Basic Features

The Sony Ericsson S700 is tri-band 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM, making it compatible with GSM networks in North America, Europe, and Asia. Additionally, the S700 comes with a 780 mAh Li-Ion battery that has maximum talk and standby times of 7 and 300 hours respectively under optimal conditions.

Screen

The S700 is the next step in imaging for Sony Ericsson phones. With an improved brilliant display, the 262K TFT screen with a large resolution of 240 x 320 px is an eye-catching feature allowing high color imaging and video. TFT (Thin Film Transistor), as opposed to STN (Super Twisted Nematic), has the circuit transistors placed on the glass at the pixel location instead of the need to scan the pixel location. This results in greatly increasing the response time and allows for very fast refresh rates, which is needed for using the S700 as a viewfinder.

Audio

Polyphonic ring tones and the MIDI format has become standard in the cell phone industry. However the number of chords, and hence quality of sound, has been steadily increasing. The S700 can play up to 40 simultaneous chords (instruments). With the MIDI format, users are able to compose, edit, and send melodies by using the built-in MusicDJ sound synthesizer program.

Additionally, it contains a MP3 player, stereo FM-radio receiver, and loudspeaker. The Media Player converts the phone into a portable MP3, MPEG4, and H.263 player allowing users to play music as well as watch pictures or streamed or downloaded video clips.

Sony Ericsson has taken a page from Nokia and decided to add FM radios in their phones, as shown with the released K700. The radio is built-in and offers instant and easy access to FM radio channels. It can be listened through portable handsfree accessories or via the loudspeaker. Furthermore, the supplied headset doubles as the antenna. The stereo FM-radio allows users to store up to 20 predefined channels.

Messaging

By rotating the S700 to the open position, a keypad is revealed for text messaging. And Sony Ericsson has incorporated the latest text messaging features in the S700. SMS and MMS lets consumers communicate by saying it in words, saying it with pictures, animating it, and adding sound. Great for sending multimedia birthday or holiday greetings, or vacation postcard messages. By combining with sharp pictures of the built-in camera with the versatile messaging features, the S700 brings interesting combinations of photography and personalized messaging to keep people in touch.

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.

The S700 supports email accounts and protocols for POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP. It stores messages dynamically, depending on memory available, and updates the inbox automatically and over the air. Users can check email anywhere and reply on the move so they will always be in contact with friends and family.

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.

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