Now that UIQ is now part of the Symbian Foundation and no longer under the control of both Sony Ericsson and Motorola, the question everyone mentioned long ago still remains - when will we see Flash Lite on the UIQ platform?

In the manner current events are unfolding in front of us, the question might as well be rephrased as "Will we ever see Flash Lite on the UIQ platform?"

Considering all aspects the way things have developed, it seems unlikely that Sony Ericsson will continue to invest in the UIQ platform. This is strengthened by the confirmation that both Sony Ericsson's P1 successor the "Paris" P5 and the other multimedia giant codenamed "BeiBei" were killed off shortly before the Symbian Foundation tookover UIQ, and the laying off of 200 workers from the the UIQ section in Sweden. And now with the Xperia X1 being the only likely P-series successor (and incidentally it runs Windows Mobile), it's likely that Sony Ericsson will divert it's resources to creating business phones running the Windows Mobile platform in the future.

Which means only one thing - the eventual slashing of support for the smartphones running the UIQ platform. So it's very likely Sony Ericsson will not develop Flash Lite for the UIQ platform.

But there's still hope. Perhaps Digia's new web browser @Web will spring us a nice little surprise in the final release:

There are some known problems in the first beta release of Digia @Web. During the beta phase will will fix these and possible other problems as much as possible:

Missing Flash support

Only time will tell...

This is straight from Opera's mouth:

It's almost time to release Opera Mobile 9.5 for Windows Mobile to the world. We thank you for your patience and support as we make what we (and many others) believe is the best browser for mobile phones. A release testing phase is underway now and the target date for the first beta is July 15th. You will be able to download it from opera.com just like you would any other versions of Opera.

Alright chums, where is the Symbian version? Opera can pretend to be ignore all of us Symbian users, but we by far number several times more than the WinMo users.

And this leads to the start of another disturbing question: Opera Mobile 9.5 was available on some selected HTC Windows Mobile smart phones when they were released a month or so earlier (i.e. HTC Touch Diamond). Why didn't the G900 or the G700 come with Opera Mobile 9.5? We've seen all the public demos of the browser on the P1 earlier in the year, so there HAS to be a UIQ version.

Unless it was chopped just like Beibei and the "Paris" P5...

Comments anyone?

Some folks over at Engadget got a chance to look and fondle the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 (the defacto SE P1 successor), albeit a slightly defective unit. They've managed to get a couple of photos of the menus and everything (which seems similar to just another Windows Mobile 6 phone), but if you're interested in snapping this one up when it comes out, do go and take a look.

Personally I still think this device can't replace the Sony Ericsson P1 (in my mind, but we all know it's definitely much better spec-wise than the P1).

Yes, I may be a day or two late in posting this press release from Sony Ericsson on Nokia acquiring Symbian and forming the Symbian Foundation to create one "open mobile software platform", but there is much to mull about in this big announcement.

What does this mean for the UIQ platform?
Now that Symbian and all of it's different 'flavours' or 'variations' are under the Symbian Foundation, we're going to see more of a common core between all Symbian platforms. As stated in the press conference:

From these contributions, the Foundation will provide a unified platform with common UI framework. A full platform will be available for all Foundation members under a royalty-free license, from the Foundation’s first day of operations.

So yes, there would be a lot more in common between the Symbian S60 platform (which Nokia is known for) and the UIQ platform in the future. Perhaps in the long term we may see applications and programs that can be easily ported from UIQ to S60, and vice versa?

How does this relate to the dropping of Beibei and the 'Paris' P5 from SE?
Good question. Under the Symbian Foundation's guidance, UIQ is definitely a winner in this case, as the press statement claims:

Contributions from Foundation members through open collaboration will be integrated to further enhance the platform.

The UIQ platform could be so much more with open collaboration with other Symbian flavours, such as S60 or the Japanese MOAP platform. By taking the strengths and shunting out the weaknesses, there is just so much potential for future Symbian phones and the UIQ platform in particular.

However, with SE deciding to dump both of it's upcoming flagships and focus on the Xperia X1, this may mean that it's ready to jump ship to embrace Windows Mobile for its business devices and give up UIQ entirely. The SE P5 was destined to be the successor of the current P1 business flagship - but now it seems that the big man at the top has intervened to change the successor to the Xperia X1. So it seems like along with the Xperia's release, the P-series will be slowly and quietly pushed to the fringes of the SE family.

