principal navigation controls – the scroll wheel and the 'back' key.  P990 users may notice the absence of the hardware lock key and the multimedia key (play/pause media) - for manufacturers, there is always a balance to be drawn between simplicity, utility and costs. In this case, I think the correct decision has been made. The key lock can be activated by a long press on the back key and multimedia controls are generally more conveniently located on headsets.

Keyboard and data input

The P1i, like the P990i, has a full QWERTY keyboard at the bottom of the screen. However, the P1i’s keyboard, as with the rest of its styling, owes much more to the M600 than to its immediate P series predecessor. The P990i’s keyboard was cramped with small keys which was uncomfortable to use for prolonged periods. By contrast the P1i keyboard eschews the 'key for each letter' approach and instead uses a layout of 20 keys with the top 15 keys pivoting for a key press on the left and right side of each button. Each of these pivot keys therefore effectively operates as two keys. The usual QWERTY layout is preserved, with each letter sharing a key with another letter (for example the top right key serves both O and P). This layout is further refined by the use of a shift for capitalisation and an ALT key to access numbers (the central keys), punctuation and various symbols. Although this sounds rather convoluted, it works very well in practice and the larger keys mean that typing is more accurate (especially for those with larger hands). It also allows the P1i to be narrower than other phones with fully QWERTY keyboards - this is readily apparent when comparing the P1i and devices like the E61 side by side.

The intelligent predictive text software, provided by Zi Corporation and as found on Sony Ericsson’s other UIQ 3 phones, is a welcome presence. During typing, suggestions are displayed across the top of the screen – you can accept the current suggestion by pressing the return key or scroll through the other suggestions using the arrows keys that flank the spacebar key. The improved speed of the QWERTY keyboard makes this less significant than before, but it does offer a further refinement and speed boost for those willing to take advantage of it.

In comparison with the P990, the P1i’s keyboard is a revelation – it is less fiddly to use and, although it does take a little longer to get accustomed to the keyboard’s operation, this is amply rewarded by higher input speeds. This, together with the absence of a flip and some software tweaks, makes the P1i much more usable as a one handed device. For those who prefer pen input, the P1i includes the same handwriting recognition as its predecessors and it is possible to achieve reasonable speeds once you become familiar with the system. The dual system may seem like overkill, but it is more of mark of the P1i’s flexibility. Though I imagine the majority of text input will be carried out using the hardware keys, some text input tasks, such as making corrections or highlighting text for copying and pasting, are easier to carry out using the stylus. The predictive text software is also easier to use in handwriting mode and provides a speed boost of around 10% during longer text entry.

USB, Bluetooth, Infrared, WiFi

USB. Files are transferred onto the P1i via USB-connection with 2.0 Full Speed version (12 Mbps) supported. Upon connection to a PC the smartphone is displayed as a USB Mass Storage, which allows the user to see all sections, saving for system folders. Another way to pair up the P1i with your PC via USB is Modem mode, when the smartphone starts acting as a wireless modem.

Infrared. The device features full-fledged implementation of data transfers via IrDA to and from other devices. It can serve as a connecting link when the smartphone is operating as a GPRS-modem. Data speeds from 9.6 kbps to 115.2 kbps are fully supported in the handset, as well as the following protocols: IrOBEX 1.2, IRCOMM 1.0, IrTRANP 1.0.

Bluetooth. The P1i comes equipped with EDR-enabled Bluetooth 2.0 and allows for up to 16 devices on the list.

The Bluetooth implementation is, as always though, nothing to complain about, we encountered no issues with handling this type of connections.

WiFi. The handset shows off support for 802.11b (11 mbps), enabling you to connect to two access points and has nothing against pairing up with hotspots. Going online through WiFi allows all preinstalled applications that have something to do with Internet connections to start up and operate properly. The inbuilt WiFi makes checking mail, surfing web a very gratifying experience. The smartphone can use network connections established on other devices (while being connected to them via cable, infrared or Bluetooth). WiFi didn’t deliver any hardships; listing extra options, we can’t overlook the possibility of saving settings for certain networks.

Memory and Connectivity

The P1i has 160MB of internal flash memory (up from 60MB in the P990) which gives plenty of space for applications and basic contact and PIM data. Multimedia files will be best stored on a memory card using the P1i’s M2 (Memory Stick Micro) card slot, which supports card sizes of up to 4GB.

With Wi-Fi, WCDMA and GPRS, the P1i has a good range of connectivity options. Internet (data) accounts can be set up using any connection bearer and any access point can be included in a group. Improved from earlier UIQ 3 phones is the Settings Wizard, which now automatically recognises when a new SIM card has been inserted and offers the user the opportunity to download the appropriate data settings for internet and MMS usage.

A group consists of a prioritized list of internet accounts and can be used as the default internet account by many applications (effectively allowing multiple access points to be used without changing applications settings). Wi-Fi usage is straightforward with a simple scan and connect applet, accessible from the P1i’s drop down system menu or via Control panel. Internet accounts can be created for regularly used Wi-Fi access points and included in groups.  Moreover, the special 'Default WiFi' internet account (which represents any current Wi-Fi connection) also allows one off Wi-Fi connections (e.g. at an airport) to be used within groups. This functionality, together with groups, means that the P1i will switch seamlessly between using Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, offering cost savings and easier access to faster Wi-Fi connectivity.

