Sony Ericsson's first UIQ based Symbian smartphone, the P800 became a big seller in the relatively small market for PDA/mobile phone combination devices, especially in Europe where these types of handsets are more established than the in North America.

The device did have several flaws, however, as first iterations are apt to have. The sequel to the P800, the smaller, lighter and definitely sleeker P900 solves many of these issues with an improved screen, more memory, Bluetooth, and more. And with an attractive silver and gray finish, it looks more professional. It does, however, cost a pricey $700.

P800 Left, P900 Right

At 4.5 x 2.25 x .95 inches, the tri-mode GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900) P900 fits comfortably in one's pocket. And at a mere 5.6 ounces it won't weigh you down either. One of the most significant improvements in the P900 over the P800 is its keypad, which like in the earlier device, can flip down to show more of the screen.

When it is closed, however, you can also see more display real estate than you could in the P800. The keypad includes large, easy to use and comfortable number keys that are not only larger than the P800's keys, they glow blue for viewing at night. When you fip the keypad down, you can view the whole screen. The device also features a virtual keypad should you choose to remove the flip keypad altogether.

Speaking of the handset's display, the P900's 208 x 320 pixel touch screen has improved color depth with 65,536 colors compared to 4,096 colors in the P800, and images can be viewed across the full size of the screen and in wide-screen mode. The screen is clear and easy to read. While it worked well indoors and out, sometimes it appeared a little dim. The display hsa a higher resolution than palmOne's Treo 600 smartphone, but it isn't as bright.

As a phone, the P900 worked very well. Calls were clear with no notable interference. In terms of features, it includes conference calling, speed dialing, and picture ID, which allows you to have a picture associated with a phone number. The P900 can be set to phone or flight mode.

To access the phone's 1260 mAh battery, you simply slide off the back of the handset. Underneath the battery, you will find the device's SIM card, which identifies the P900 to your wireless carrier. The battery delivers a quarter more power capacity than the one in the P800, working for several days at a time on a single charge. Overall, smartphone battery life isn't going to be what you are used to with standard mobile phones. While this varies widely, the P900 did a good job for a smartphone.

Above the battery is the smartphone's VGA camera, which, in addition to allowing you to take snap shots, lets you take MPEG4 video clips. While there is no cover for the camera lens, it is recessed enough, so scratching shouldn't be a problem. Dirt may be another matter.

A P900's video clip recording can be inserted into MMS messages. In addition, video streamed to the P900 from other sources can also be inserted into an MMS messages. As a QuickShare device, a picture can be taken with two clicks and sent locally over Bluetooth, Infrared or cable, or across the mobile phone networks with MMS or e-mail.

The smartphone also includes a 5-way Jog Dial for navigation and gaming. The Jog Dial is nicely integrated with the Symbian OS, so it is useful in most applications. And as a Symbian OS 7.0. device, the P900 can run Java applications, including games, as well as many other Symbian applications currently available.

Memory has been increased from 32 MB in the P800 to 48 MB (16 MB available to the user) in the P900. Additional storage space is available by using a Memory Stick Duo, which are about half the size of standard Memory Sticks.

An adapter is available to allow you to use a Memory Stick Duo cards in a standard Memory Stick slots, so you can transfer content, such as audio and image files, from your phone to your desktop or MP3 player for example. The P900's expansion slot also lets you use Memory Stick peripherals.

A 32 MB Memory Stick Duo is included with the P900 and Memory Sticks up to 128 MB capacity are supported. Home videos can be scaled down using Packet Video recorder on a PC and you can listen MP3 music files. As with the P800, the P900 has the same 156 MHz ARM9 CPU.

The P900 Opera browser supports HTML, WAP and cHTML content types. When viewing Internet content through this browser, pages are reformatted to fit inside the screen width, eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. Unfortunately you can't view Web pages in landscape mode, which would be nice considering the good-sized width of the P900's screen.

While the P900 is a smartphone that does a good job of integrating PDA and mobile phone capabilities, its price tag and the fact that it is based on the Symbian platform may make it a hard sell in the United States, where users are much more familiar with the Palm and Windows Mobile platforms. In fact, Palm-based smartphones, including the popular Treo 600, the best PDA/phone combo we've come across, and devices from Samsung and Kyocera, dominate the U.S. market.

In addition, there are far more third-party applications for the Palm OS than with the Symbian platform. This could also prove to be a limiting factor for some. Nevertheless, in Europe where smartphones are far more common and Symbian dominates, the P900 should be more attractive.

As for the price, though the P900 lists for over $700, it can be bought for between $600 and $700 with a service plan from Cingular or T-Mobile.