This Engadget article states that both Motorola and Sony Ericsson have signed up to contribute UIQ assets to the Foundation, but how long do you think SE will commit to it's promise? 10 quid that SE will have 'nothing left to contribute' by the end of 2008.

Maybe it's old news for some, but this is clearly a picture of Google's Android OS running on the SE P990. According to the article, this debuted at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona last February, so I do apologise to all readers for providing 'old' news.

Back to the article though - if Android can be installed on the P990, then it must be possible to get it running on the P1. I know I'll be first in line to get Android on my P1; no offense to the Symbian UIQ platform, but I think a change would be nice. Dual booting UIQ and the Android on the P1 would be even better. Who else wants to see Android running on their P1?

Yep, it's official. Both the rumoured Sony Ericsson UIQ smartphones codenamed "BeiBei" (G702) and "Paris" (P5) has been killed off. It spells a sense of uncertainty for the Symbian UIQ platform in the Sony Ericsson camp, as both phones have stoked up huge media and fan interest since they were leaked during the start of the year (and possibly even earlier).

I'm going to focus on the Sony Ericsson Paris P5 smartphone. Originally speculated as the successor of the Sony Ericsson P1, it was going to sport HSDPA, a sliding QWERTY keypad, a 5 megapixel camera and AGPS. In short, everything that the P1 should have gotten (in order to beat other high end smart phones). However, the P5 specs were a bit too common, a bit too late (the Nokia N95 has everything I mentioned above with the exception of the QWERTY keypad and a touch screen, and it was out a long time ago) - perhaps that was why the project was killed off? Or was the P5 viewed as competition to the newly released G900 UIQ smartphone, which incidentally can be considered as a minor upgrade from the P1?

Anyhow, both phones were going to sport the new UIQ 3.2 3.3 platform, which promised HSDPA and WiFi b/g support. Now that both phones have been killed off, the future of UIQ seems to be quite uncertain - there are no new phones announced that will run on the UIQ platform, and a P-series upgrade that is worthy to compete with other WM mobiles seems to be long overdue. I'm still waiting for that perfect P-series phone with a 5 Megapixel camera, Integrated GPS, HSDPA support, WiFi b/g, and more or less everything that the N95 has. Rival competitors have smart phones which are extremely tempting - take the HTC Diamond for example; not only is it stylish (seems to be taking lessons for SE themselves), but it also offers the specs that I want. It's about time to get a grip SE, otherwise you'll lose a lot of marketshare to HTC and the Apple iPhone 3G (which has slightly improved since the days iPhone v1 has been released).

Or alternatively, focus your resources on providing firmware and software upgrades for the P1. It has plenty of potential as well as a wide audience supporting it; I've lost count of the number of P1's I see lying in the hands of business people in Hong Kong or hanging on the necks of many phone lovers like me. I'm looking forward to an Opera Mobile 9.5 update, or support for Widgets or even Flash media. It's got the potential to be so much more - please don't make the same mistake as you did with the P990.

What's your take on the cancellation of the Paris P5? Share your opinions with everyone else here on the SE P1i Blog.

In lieu of the hype surrounding the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, let's see how well it fares against SE's current flagship and whether it's worthy for us Sony Ericsson P1 users to drop our P1's to get the X1...

First up, the physical size of the 2:


Both smart phones are more or less the same size, so P1 users won't find the transformation mindblowing or anything. The Xperia, however, clocks in at 145 grams (as opposed to the P1's 124 grams) so it should feel heaver and more solid as a whole. It might feel solid for some but a bit on the heavy side for others, so do beware of that.

Screen Resolution and Colours: Although the P1 isn't especially impressive in terms of the colour on the main screen, the Xperia X1 doesn't match up to the P1's standards. The P1 sports a 262K colour TFT screen - but on the other hand, the Xperia is 1 step back; it only sports a 65K colour TFT screen. Think back to the days of the Sony Ericsson T630 - not very impressive is it? Viewing 3.2 Megapixel photos on a 65K colour screen definitely doesn't do the photos any justice, so if you value photo viewing on your phone, then the X1 isn't for you. And considering that Nokia phones have 16 Million colour screens as the de facto standard, the X1 is definitely a disappointment in this department. I presume that a 65K colour screen was used to lower energy usage within the phone.

