Universal Zone

Sony has launched its new mobile model. Sony Ericsson has decided to put the two Walkman and Cybershot brands together in the new Satio. This means an industry-leading camera, a full range of multimedia playback options and it’s based on Symbian S60 5th edition to boot. The overall feel of the handset is odd. Thanks to the sheer range of camera-related gadgetry on board the rear of the phone has a massive camera section bolted to the back, which makes it a little chunky.There is a front facing video camera on there too for all that video calling fun everyone has these days, but it’s down the sides of the phone where the button frenzy really begins. On the left-hand side is the slider for unlocking the phone (which is in just about the right place for most hands), the standard Sony Ericsson port for USB connection, charging and headphone connection (boo!). Below that lives the microSD slot, which is covered by a nice hinged flap. Over on the right side of the phone we get the camera controls, with the zoom buttons doubling as the volume up/down keys, despite having the ‘proper’ zoom icons on.The Satio is being tipped as a multimedia device, and to that end the box is filled with audio and visual goodies. We’ve already pointed out how very, very disappointed we are there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack on the Satio, but Sony Ericsson has tried to temper that problem with a variety of headphone options in the box.