Sony Ericsson launches Aino touchscreen phone with PlayStation connectivity

Reuters report said Sony Ericsson introduced a mobile phone that allows consumers to connect to their PlayStation3 gaming consoles, in its strongest sign yet of integration with parent Sony.

The world's fifth-biggest handset maker had hits some years ago with its Sony Cybershot and Walkman-branded phones, but has since lost market share as demand for so-called feature phones has suffered during the recession.

Sony Ericsson said the Aino, which will allow consumers to access media content from their PlayStation gaming machine on the move, would be available in the fourth quarter, along with two other phones presented at a London event.

The bundled charging stand also allows the Aino to automatically connect to a PlayStation 3 gaming system to synchronize media. The Aino is laden with connectivity, including quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) support and what appears to be tri-band UMTS (850/1900/2100MHz) with HSPA for high-speed data. WiFi is also on board, both for high-speed internet connections and local media synchronization over DLNA.

The Sony Ericsson Aino measures in at 104mm x 50mm x 15.5mm (4.1in x 2in x .6in) and weighs 134g (4.7oz). The Aino is listed as having a microSD card slot, making it the first Sony Ericsson cell phone to not use Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Micro format. Availability is planned for Q4 2009, with your choice of a Obsidian Black or Luminous White color scheme.

The Satio, previously announced at February's Mobile World Congress as the Idou, has a 12-megapixel high-resolution camera, while the Yari contains a Nintendo Wii-like gesture sensor for gaming.

Satio will not go on sale until the fourth quarter, which could mean Sony Ericsson would miss the chance to be first to market with a 12-megapixel camera phone, he said.

(May 28, 2009)