Apart from the colour issue, the X1 supports a screen resolution of 800 x 480. It's definitely a massive step up than the P1's 320 x 240. Screen size has also been enlarged to 3 inches from the P1's 2.6 inches. Much better for viewing multimedia files, so do take that in mind.

Connectivity:
The Xperia X1 is definitely a winner here. It supports virtually all the bands in every part of the world; from the American standard to the European standards - so this is definitely the traveller's choice. First there's Quad band GSM/EDGE - the P1 only has Tri band GSM (900/1800/1900) - then there's Quad band 3G/3.5G supporting the frequencies 900/1700/1900/2100 MHz; the US T-Mobile 3G spectrum is also supported there - the P1 only has European 3G, so it's a big turn off for Americans. The Xperia X1 IS the world phone, so it should appeal to those businessmen who require extensive travelling around the globe.

Operating System:
The Xperia X1 runs on Windows Mobile 6, while the P1 runs on Symbian UIQ 3.0. I'm really biased when it comes to commenting on Windows Mobile Platforms, with some poor past experiences, but it appears (from what I've seen at least) that the WM6 platform is solid in displaying its multimedia capabilities. Some of the readers may be more experienced in using the WM platform so please comment on your previous experiences!

Little Tidbits on the Xperia X1:
Both sport a 3.2 Megapixel camera but I can bet anything that the Xperia X1 won't have the notorious "Green Tint" issue plaguing many P1's so it should appear to be the better camera.

A host of Office apps come along as part of the WM platform so it's definitely a plus for the business users - but there doesn't appear to be a version of Blackberry support for the Xperia X1, unlike the P1, so many users may feel left out.

The X1 comes with Wireless B and G built-in while the P1 only supports the B standard, making it another tempting aspect for P1 users to upgrade to. There also doesn't seem to be an integrated GPS chip built-in to the X1 - surely Sony Ericsson should have put it in; it's becoming another de facto standard in the world of smart phones.

Conclusion:
Get it if you're a hardcore traveller and have plenty of money to burn. Otherwise, you might want to consider sticking to your P1 - although the Xperia X1 is really a magnificent phone, it's not really a massive upgrade from your P1. For those who use Blackberry Connect for their Push emails, you would want to stick around on the P1, as it supports both ActiveSync and Blackberry push emails.

My-Symbian has some exclusively leaked pictures on the upcoming P5i -and judging by the photos, in my opinion I think most of the P-series community would be inclined to stick with their P990 or the P1i.

The thread further states that the main added features are "GPS and the 5 Megapixel Camera". Although it's all rumours, with photos of the prototype already leaked on the web, chances are that the specs are also quite reliable. Expecting a revolutionary device? Don't be too optimistic about this smart phone...

Right chaps, I'm not having a laugh here. Take a look this Sony Ericsson Press Release on Project Capuchin:

...The new technology and tools, referred to as Project Capuchin, make it possible to combine the richness of Flash Lite and Java ME technologies allowing developers to utilize the best attributes of both software stacks to create content-rich mobile applications...

"Adobe is pleased to support Sony Ericsson’s Project Capuchin. Using Adobe Flash technology as one part of this new bridging technology will ensure further innovation for mobile users when Flash developers gain access to the Java applications’ functionality and intelligence allowing them to create applications with the ultimate user experience..."

Project Capuchin will allow pure Flash Lite content to be encapsulated in Java ME applications with the help of Sony Ericsson Developer World tools, making content created by Adobe Flash technology appear as Java ME applications.

More advanced capabilities will allow Flash Lite technology to handle an entire presentation layer and make it possible to create Java ME applications where some or all UI components are defined in Flash.

Now that the problems with Flash on UIQ 3.0 and the P1 has been solved: SE, when are we going to get that software update for Flash Lite support?

It's been a very exciting week with the hacking of the Walkman 3.0 for the P1i, but it seems now it can get even better with Skype's announcement to release their official client for selected phones. Although the Sony Ericsson P1i was not one of the targeted phones for release, I saw the above image under phones from Motorola.

The MotoRIZR Z8, as many of you may know, runs on the UIQ 3.1 platform, and shares many common elements with the Sony Ericsson P1i. With Skype's release of their official Skype client for the Z8, would that be the official UIQ 3 version of the Skype client? And in any case, why isn't there support for the P1i while the Z8 is offered a version to be downloaded? Questions, questions...

