Introduction

Sony Ericsson's new P800 might very well be the most advanced triband smartphone in the industry. It's the first attempt of Sony Ericsson to break into the phone/PDA combo, and the first Symbian OS v7.0 handset available. It's aimed at the high end $1000+ mobile phone market, carrying with it a slew of features, options, and gadgets.

The feature rich P800 delivers with a vibrant 4,096 color display which puts it up there with the likes of the popular Nokia 9200 Communicator series and the Handspring Treo.

Design

The P800 has the sleek look one would expect from Sony coupled with the practicality of Ericsson. Notables in the P800's design include the built-in digital camera (which is a convenient, popular thing nowadays), VGA touch screen, and a removable flip (you can actually operate the thing as a phone even without the flip. It simply goes into "virtual flip" mode).

The camera takes pretty sharp pictures, especially given the fact that the camera is not the phone's primary function. However, like most, if not all of the other phones that include digital cameras, the P800 is more suited to outdoor photos because of the natural light provided. Indoor pictures tend to be on the dark side because of the lack of a flash.

As a phone, the P800 actually isn't much larger than the Sony Ericsson T68i. Although it includes PDA features, the phone still retains many of the qualities that make it a mobile phone.

Shortcut buttons conveniently located provide quick and easy access to commonly used functions like the contacts list, call history, and messages. As a PDA, the P800 is typical for phone/PDA combos in terms of size. Navigation is accomplished with the included stylus.

Screen

With a vibrant 12-bit, 4,096 color VGA touch screen, PDA display is at least on par with the pure PDA's out there. In flip closed mode (operating as a standard phone), the phone can show up to the standard 5 lines of text. Nothing groundbreaking but it works, and it works very well.

Controls

The buttons are small which is typical of any cell phone out on the market today following the trend to conserve space. However, those that either have big hands or just don't like small buttons, the phone does operate in flip open mode (or with the flip completely removed as it really isn't all that necessary). As mentioned above, the phone goes into virtual flip mode when the flip is detached. You would dial simply by using your stylus.

The stylus itself is pretty normal. It's a little thicker than normal - built like a mechanical pencil with a sharp, accurate tip. Nothing particular or special although it is worth noting that unlike most PDA's the P800 doesn't have a built-in slot for holding the stylus. It just kind of sticks to the side which means it might get lost a lot if you're anything like me. You might want to consider carrying extra styluses/styli around with you just in case.

The responsiveness of the phone/PDA to the touch of the stylus is what one would expect. Not overly sensitive but sensitive enough so you don't crack the screen from pressing so hard.

The P800 is also equipped with a 5-way jog dial. I know. 5-way? Sounds confusing. But it's actually quite intuitive and cool. Scroll up, scroll down, push inward, push away, pull toward. Once you start using it, it makes sense. And it's pretty cooperative and gets what you want done. One of the best things Sony ever came up with. Navigating through complex menus become a breeze.

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