BARCELONA, Spain - Sony Ericsson's 12 megapixel Idou camera-phone was one biggest of the hits of the Mobile World Congress. The phone, which is yet unnamed, will run on the S60 5th edition software platform, clearly showing the company's preference for its flagship models.

Idou is just a codename for the prototype that could be seen and handled at the event. The word Idou in Japanese means "a change", the name could imply a change for the better. Sony itself is a Japanese company, therefore it is likely for the codename to be based on the Japanese word. One way or the other, the Idou is certainly generating buzz.

The upcoming flagship's 12 megapixel camera is accompanied by the necessary autofocus, a Xenon flash, LED flash for video recording, geo-tagging, face detection, and Smile Shutter technology, which only captures an image when an individual is smiling.

The phone brings usual high-end features such as HSDPA, Bluetooth, DLNA-certified Wi-Fi, an accelerometer (motion sensor), microSD memory card slot, USB 2.0 connectivity, and A-GPS. The Idou has a 3.5" touchscreen display with 360x640 pixels of resolution.

As said previously, the device runs on Symbian OS, with S60 5th edition software platform. Sony Ericsson has chosen Symbian, and not Windows Mobile or Google Android, which shows its trust on Nokia's system. The company has previously used Windows Mobile, and is part of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), which supports Google Android as the choice for the operating system.

Even though S60 is being used in the phone, the actual user interface is different from those of Nokia's S60 UI, and Samsung, who uses TouchWiz as its UI. The looks of the software are slick, having a blend of black and transparent, with transitions in the middle. To enable even more futuristic actions, the Idou supports touch focus, where the user touches an area on the screen in order to focus it with the camera; and it features auto-rotation.

The phone itself is large and feels quite bulky in the hand. It measures 111 x 54 x 15mm, which is comparable to the Nokia 5800, a phone that does not actually feel bulky, while it measures  a similar 111 x 51.7 x 15.5mm.

When put against another all-in-one Sony Ericsson, the XPERIA X1, the Idou is considerably larger. We had the opportunity to actually compare both these phones, in matching colours of black. The Idou has only been showcased in black, and there are no reports of any other colours coming to market, while the X1 is also available on silver.

The Idou only has three colours below its display, just like on the Nokia 5800, the first S60 5th edition phone in the market, but unlike the X1, which has a multitude of buttons in prism form, in the same location.

The 3.5" display of the Idou is larger than the X1's 3", which contributes to the size difference. The XPERIA measures 110.5 x 52.6 x 17mm against the already-stated  111 x 54 x 15mm of the Idou.

On top of the Idou's display, the secondary camera, mostly used for video calls, is located, as well as the ear speaker, and the ambiance light sensor, used to regulate the brightness of the display and keypad according to the environment light.

On the left side of the Idou one can find the lock switch, fast port, and microSD memory card slot, while the X1 only has a miniUSB port on the same side.

The memory card slot is relatively easy to open, and is not prone to breaking.

The right side of the Idou has a multitude of camera buttons: the shutter button, image/video alternator, playback button, and volume/zoom rocker. The X1 also has a shutter button, and volume/zoom rocker.

The lanyard loop is located at the bottom of both phones.

The top of the Idou has the power button, and what seems to be the loud speaker. The X1, in the same location, has the power button, and the 3.5mm audio jack, which is missing from the Idou, although it could be included in the final version of the phone.

The back part of both phones has a Sony Ericsson logo and text, although on the Idou, the text is located on top of the lens cover. The lens cover itself is a large piece of material in similar style of the Samsung G800. It adds not only weight but also skews the phone, therefore it is not the best of lens covers. The X1 does not have a cover for the camera.

The actual camera is surrounded by the Xenon flash and a LED flash, and it is sitting on a metal plate. It is here where Nokia and Samsung fail by providing a single flash solution.

The software of the Idou was still at an early stage, therefore we were not able to get a full demonstration. The simple and intuitive user interface promise to make the Idou a worthwhile experience, as long as the software is stable.

 Print This Article