I'll take a fresh look at it later today - currently on my study leave and I've got to make good use of my time :)

Update:
Thanks for elidoperezmd for the tip - the version is Z8 specific because all the keys are mapped out according to the Z8 keypad, which is unfortunately not QWERTY style. Not that it''s too big of a problem, I'm sure I could find a way past it. But I think it's safe to say that most users won't need to try the app out - it's not of much use anyway (See my Nokia N82 review of the Skype client).

Just in case you're wondering what the image is all about, it's screenshots I captured from the upcoming Sony Ericsson G900's whitepaper. It's extremely interesting how SE mentioned "Flash Light 3" twice in the whitepaper (ignore the typo for the time being) - clearly it's Flash Lite 3 being mentioned here, as Flash can allow for the viewing of TV on the mobile phone.

The point I'm trying to get at is that the G900 runs on the UIQ 3.0 platform (Symbian OS v9.1), and if Flash Lite 3 will run on the G900, then it will run on all of SE's other UIQ 3.0 platforms - the P1, W960, M600, W950 and the P990.

You can obtain the SE G900 whitepaper here. Seems rather strange as to why Sony Ericsson took it down from their official site...

Many of us are impatient for it, Sony. And please, PLEASE, don't make us buy the G900 just to get that upgrade.

The Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog's Michell has revealed more information on the eagerly anticipated SE P5i...

The slider form factor is going to be the form factor of Paris. Sony Ericsson has picked out some very nice materials for us, such as the shiny, mirror-like front cover, and metal has been used on large parts of the phone. Paris is quite slim (16 - 18 mm?), and we apologize for posting a picture that made it look a bit thicker than it really is.

The front of the phone holds a large touch display (with UIQ 3.3 supporting WQVGA, VGA & WVGA), a video call camera above the display, a minimalistic D-pad and two call keys making use of the same material as the rest of the front. This is quite nice, actually, and does affect the overall look of the device, more than you’d probably think it would.

Slide open the phone to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard beneath the exclusive-looking front. The keyboard consists of a number of multifunctional keys, like on M600 & P1, with the left part painted white and the right part painted black. This also looks much better than what your first thoughts may be. The phone is quite wide, making great room for this keyboard (and the large flush display, which pretty much fills out the device in width).

The back of Paris seems to have been made of metal. It looks quite nice, yet very simple. A sliding lens cover is protecting the 5 mega pixel camera on the top of the backside.

So, let’s talk about features. Paris features W-LAN 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, 3G and USB 2.0 cable transfers. It has a built-in GPS and comes bundled with Google Maps pre-installed, and we’re quite sure that WayFinder 7.0 will also be pre-installed on this device. The default web browser in Paris is Opera Mobile 9.5, as on other UIQ 3.3 devices.

[More]

The SE P5i seems like it's one generation behind the flagship products of it's rivals flagships. Take Nokia's N95; it already features WLAN 802.11b/g, HSDPA, built-in GPS, an open source browser.

I think the P5i definitely needs to be more stunning than what Michell says to bring SE back to their original domination of the smart phone market.

First off, Happy Chinese New Year to everyone. It's been hard studying for my upcoming exams, the holiday traditions of visiting others, and updating this blog, so I apologise to everyone for those slower-than-usual updates.

Down to business - a new P1 firmware has been announced, due to come out in the next couple of weeks, according to sources on the Esato Forums.

This follows the R9J005 update which was released for the World 1 region phones back in last October.

No solid details of what was upgraded is available, although on the My-Symbian forums, there was a claim that PROFILES were implemented in the UIQ 3 system. (If SE did indeed did that, the day the firmware is available would be one of the days in UIQ 3 history :)

Other rumours include that photos taken will be of a higher quality, a faster user-interface response, faster focus for the camera, as well as a 45 second boot time.

Only time will tell for what this updated firmware promises. Stay tuned for more information!

Apart from that 3GSM conference that most of us are looking forwards to, there's been recent hints and word from SE that they're going to release the phone (image below) codenamed "Beibei" on the 10th of February in Paris.

