Audio
The K700 can play up to 40 simultaneous chords. Additionally, it contains
a MP3 player, stereo FM-radio receiver, and loudspeaker. The phone supports
many playback formats including AAC, AMR, MIDI, MP3, WAV, MP4 and 3GP.
Streaming included.
It should be noted that the prototype model comes with 15 MB of available
free memory. However the production version is expected to have 32 MB
of internal storage. Regardless, the lack of an expansion slots is a drawback.
At most, 8 to 10 MP3 songs can be stored internally for less than 30 minutes
of playtime. This unfortunately makes the K700 a poor replacement for
a true MP3 player.
However, for the first time Sony Ericsson has included a built-in FM
radio. While fairly commonplace among Nokia phones, this feature has been
lacking on SE phones. The stereo FM-radio allows users to store up to
20 predefined channels. The supplied headset also doubles as the antenna.
Furthermore, music can be listened through the supplied headset, a Bluetooth
headset, or even the loudspeaker.
Messaging
SMS
and MMS are used extensively to exchange pictures, jokes and important
messages. The maximum size of an MMS message which is supported is 100
KB. The keys and joystick provide excellent tactile feedback which makes
composing messages a breeze. The phone supports a wide variety of MIME
types for OTA (Over-The-Air) transfers. With the new menu system coming
in place, users will find a highly intuitive experience.
Streaming content in MMS is also possible. The MMS subsystem is probably
the best from any manufacturer and users can include virtually anything like
audio (MP3, MIDI, AMR, iMelody), images (JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP and WBMP) and
themes.
The K700 has support for email accounts and protocols for POP3, IMAP4,
SSL and SMTP. So staying connected while you're gone is just a reach away.
Wireless Village instant messaging (My Friends) is also included in
this phone. It goes beyond previous mobile chat features. The Wireless
Village specifications define how the instant messaging provides an open
connection with existing IM providers, such as AOL, ICQ, Yahoo and MSN.
The result is a system for sharing personal information about the user's
status, (e.g., on-line, off-line, busy), location (home, work), and the
moods of their friends and colleagues (happy, angry). In addition, services
will allow users to participate in private or public chat rooms with search
capabilities. Ultimately network operators will be able to provide meeting
and conferencing type of services with shared content.
Entertainment
The phone has an improved UI (User interface). Sony Ericsson has focused
on user-centered design and extensive usability testing to solidify the new
UI. This ensures visibility in actions and consistency between applications.
As
is the case with all the latest Sony Ericsson phones, this phone also
includes some neat themes which allow the user to change the look and
feel of the menus. Other personalized features are the wallpaper, start-up
screen, and screen saver.
On the gaming front, The K700 is based Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition
(J2ME). The K700 has the ability to install and remove downloadable games
from the internet. Currently, J2ME is the most popular platform for cellular
phone, so many games are available for download. Some for free, some for
a fee. But developers can also create applications for the K700 with Java
technology, specifically the Mobile Information Device Protocol (MIDP)
2.0.
But even more exciting is that the phone utilizes the popular Mascot
Capsule Java 3D gaming engine, and multiplayer games. It renders 3D objects
in real-time on a display screen. By incorporating sophisticated APIs
the result is more detailed games.
Other useful applications are included as well. Most if not all are
fairly commonplace. The K700 comes with a calendar feature with monthly,
weekly, and daily views. For keeping track of tasks, the to-do list lets
users jot down things to accomplish such as shopping list and meeting
notes. And lastly for people who are in to sporting and fitness activities,
a Countdown Timer with interval timer and Stopwatch for timing, recording
splits or lap times are included for exercise cycles.
The K700 also supports SMIL (Synchronized Integrated Multimedia Language)
which allows users to create and transmit PowerPoint style presentations
to the phone.
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