Sony Ericsson Aino

I've always had Sony Ericsson handsets for as long as I can remember.

My previous handset was the Sony Ericsson W995, which was part of their 'Walkman' phone series. When I saw the Aino had been released, I was very eager to give it a try.
I have only had the handset for a few weeks, however I will try to provide as detailed information as possible.

The handset is a slider, however it's a bit different from normal ...
...normal 256k on most other Sony Ericsson handsets), and whilst at present it seems very responsive, it cannot be used for all functions. In fact, for the most part, it can only be used to access the touch media menu. However, there are applications that support touchscreens, and work with the handset (Such as Opera Mini).

There are two separate menus. Both the normal Sony Ericsson menu, which any previous user will be more than capable ... more

I've always had Sony Ericsson handsets for as long as I can remember.

My previous handset was the Sony Ericsson W995, which was part of their 'Walkman' phone series. When I saw the Aino had been released, I was very eager to give it a try.
I have only had the handset for a few weeks, however I will try to provide as detailed information as possible.

The handset is a slider, however it's a bit different from normal sliders. On the front, there are no keys, just a large slim screen. Underneath, you have the usual keys that you'd find on any modern mobile phone.

On one side of the phone is the charging port, and on the other side you can find the volume/zoom keys, and the camera key.

Moving back to the screen, and this is both a large selling point of the phone, and also viewed by some as the biggest downfall. It is a capacitive touchscreen (with also 16 million colours, which is better than the normal 256k on most other Sony Ericsson handsets), and whilst at present it seems very responsive, it cannot be used for all functions. In fact, for the most part, it can only be used to access the touch media menu. However, there are applications that support touchscreens, and work with the handset (Such as Opera Mini).

There are two separate menus. Both the normal Sony Ericsson menu, which any previous user will be more than capable of navigating; and also the touch menu, to which I referred to a moment ago. The touch menu enables access to five functions: the camera, images, music, video and radio. However, don't panic if you're not a huge fan of touchscreens, as you can still use the older style media menu and file manager to access and play your files. The one main function that cannot be accessed via the keys, is the camera. This must be operated purely by touch (apart from actually taking a phone, which can be done with the camera key on the side of the phone).

Another 'touch only' function, is the standby screen. When the handset is locked, you must press a button on the top of the phone to unlock the screen. This shows you a large clock, any unread messages or missed calls, and the option to begin music playback. You must then drag an arrow across the screen to remove this, which will take you to the new touch media menu. Unfortunately, to access anything else on the phone, you must physically slide the phone open.

Both a neat feature, and a bit of a hindrance, is the way in which you can answer calls, and receive texts whilst the slider is closed. When a text is received, the phone simply shows a 'New Message' alert. The only thing you can do from this screen, is to dismiss the message. There is no way of reading or replying to the message without opening the slider.

When receiving a call, the handset will show a caller image and their number. In order to answer, or mute the call, you can drag the corresponding 'slider' on the screen with your finger.

One slightly annoying thing when on a call, is the ear sensor. So that the call 'controls' are available to you when the slider is closed, the phone lights up when you move it away from your ear. The problem is that the sensor is quite sensitive, and so if you don't have it firmly against your ear, you can sometimes walk around with a flashing phone to your ear.

I must admit that the Walkman functions are far better than those on the dedicated Walkman handsets. It has a host of visualisations, including one that looks like a CD player, and another that looks like a cassette tape playing.

A handy piece of software that comes with the handset is called Media Go. You can install it on your PC, and use it to move pictures, videos and music to your handset. When moving videos, it will automatically convert the videos to the correct size and frame rate, giving you the best possible playback.

Anothre part of the Media Go software is called Media Home. This is installed on the handset. With Media Go open on your PC, you can have your phone 'grab' the latest media from your PC. So, if you've obtained some new pictures or music on your PC, your phone can automatically copy these from your PC.

One of the biggest features that was advertised for the Aino was the Remote Play function. This enables you to view content on your PS3 console. I don't have a PS3 (I'm more of an Xbox man myself!), however I've tried it out and it works quite well. The video playback was swift and smooth, and you can connect over either Wifi or 3G.

The handset also comes with a lot of other features. It has Wifi, which I've found connects a lot quicker than on other Sony Ericsson handsets I've had in the past. It also has Assisted GPS built in, which again seems to connect quicker than previous models. As with a few of the more recent Sony Ericsson models, it has an 8.1 megapixel camera. Unfortunately, they have removed several settings from the camera menu, including a lot of scene settings that allowed you to adjust the image for use in cloudy situations, etc. However, it's not all that bad. The video recording has now been upgraded to VGA recording, which is among a first on Sony Ericsson mobiles.

The battery life so far is very good. Excellent even. I normally leave my Wifi turned on throughout the day, and often make numerous calls and send dozens of texts. I've managed to get over two days of usage before I've needed to charge, so compared to some other handsets (especially Nokias), the battery life is very good. 

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