Sony Ericsson unveiled the P1 today in the hopes that it will bring the smartphone pioneer back to the top. SE is touting the P1 as a complete mobile office with features like push email, web browsing apps, GPRS, UMTS, and WiFi(802.11b). The P1 packs a one-two-punch with a Symbian OS and UIQ 3.0.
Most of those features are great, but what makes it a complete mobile office? For starters, there is a dual function alpha-numeric QWERTY keyboard(boo), 3.2-megapixel camera with business card scanner, and Blackberry Connect and Exchange ActiveSync email support. It also includes VoIP support, handwriting recognition, video calling, VPN, and Opera 8.0. The usual standard features like Bluetooth, FM radio, video recording, a calendar and sound recorder are included, so there’s no need to fret over the little things. The P1 drops in selected markets Q3.
Well, it looks and sounds snazzy, but my personal experience with UIQ3 (via the Sony Ericsson M600i) is that it just doesn’t “gel” as an interface. It’s stuck in some sort of fuzzy middle-land between PDA operating systems like WinMo and Palm, and phone systems like Series 60.
Plus the strange mish-mash of qwerty with a touch screen means that you end up having an internal debate about whether to pull out the stylus or try to find a key combination that will acheive what you intend. It’s counter intuitive.
If anyone is interested, I banged out a brief comparison of UIQ 3.0 versus Series 60 over here. I am a bit biased towards S60 because I have more experience with it, but I’m pretty sure most people would find S60 easier to live with on a day to day basis, unless you’re desperate for a touch screen.
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