Sony Ericsson reveals 3G i-mode handset

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Sony Ericsson has unveiled its first 3G phone capable of supporting i-mode, the internet-on-your-phone service pioneered by Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo and offered over here in the UK by the O2 network.

The K610im is a classic Sony Ericsson handset design - it's cased in black and there's a landscape-oriented two-megapixel, 2.5x digital zoom camera on the back. The addition of 3G support includes an extra, front-mounted camera for video calls. The screen is a 1.9in, 176 x 220, 262,144-colour job

The handset has 16MB of user-accessible memory on board, expandable using MemoryStick Micro cards - there's a 64MB card in the box, Sony Ericsson said. There's all the usual media playback - it supports over-the-air downloads, along with OMA and i-mode DRM technologies. It offers the full range of phone messaging facilities, in addition to the extra mail and messaging tools i-mode offers.

In addition to 3G, the phone operates as a tri-band GSM/GPRS device. Bluetooth is on board too.

Sony Ericsson said the K610im will ship in "i-mode markets" in Europe, Asia and the Middle East in Q3. It did not say which, if any, i-mode carriers will offer the handset. ®

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