Announced on May 8, 2007, the new Sony Ericsson P1 is slim, UMTS smartphone offering a rich feature list including a 3.2 Megapixel camera, QVGA touchscreen, dual-function keypad, WiFi, VoIP support and secure push email.

The P1 expands the number of Sony Ericsson phones based on Symbian OS v9.1 and UIQ 3.0 to four, increasing the potential market for UIQ 3-based applications, and includes over 30 third-party applications embedded on the smartphone or as Try & Buy versions. A new desktop icon called "More applications" raises the profile of applications, making it much easier for end-users to download applications and improves the visibility of third-party developers' products. Those you who have downloaded the latest firmware for the P990 will have noticed that previous bugs and stability issues are now fixed and that we have a stable UIQ 3.0 platform environment. This stability has been a crucial component on which to build the new P1, and lessons learned from the P990 and M600 phones have contributed to the P1 in a positive way by improving the new smartphone's performance. P1 overview: mobile office and multimedia capabilities This fifth-generation P-series smartphone builds on the best attributes of its predecessors, yet offers major differences including a new approach to design, RAM size and battery performance. The P1 smartphone boosts multimedia and business connectivity by offering integrated WLAN, VoIP-enabled client support, secure push email with ActiveSync and BlackBerry Connect (BBC) 4.0 support, Opera 8 web browser with horizontal wide-screen browsing, RSS feed support and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel document management. The 3.2 Megapixel camera takes great shots to share using Picture Blogging and the camera also includes a business card scanner which transfers contact details directly into the phonebook.

Sony Ericsson P1 smartphone.

RAM size is doubled from 64MB in the P990 to 128MB in the P1 with the user RAM for applications increased by 400%, significantly improving multitasking performance and application behavior. Storage capacity is also significantly increased. The P1 has 256MB Flash and 160MB User free memory and uses Memory Stick Micro (M2) for extendable, removable memory.

As the P1 includes integrated WLAN, developers can use the WLAN API to create applications using WiFi connectivity. And gaming is given a boost with hardware accelerated 3D graphics, supported natively (C++) using OpenGL ES and by JSR 184.

The Sony Ericsson P1 will be available in selected markets from Q3 2007.

• More P1 information and specifications here>>
• P1 White paper available for download here>>

C++ and Java ME development

The P1 is a Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0-based smartphone and offers great opportunities for both C++ and Java ME developers.

UIQ 3 open platform
Sony Ericsson believes in the benefits of developing in a rich, open architecture and is fully committed to Symbian OS and UIQ. The research firm Canalys reported in February 2007 that Symbian's marketshare in smartphone OS's for 2006 was 72.5%, testifying how powerful this open operating system is. The UIQ 3 platform is based on Symbian OS and provides great freedom of choice for end-users to personalize their smartphone, increasing ARPU opportunity for operators and expanding business opportunities for developers and content creators.

The addition of the P1 expands Sony Ericsson's UIQ 3-based phone family to four and increases this addressable UIQ 3 application market for developers. The UIQ 3 platform allows developers to potentially target all UIQ 3-based phones using one single codeline. Applications will automatically receive the look and feel of the device they run on without the need to write extra code for it. For example, the P1 has the same APIs as the P990 so all applications created for the P990 using WLAN or the camera will run on the P1.

Improving visibility of developers' applications
The new "More applications" desktop icon leads to a menu with four links giving end-users easy access to free applications, Try & Buy applications, Fun & Downloads content and the Sony Ericsson Application Shop.

The P1 includes over 30 third-party applications embedded as full versions on the phone or offered as Try & Buy versions. Many of these applications you will be familiar with from the P990, but the new ones include:

• ShoZu 3.0
• Mobile Blogger
• Wayfinder Navigator 7, new version with 3D map view
• Ranging Thunder from Telcogames, a 3D game using OpenGL ES

To inspire the creation of business and productivity UIQ 3 apps, Sony Ericsson Developer World has gathered all UIQ 3-related development resources in one convenient location:  www.sonyericsson.com/developer/productivemobility  

Here you'll find the latest UIQ 3-related docs, tools, tutorials, phones specifications, code samples and news articles. Our new getting started tutorial series for the UIQ 3 Platform is available for download and the latest chapter, part 4, guides you through how to create your first UI-based app. Read more here>>

Java ME CDC and CLDC
Both Java ME CDC 1.0 and CLDC 1.1 environments are supported by the P1. The IDEs from Borland JBuilder 2006, NetBeans 4.1 + Mobility Pack (Sun Microsystems) and Eclipse 3.1 + Eclipse ME can be used for Java-based applications. On-device debugging of Java ME CLDC and CDC applications is supported through JDWP (Java Debug Wire Protocol) which allows most Java aware IDEs to be used out-of-the box for debugging.

More information:

• Sony Ericsson P1 on Developer World>>
• Sony Ericsson P1 on consumer site>>
• UIQ 3 development resources on Sony Ericsson Developer World>>
• Download WLAN API here>>
• Download P1 White paper>>
• Download UIQ 3 SDK from UIQ Technology's Developer web portal>>
• Download UIQ 3 tutorial series:
  • Part 1: The UIQ Platform tutorial>>
  • Part 2: UIQ SDK and tools setup tutorial>>
  • Part 3: Application integrity and security>>
  • Part 4: Working with code>>