Product Description

In one sense the Sony Ericsson P1 is an evolution of our P-series smartphones, as it pushes forward the best attributes of its predecessors, says Steve Walker, Head of Product Marketing at Sony Ericsson. At the same time there are also significant improvements in design, speed and battery performance. Building on the feature set of earlier models, the Sony Ericsson P1 supports a wide range of push email solutions and Web browsing applications, plus connectivity via hi-speed UMTS and Wireless LAN (WiFi™). Add to this its compact size and multimedia capabilities and the P1 is the complete mobile office. It is based on the Symbian™ operating system (v9.1) and UIQ 3.0, an open platform that offers broad potential for multimedia applications from operators/carriers, content owners and third party developers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13513 in Cell Phone Accessories
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Sony Ericsson
• Model: P1i
• Released on: 2007-09-11
• Dimensions: .70" h x 2.10" w x 4.10" l, .27 pounds

Features

• This unlocked cell phone is compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. Not all carrier features may be supported. It will not work with CDMA carriers like Verizon Wireless, Alltel and Sprint.
• Unlocked tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 cell phone with International 3G compatibility (2100 UMTS) and GPRS data capabilities
• Symbian OS smartphone with dual-function QWERTY/numeric keypad; 2.6-inch touchscreen; included stylus
• 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder; digital audio player and FM radio; Memory Stick Micro expansion; Bluetooth stereo music; access to personal email
• Up to 10 hours of GSM talk time, up to 440 hours (18+ days) of standby time

Amazon.com Product Description
Building on the feature set of earlier P-series smartphones, the Sony Ericsson P1i helps you stay connected and productive wherever you roam. In addition to high-speed UMTS 3G connectivity (2100 MHz networks), it provides Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11b), VoIP capability, and push email with support for Exchange ActiveSync and BlackBerry Connect. The dual function keyboard--full alpha-numeric (e.g. QWERTY) text input combined with one hand phone usability--lets you quickly respond to email and text messages. The large 2.6-inch touchscreen gives you a choice of text input method including handwriting and word completion. Other features include a large 3.2 megapixel camera with business card scanner, 160 MB of shared memory, Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion, Bluetooth stereo music streaming, FM radio

The 3G-enabled Sony Ericsson P1i is powered by Symbian OS v9.1 and includes Wi-Fi connectivity, stereo Bluetooth streaming and a dual-function keyboard.

This unlocked cell phone can be used with a GSM network service provider and it provides tri-band connectivity (900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz). It does not come with a SIM card, and it requires that you provide a SIM card for usage with your selected service provider.

The P1i is a 3G data-enabled device, compatible with third-generation mobile networks that offer broadband-like transfer speeds--up to 384 kbps--providing quick and easy access to audio and video streaming, Web surfing, multimedia messaging, and email wherever you go. This phone includes a secondary camera lens on the front that lets you use the P1i as a video phone. During a video call (placed to a compatible phone on a compatible network), you can see a live video stream of the person you're talking to and they can see you. When the only choice around is GSM, the P1i can hop onto a GPRS data link. Alternatively, you can also switch to a Wi-Fi connection (802.11b) when you find an available wireless LAN/hotspot.

Always being connected while on the move is now a normal part of working life. The Sony Ericsson P1i gives you the ability to handle your corporate or personal emails, contacts and calendar wherever you are. It offers support for a broad range of push email services including Exchange ActiveSync and BlackBerry Connect and allows for remote wiping of email and PIM data--something critical in the event of the phone being stolen or misplaced.

Because the P1i is a Symbian smartphone, it features solid integration of phone, contacts, and calendar applications that can be easily synchronized with other devices and services, making it very easy to bring your office with you wherever you roam. Easily edit documents you receive as attachments to emails, or that you have stored on memory card. The P1i lets you read and edit documents on the move, whether Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel. Or use other tools, such as the alarm clock, a stopwatch, task and notes applications, a sound recorder, and a file manager.

In addition to MMS and SMS messaging, the phone ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP protocols. Push email is also supported, allowing you to have instant email on your mobile phone, just like on your home computer. Messages are sent directly to your phone as soon as they arrive. You can take advantage of the dual-function keyboard for messaging, or use the device's integrated handwriting recognition to write your email and SMS messages. With a carrier data plan, you can easily connect to the Internet and browse the Web with the included Opera browser.

This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and printing. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking (DUN)--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server. And with the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. In addition to USB and Bluetooth connectivity, this phone also has an infrared receiver for data synchronization.

The 3.2 megapixel camera takes great shots to store or share via Picture Blogging and is also a useful tool for work purposes. It does away with the need to collect stacks of business cards when traveling. Just take a close-up shot of a business card and the card scanner transfers the contact details directly into the phonebook.

The P1i shines as a music player, offering a great way to listen and organize your digital tunes on the go. The in-phone media player supports video and audio playback--supported audio formats include MP3 and AAC. Catch the latest news via the on-board FM Radio or stream mobile TV direct to the large screen. It also supports Java-based games, as well as sophisticated 3D games that make the P1i great to have along when you need to turn downtime into fun time.

