Sony Ericsson G700
[SE-G700]

Sony Ericsson-branded smartphones have long been associated with the plethora of pricey phones not-for-all – top-of-the-line solutions, that grab a lot of eyes, but never become widely adopted. While the maker was one of the pioneers in this device class, throwing in touch-sensitive displays for good measure, they couldn’t take its success one step further. Against the backdrop of Nokia’s S60, a couple of debuts a year from Sony Ericsson seem quite thin on the ground. And, the reason for this, is the company’s size. It’s this simple: Sony Ericsson can’t allocate its funds, time and people to a lot of fields at once, that’s why UIQ was somewhat left out, as they focused on rolling out top-notch solutions, without bothering about beefing up the core of the line-up. But, 2008 should see a turn-around, with the arrival of the G700 and G900.

The philosophy underpinning these products is completely opposite to what we have seen from UIQ-smartphones thus far. While they pack in no bells and whistles, as far as hardware goes, being rather bog-standard UIQ solutions, software-wise they are very straightforward, looking to appeal to the average, unsophisticated user. Just like Nokia has come to this notion with their S60, Sony Ericsson has grasped the idea that the only way to develop the UIQ platform is to sell boatloads of devices, touting it for the average user. There is no other way around.

And what does the average Joe crave for these days? What state of the art technologies does he know about? The answer doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out – touch-sensitive displays, which are so hot thanks to the Apple iPhone these days, and the impending release of S60 Touch, as well as HTC’s recent activities, and partly LG’s advance in Europe. And if there is gesture-based navigation that requires no stylus whatsoever – all the better.

Also, the handset should be smart. Interestingly, is no universal way to determine what phone is smart, and what’s not – some put camera and megapixel-count above everything else; some suppose a device gets smart as soon as it becomes capable of playing music and videos. To each his own. But, the important thing is that on paper, people are ready to shell out for these feats, while in practice, they show much more expertise and caution, preferring to go for versatile solutions.

The Sony Ericsson G700 is what the maker is going to cater to these needs with. An adequately price touchscreen device, that is more of a feature phone, which will allow attracting the conservative part of the audience. But hiding behind its not-so-smart face is a true UIQ-smartphone, meaning techi won’t come out with their hands empty either, should they pick the G700.