Judging by the photo, it's hard to deny that its a hoax, and it does look pretty convincing, sporting the new Walkman 3.0 interface. Apparently, "Beibei" uses the + JOG navigation design found in many Japanese SE phones, which makes it even more convincing for those analysts.

It seems apparent that this phone will make use of the new UIQ 3.2 system, and might possibly be similar to the Motorola Z8 - dropping the touch interface. However, it seems apparent, alongside the rumours of this new smart phone, that Sony Ericsson seems to be shifting its values slightly, offering UIQ systems on mid-high end music phones. Perhaps in the short term future we'll see the UIQ platform on the W-series phones?

Seems like some insider working in Sony Ericsson China is leaking key information out to the public way before the 3GSM conference is underway (by the way that will take place on the 11th to 14th of Feb). I managed to get this picture from someone associated with SE China, which the source claims is going to be final release of the upcoming P5i. The source also mentioned something about a press conference on this phone in the 3GSM conference...


Multiple Chinese sources online claim the following specs:

• 360Mhz CPU
• 160MB ROM
• 128MB SDRAM
• Support for both M2 and microSDHC
• Support for HSDPA and HSUPA
• 2.8" screen
• 5 Megapixel Autofocus camera
• WiFi 802.11b/g
• Built in GPS
• Weight of 125 grams

Hopefully all will be revealed next week at the 3GSM conference...

Some of us may find this P1i attractive, but sadly I'm not one of them. Rumours have surfaced on the Esato forums that SE is due to release a black P1i.

A comparison between the 2 devices. Even though it's photoshop-ed, it's presumably what a black one would look like.

I think I'd prefer the one with sleek silver on the sides, the black one...well the black one isn't "as appealing" to me. What do you think?

Source: Sina News [Taiwan]

Very interesting - I spotted this in a Mainland Chinese website for mobile phones. Evidently they seem to think that there will be a P3i as well as a P5i, both should be out or coming out this year. Perhaps a tip from Sony Ericsson?

They even have the specs up for both phones - I'll reproduce them in English here:

Sony Ericsson P5i:

• Band: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/HSDPA/900/1800
• Screen Resolution: 262K colour screen, 480x640
• OS: Symbian 9.3, UIQ 3.2
• Processor: 360Mhz
• Storage: 160MB ROM, 128MB SDRAM, Support for microSD AND M2
  
• Camera: 5 Megapixels CMOS
• WiFi: Yes, b/g
• Built in GPS
  

Sony Ericsson P3i:

• Band: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/HSDPA/900/1800/1900/2100
• Screen Resolution: 262K colour screen, 240x320
• OS: Symbian 9.2
• Storage: 160MB ROM, Support for M2
• Camera: 3.2 Megapixels CMOS

I'm looking forward to see when Sony Ericsson will finally verify some of the rumours going around most of the major forum websites for UIQ phones...
You can view the original article in Simplified Chinese here.

According to user Mclarenf1 on Esato, he's got a P5i proto to play around with.

Can we have some pictures please?!!

Apparently from this article from Symbian-Freak, the normally secretive Sony Ericsson faces problems such as distrustful proto-testers for its new flagship product, the P5i.

To be honest, I think it's a Sony Ericsson strategy. They HAVE to get people talking about the new and upcoming phones somehow, right? And what better way than to engineer a "leak" of the prototypes? I mean, come to think of it, there's probably a couple of variations of the prototype, who can even say for sure that the image on the left WILL be the P5i.

It got my attention at least. Front page news for this blog for sure. So I guess that's a Sony Ericsson success there.

Just based on this image, I can tell that this should be the device we've been waiting for. For those who think the P1i is just a housing upgrade for the P990, I think SE have just assured us (with this photo) that the next P-series phone will be revolutionary. And it probably will give the 3G iPhone a run for its money...

Yes, the rumours section on Esato is getting quite popular indeed. Sources on the "SE P5i Official Rumours Thread" suggest a December 15th product announcement to this fresh new phone.

Factoring in a 4-5 month wait for the phone, it might, just might, come out at around Easter. But don't get your hopes up yet; it's only a rumour.

Some reviewed specs while the rumours are still coming along nicely:

• Based on Symbian OS 9.3 or 9.5
• WAP 2.0 Support
• C++ Support
• 5 Megapixel camera with autofocus and flash
• VGA Screen
• 2.8" or larger screen