Sony Ericsson announces the stylish Z610 3G phone

Press Release: Picture yourself with Sony Ericsson’s 3G Z610 – the shimmering ‘mirror’ clamshell with hidden depths

LONDON 22 August 2006 - Sony Ericsson today announces the Z610; a stylish 3G phone that blends performance with stand-out design. The sleek mirror finish on the front cover gives the phone a jewel-like quality that is complimented by a hidden ‘magic mirror’ display which can only be seen when in use. This striking phone delivers on its good looks: its advanced feature set includes a 2.0 Megapixel camera and broadband-speed 3G connectivity. With such a unique design and a choice of three eye-catching colours – Luster Black, Rose Pink & Airy Blue – Z610 is the clamshell to be seen with.

“The unique design of the Z610 is inspired by nature. We have applied a mirror finish and used a hidden display for the first time to achieve the feel of a calm ocean surface” says Eiji Shintani, Art Director, Creative Design Centre, Sony Ericsson. “OLED technology has enabled us to build in a display that doesn’t interrupt the seductive, reflective qualities on the front of the phone. And given that Z610 is also a highly-specified device, it appeals to the design conscious that need a phone for every day use.”

The magic of the Z610 is revealed when a call comes in or the user receives an SMS or MMS. The hidden external display illuminates, giving the effect that the caller-ID information is floating on the face of the phone itself.

The distinctive design of the Z610 is matched by a feature set that lets the user get the most from their mobile phone. The Picture Blog application allows the user to share photographs with friends and family, via an online ‘blogsite’, within just a few clicks. Simply take a shot with the Z610’s 2.0 Megapixel camera and upload (or blog) the images directly to the site.

The Z610’s 3G capability, coupled with its large 2.0 inch screen, makes video calling and accessing the Internet a pleasure; and with support for Push Email and RSS feeds that deliver the latest news updates direct to your mobile, it’s so much more than a pretty face.

And when its time to reflect, support for Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) allows for generous storage of photos, video clips and MP3 files. This popular and portable storage format is available in memory sizes up to 1GB – that equates to around 2,800 pictures of 2.0 Megapixel quality.

Z610 is available in selected markets from Q3 2006.

The 3G Sony Ericsson K618 phone announced

Press Release: Stay entertained with Sony Ericsson’s 3G K618: a vibrant blend of work & play.

LONDON 8 August 2006 - Sony Ericsson today announces the K618: a slim, lightweight 3G phone that will launch in selected markets and deliver the perfect mix of mobile phone, multimedia applications and business solutions.

The new K618 has been developed for those users that want ‘the best of both worlds’; entertainment on the move & a powerful business tool. This high performance 3G device is as light and slim as a typical 2.5G phone, yet delivers blisteringly-fast speeds for streaming or downloading music & video clips, browsing the web or gaming. And staying in control of your inbox is made easier with support for push email, allowing messages to be sent directly to the phone without having to download them.

“The K618 is the ideal phone to bring the benefits of 3G-enabled mobile entertainment to a wide audience,” says Jan Wäreby Corporate Executive Vice President, Head of Sales and Marketing, Sony Ericsson. “It will have appeal with the business person on the move, who will appreciate the freedom and choice that the latest mobile technologies can offer. It’s a great-looking, desirable phone that you’ll want to keep close to hand.”

This compact phone is well equipped for both capturing & sharing photos, and playing music. Notably, the K618 features Bluetooth™ Streaming, which means that full-length music tracks (or video clips) can be sent wirelessly from the phone and listened to on a compatible Bluetooth™ enabled device, such as the Stereo Bluetooth Headset HBH-DS970.

One click of the dedicated camera button and the 2.0 Megapixel camera is activated, which comes complete with 2.5x digital zoom and Picture Blog application. This allows the user to post (or blog) their images directly to their own blogsite, giving friends and family the chance to go online and view the shots. The K618 is also ready for making video calls; the separate video telephony camera and high speed 3G connectivity making this a reality.

With so many multimedia functions available, it’s possible to build up a sizeable collection of photos, music files, video clips and web pages. The 256MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) provided caters for this and will store around 700 photos or 230 music tracks for example*. There is also the option to expand the external memory up to 1GB as an individual’s media library grows.

The K618 is a striking, slim-line ‘stick’ design that will launch in a choice of Vibrant Black or Bright White. This UMTS 2100 device will be available in selected markets from Q3 2006.

Samsung Launches Slim HSDPA Phone SGH-Z560

Press Release: Seoul, Korea - August 2, 2006 – Samsung, a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, is reinforcing its technology leadership with the launch of HSDPA handset (model: SGH-Z560). As a market innovator, Samsung has introduced the world's first HSDPA phone (model: SGH-ZV50) into France and Italy in early June. With the launch of a slim HSDPA phone which was unveiled at 3GSM 2006, Samsung will continue to deliver new HSDPA models in various styles and features.

The latest Z560 supports 1.8Mbps data throughput and comes in a very slim design. With a depth of mere 16mm, the handset includes advanced features such as a 2 mega-pixel camera with auto focus, external touch music keys, 30 MB of internal memory and microSD external memory slot. The Z560 is slim yet has a wide display for the convenient use of multimedia functions at a very high speed data. It uses a 2.3” QVGA 262K LCD to ensure a clear and sharp screen image.

Kitae Lee, president of Samsung Telecommunication Business said: “Samsung's newest HSDPA phone has state-of-the-art technology with great style. We are happy to lead the HSDPA phone market and we will bring incredible innovations based on our newest 3.5G technology to mobile users in their life style.”

HSDPA, a new form of mobile broadband, is capable of transmitting data at speeds up to seven times faster than that of WCDMA. Users can enjoy large-scale multimedia downloads, such as DVD-quality movies and interactive multimedia games, with high-speed wireless Internet access comparable to speeds of fixed-line ADSL services.

The Z560 has been launched in France and Germany and will be released in other European countries shortly.