Finally Sony Ericsson has heeded the call and decided to incorporate some tuning-features in its phones. Two of its newest offerings – designed to hit shelves as early as April 08 – combine the features of a cell phone and an AM/FM radio.
There might seem something very new in this latest marketing strategy but the fact is that the company is but going back to its very roots. However, in favor of the company it is to be said that it is not combining for the heck of it but is taking the thing very seriously.
Set to be launched in India, the phones may not support digital forecasts but other functions are neatly embedded. The phones, therefore, have loudspeakers, 3D sound and a volume boost. The looks are pretty refreshing – the phones sure look like real radios. The two handsets are GPRS and are tagged R300 and R306.
R300 is a relatively low-end offering with a VGA camera, a 1.8-inch 128 X 160 pixels screen with 65k colors. It has a mono speaker and comes in Copper and Steel Black.
R306, on the other hand, offers stereo speaker functionality, a 1.3 MP camera and a 1.9-inch screen. It also has 5MB of built-in memory and support for video recording and viewing. This one’s available in Champagne white or Coffee Black.
Both the phones support radio alarm clocks and even have ability to record small slips in phone memory. As already said, the phones are likely to hit shelves in April, R306 though will be available in Q3 in all probability.