Other features include:

• Predictive text input
• Mobile TV -- H.264 playback
• Polyphonic ringtones and real music tones (MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+)
• USB 2.0 mass storage
• Flight mode
• Opera web browser version 8.0 with RSS feeds

Vital Statistics
The Sony Ericsson P1i weighs 4.4 ounces and measures 4.1 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 10 hours of GSM talk time (3.3 hours of UMTS talk time), and up to 440 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

Customer Reviews

Great Phone!
I've had this phone for over a month, and I LOVE IT!!
I don't talk much on the phone, but I listen to music, watch video, take pictures, and send text msg with it a lot. I charge my phone maybe every three days. I think the battery last a very reasonable amount of time for the way I use it.

The keypad might take awhile to get used to, but I am a keyboard person and I really love the QWERTY keypad. I can type pretty fast with this keypad (I used to think sending text msg was a pain because of the ABC keypad).

The video taken with this phone is in .3GP format. You can just google search K-lite mega codec and download the codec pack. Then you can play the video you take on PC. And the codec pack is free! Or if you think installing codec is too much, you can just download Quicktime. It's also free.

When you buy the phone, there is everything you need inside the box, including menu and CD software.

On the home screen, there are 15 shortcut spaces for you to put some "hard to locate" applications. For internet browser, I recommend Opera. It's way better than the one came with the phone. When I use internet, I always go to the connection (top left corner) to make sure I am connected to a wifi connection. So I never have a problem with it.

Some people mentioned that their phone froze a lot. I think they just got a bad phone. My phone has only frozen once for this one and a half month. Compare to M600i, P1i is really tons faster and responsive. Everything is just so smooth.

I love this phone because it's basically a small PDA with phone function. I can make to-do list. I can read pdf, doc, ppt, etc files. I can watch movies and videos on it. I can listen to music on it. I can use Skype. I can use messengers. For the music player, you can minimize it. So you can actually do something else on the phone while listening to music. There are pretty useful symbian and uiq softwares you can install onto the phone. The most I use is AED (advanced english dictionary). You can also download/buy game console emulator and play old games on the phone! Like GBA, NES, etc.

I also bought a bluetooth receiver for my computer. So that I can connect the phone with the computer through BT, and it is VERY convenient. I can transfer all my files and photos within seconds. I do use card reader to transfer big files like videos since BT is not a fast way to do it.

Now Sandisk makes 8gb M2 card and this phone supports it!

There is only one thing to complain: I still can't get the PC Suite to work... But I can live without it.

In a nutshell, P1i is a great phone. I don't think I will need to buy a new phone within the next three years :D

my thumbs are saved
Over a decade ago I started using a Palm Pilot. In the beginning of 2007 the University I work for decided to no longer provide cell phones. I ended up signing up with T-Mobile and got their Dash hoping that I would pick up typing with little keys quick enough. After a few months trying to deal with the little keyboard and having the volume strip on the side of the Dash never actually work well; I ended up still carrying around my Sony Clie, a decent digital camera, and the Dash. I really didn't like the look of the "bat-belt" hung with devices. When I dropped my clie for the last time (screen fractured), I had the excuse to look around a second time. I really liked the P1i because it actually has a decent camera, has a touch screen that I can use for putting in letters instead of typing, really great resolution on the screen (something Sony really does well), and the reviews I read said it worked well with the T-Mobile system.

It does more than I expected (FM Radio for instance), the dual letter keyboard works pretty well, and the handwriting recognition saves my poor thumbs! There are some less than intuitive quirks about it, for instance the notes are listed in order of creation instead of alphabetically, the handwriting recognition is a little different (periods and the letter "A" are not the same), and I wish I could define a few more shortcuts, but overall I am extremely pleased. I have had to switch from the Plam Desktop to Outlook, but I can survive that.

I think I made the right decision, and recommend it to others.

Qualified praise
The product description above is misleading; this phone does not operate on the 850 MHz GSM band. AT&T subscribers may find reception difficult in certain areas.

The product description also mentions EDGE, but Sony Ericsson's product details mention nothing about EDGE, so I'm not sure that's strictly accurate. I find data speeds to be almost EDGE-like, though.

Another caveat: while it is a 3G phone, it's *European* 3G, on the UMTS 2100 band. AT&T's 3G network runs on 1900. This phone thus *does not work* on AT&T's 3G network. I rather wish I had understood that before buying it.

The browser is ostensibly Opera Mobile 8.65, but it's a rather inferior variety of 8.65 to the version sold for Windows Mobile or S60. Opera Mini can be installed separately and runs like a dream. Rumor is that the forthcoming Opera Mobile 9.x will be distributed via a firmware update and will be fabulous.

As long as you can get by with WiFi and triband 900/1800/1900 MHz, you'll be fine.