The 3rd Position in the Symbian S60 device manufacturer race is usually held by LG, but I won’t even mention them here since they didn’t announce anything worth talking about during MWC. I don’t think they even take S60 seriously, but are more releasing a handset every now and then just to make use of their license. Sony Ericsson, on the other hand, have a different story. The newcomer to the S60 scene, who had been struggling with UIQ’s unpopularity for far too many years, has made a splash announcement at MWC. Sure, the Idou is still a concept device, but they already had a somewhat working prototype on the showfloor, with all the interface customization implemented. Also worth noting is that instead of announcing a Windows Mobile flagship like they did with the Xperia X1 last year, they decided to announce a Symbian Foundation device. This says a lot about their commitment to the platform, and shows that they understood that Windows Mobile will always remain a niche product, whereas Symbian is already mainstream.
Sure, the Idou’s featurelist can easily give headaches to anyone, but there’s no doubt that Sony Ericsson can deliver. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe their so-called dumbphones were the first to introduce a 3MP, 5MP then 8MP cameras, the first to bring the Xenon flash to cameraphones, and maybe the first to introduce a 1GB or 2GB of internal storage for music. Sony Ericsson has been pushing the boundaries for a while now with their Walkman and Cybershot lines, and this makes me 100% sure that they can really deliver the Idou. They also have been struggling with UIQ, unable to introduce a real mass-market smartphone that brings their Cybershot and Walkman expertise together on a true multitasking platform. Something tells me they found their voice now in the Symbian Foundation.
After MWC 2009, Sony Ericsson’s future seems a bit brighter than it did before. When Ericsson first joined Sony, back in the days, I thought to myself that this should be interesting and that they could easily become the first device manufacturer in the world, but year after year, I was disappointed and was almost convinced that there’s nothing good in their future. Today, I look at them with a different eye, I see they have realized their potential and are pushing towards it. After all, just like Samsung, they have all the expertise they need in-house, with the Cybershot, Walkman, but hopefully also Playstation lineup. They have been manufacturing TVs, DVD players, laptops, for more than I can remember, so the potential behind them is fabulous. The Idou is just the first step on the right path, and I can’t wait to see what comes next from them!
