Sony Ericsson revealed today that its SE Aspen mobile phone will run Microsoft Windows 6.5.3, but consumers and tech bloggers are underwhelmed by the company's pledge to support the latest Microsoft mobile OS.
The Aspen phone is meant to look like a Research In Motion BlackBerry smartphone, shipping with a full QWERTY keyboard, quad-band GSM/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 3.2-megapixel camera, a micoUSB port, and a microSD card slot allowing expanded storage capacity up to 32GB. The phone has a 2.4-inch touchscreen that supports up to 240x320 resolution.
Sony Ericsson is hesitant to adopt Google Android and other open source platforms, but will instead bet their hand on WinMo. I'm disappointed the phone has such poor resolution, but it still looks like it could be a decent midrange smartphone for consumers just beginning to use the new class of devices.
As Sony Ericsson, Nokia and several other manufacturers try to play catchup, there is plenty of money to be made in the growing smartphone industry.
Nokia, the No. 1 phone maker in the world, has struggled but is slowly adapting as consumers begin to adopt lower-priced smartphones. The Finnish phone maker slashed phone prices as it hopes to continue battling RIM and Apple.
I look forward to seeing how the new Sony Ericsson Aspen performs, especially since consumers remain generally disappointed with Microsoft Windows Mobile. I think the Aspen will have a tough time in the market, but at least Sony Ericsson understands it can't just give up. This is one of the first announced smartphones running Windows Mobile 6.5.3, so the phone's performance will face serious scrutiny.
The Sony Ericsson Aspen smartphone will be available sometime in the second quarter.
