Sony Ericsson continues its flirt with AT&T by announcing the Sony Ericsson C903 Cyber-shot with support for AT&T's HSDPA network. Unlike the new Sony Ericsson C901 for Europe, the Sony Ericsson C903 does not offer Xenon flash, but retains the same 5-megapixel camera with auto focus, Smile Shutter technology, face detection and BestPic.
The Sony Ericsson C903 also boasts a TV-out port for viewing images on big screens, and a built-in aGPS sensor enables geo-tagging of photos. A 3-month trial version of Wayfinder Navigator will be bundled with the sales package, accompanied by Google Maps support. A couple of other GPS related applications are also included: Walk Mate and Tracker.
Featuring a 2.4-inch screen with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, the Sony Ericsson C903 offers a decent amount of screen real estate, though it doesn't come close to the LG Arena's 3-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) display. Furthermore, in stead of opting for the all-touch form factor, the Sony Ericsson C903 offers a slide-out T9 numeric keypad. With all the C series variants out there though, we feel it's time for Sony Ericsson to explore the possibilities of the all-touch form factor, or at least coming up with a T9 + Touch phone like the new Samsung S8300 for Europe.
The Sony Ericsson C903 comes with the Access NetFront Web browser, but also supports image uploads to Picasa and Flickr. Like the recently introduced Sony Ericsson C510, the phone also supports direct upload of videos to YouTube. Other features include motion gaming and a media player with support for album art and extensive file format support.
Messaging users will find SMS (with Chat View), MMS and Exchange ActiveSync for corporate messaging, as well as instant messaging and personal e-mail. In terms of connectivity, the Sony Ericsson C903 lacks Wi-Fi support, but offers Bluetooth stereo and USB support.
The Sony Ericsson C903 claims a talk time of approximately 4 hours when connected to HSDPA networks, and offers a Memory Stick Micro slot for memory expansion beyond its 105MB internal memory.
The Sony Ericsson C903 will be available in Q2 2009. There's no word on price or carrier subsidies at the time of writing. If we should make a bet, the Sony Ericsson C903 will be sold as an unlocked phone in the U.S., but on the other hand, rumors have circulated about AT&T picking up a higher-end Cyber-shot phone for a while now.
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