Sony Ericsson Idou mini-preview

Mobile-review have posted a preview of the Sony Ericsson Idou. Here are the final paragraphs from the preview.

As far as the Idou’s display quality is concerned, it’s almost as vibrant as it gets, plus it boasts juicy colors and decent brightness level. The video file I managed to play back on it looked very smooth and balanced overall. And, what’s more, with all the background noise that is pretty much unavoidable at a crowded exhibition, I was still able to hear something, which indicates that the Idou’s speakers are quite loud in deed. Music quality-wise, it’s on a par with the Sony Ericsson W995, and they are still working on its player software, however don’t expect any bells and whistles from the phone’s audio-related hardware.

The Idou’s build quality was superb too – in spite of the fact that I was allowed to twiddle only with a prototype device, it felt very sturdy in the hand and at the same time its matte velvety plastic lent it a very nice feel. While there are almost no metallic accents in its design, the Idou doesn’t creak when squeeze, the upside to having no metallic parts is that it’s pretty light, though. And while we are at it, there will be several color variations available for the Idou right from the start, apart from the standard black and silver. Furthermore, its color schemes are somewhat reminiscent of other Sony-branded gadgets, as if they wanted to allow the user to gather a whole collection of similarly styled devices.

When it comes to the Idou’s camera, there isn’t much to talk about as of now – it packs in a G900-esque autofocus feature, that allows you to point the area you want the phone to focus on right on its display. Also there are links to recently made photos on the standby screen, so that you can modify it, send it or use it as you please. But that’s about it – all other details are kept in secret.

You can never take the judgment of someone who’s emotionally involved with some brand seriously, but regardless, being a Sony Style adept, I can say that the Idou seemed like an interesting phone with a likable design (pictures do no justice to it) that takes some cues from both the C905 and XPERIA. But the main questions still remain without answers: what about its battery time, camera and price tag. I’d really like to know.