Unfortunately, the P1i supports neither EDGE nor HSDPA (3.5G) data connections. The lack of EDGE is a concern for US users, who are also unable to use the WCDMA connectivity since the phone supports only European 3G bands. HSDPA is becoming more commonplace in high end phones and is supported by a large number of operators. Given the P1i’s rich application capabilities it is a shame that HSDPA connectivity, with its faster download speeds, is missing.

Camera

The P1i has a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera which is a small improvement compared to the P990i. The camera software is based on the same UI found in Sony’s Cybershot digital cameras and as such stands out as a little different from the rest of the phone. The interface can be overwhelming at first and the number of options and layout can be a bit unwieldy, but this is significantly improved by use of keypad (1-9) shortcuts, which are well worth learning.  As with all camera phones, performance varies depending on conditions. Some photos can be a little grainy, especially in lower light conditions, but general point and click performance is good. Improved results can be obtained if the numerous settings are fully utilized.

The usual white balance, night mode, self timer and digital zoom modes are all present. The digital zoom mode is more useful that on other phones since it sensibly shrinks down the resolution (effectively cropping a larger photo) as you zoom rather than artificially maintaining high resolutions. Thanks to a dual LED flash, the P1i performs better in low light conditions compared to those phones with a single LED flash, although the illumination distance is still relatively limited. Video performance is average, with a maximum resolution of 320 x 240 at 15 frames per second. In general, camera performance is good, though it does not measure up to phones like the Nokia N95 or Sony Ericsson’s own high end Cybershot phones, such as the K850, which have better optics. Still, the camera should be good enough for the majority of users and, given the cost of improved optics and additional megapixels, it is a good compromise between performance and price.

Some other features, themes, web-browser

Calculator – self-explanatory application, nothing special in it.

Voice – A sound recorder, which allows making voice notes (only when in standby mode), you are also at liberty to choose the format, which all recordings will be made in. This application offers a very handy and simple interface. The recording is limited by nothing but the volume of free memory left on the handset.

Picture gallery – the application displays thumbnails of pictures with possibility of fast switching to full-screen mode. No visible changes have occurred in this program, though now you can send a MMS-message containing the currently viewed image.

Picture editor – a simple editor, which allows performing basic operations with images.

MusicDJ – a default application for Sony Ericsson has finally made its way to the smartphones – this app lets you mix a number of tracks.

Unit converter – converts various units into other systems.

Stopwatch – supports intermediate results tracking and listing.

Countdown – time is set in hours and minutes, upon reaching the set time, the devices triggers a sound alarm.

Themes are one of the major parts of the new UIQ –not only do they modify the appearance of windows and colors, but also shape-change particular menus and icons, thus this allows making up totally refined looks of the interface. At that you can adjust not only appearance, but also sounds of screen taps and various events.

The handset comes equipped with Opera 8 as the default web-browser. At present this is the best browser available for this kind of devices, the only counterpart is S60’s browser version two. It can work both in portrait and landscape modes, supports cookies, and scales pages to fit them in display size. I won’t describe all features of this application here, as we will devote a special article to this application.

Storage Wizard – is a default application for UIQ 3.0, offering memory distribution status in the device.

File manager allows viewing the user folders. It supports multi-selection of files or folders at a time, as well as deletion and copying; also you can send a number of files to other devices via Bluetooth or Infrared. The manager’s capabilities are quite conventional and don’t stand out much.

RSS Feeds. It’s an RSS reader, which successfully copes with its main function. You may add any channels on your own, and also update all feeds in one touch. Everything is plain and straightforward here – those, who haven’t used this technology before, will become fond of it with the help of this handset.

Features

Network           UMTS / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Announced      2007, May

Dimensions      106 x 55 x 17 mm
 Weight            124 g

DISPLAY 
Type               TFT touchscreen, 256K colors
Size                240 x 320 pixels, 2.6 inches
                       QWERTY keyboard
                       Handwriting recognition

RINGTONES 
Type               Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3, AAC
Vibration         Yes

MEMORY 
Phonebook     Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records   Practically unlimited
Card slot        Memory Stick Micro (M2), 512 MB card included
                      160 MB shared memory
                      128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM

DATA 
GPRS           Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD         Yes
EDGE            Yes
3G                Yes, 384 kbps
WLAN           Wi-Fi 802.11b
Bluetooth      Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port Yes
USB              Yes, v2.0

FEATURES 
OS               Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0
Messaging   SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser      HTML (Opera), RSS reader
Games         Pro Golf, Qudrapop + downloadable 
Colors          Silver Black
Camera        3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video, flash; secondary VGA videocall camera
                    Java MIDP 2.0
                    Video playback
                    FM radio with RDS
                    Media Player (MP3, AAC)
                    Sync ML
                    Office applications
                    Business card scanning
                    Organiser
                    Photo album
                    Voice memo
                    Built-in handsfree

BATTERY   Standard battery, Li-Ion 1120 mAh
Stand-by    Up to 440 h
Talk time     Up to 10 h

Conclusion

The P series of phones from Sony Ericsson has traditionally been the most effective true marriage of traditional PDA and phone into a single device. The hardware design on the P1i continues that trend. The smaller size makes the device much more pocketable, while the improved keyboard, especially in light of its size, provides one of the best data entry experiences available. The combination of touchscreen and one handed usage, together with the UIQ software platform, does means there is a necessary learning curve, but it consequently also gives the P1i a great deal of flexibility.

What I Like: Excellent size, looks great, excellent screen, good thumboard, 3G, excellent battery life, 512MB card in the box and 160MB built-in!

What Needs Improvement: Keyboard is rather unusual so has steeper learning curve, no HSDPA!