Multitasker

The P-Series phones from Sony Ericsson have long held the majority stake when it came to Symbian UIQ devices. The first P Series phone, the P800i, was launched about 5 years back. The user-removable flip keypad and the dual phone or PDA operation was a revelation. Then came the M600i, W960i and a handful of BenQ/Nokia devices, also on the UIQ platform. The most recent 'P' phone, the P990i, stuck with similar design cues like the removable numeric keypad and added a good 2 MP camera and WLAN. While the P1i is supposed to be the update to the recent P990i, it has a lot more in common with the M600i.

It has the same keypad (with two letters to each key), a similar form factor (minus the flip keypad of the P800i, P910i and P990i) and a similar screen. However, the biggest enhancement to the P1i is not the addition of a 3.2 megapixel camera or built-in WLAN, it's the inclusion of 128 MB of RAM. That's twice as much as the P990i. You can start any (and all the) applications you have without worrying about running into low memory errors. The processor remains unchanged though, running at 200MHz-which is a shame 'cause you're often left wanting for a little speed.

The supplied cradle is handy as it allows the handset to simultaneously connect to the charger, earphones and USB cable. Apart from these, the UIQ interface performs similarly to the M600i. The 3.2 MP camera is good but can't be compared to the more powerful K790 and K810 CyberShots, which are quicker, have lesser noise and come with a xenon flash.

Apart from the slow processor, the only other caveat is the lack of dedicated answer and end keys- you have to use the touchscreen for that. Pulling out the stylus for every little thing like answering a call or reading a message is a pain, so you end up using your fingers. It would be prudent to slap on a screen protector as soon as you get it. Our version of the P1i would have had a 520 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, a 3.2 MP CyberShot camera with xenon flash and built- in GPS as well. For about 5 to 6K less, you could also look at the Nokia E61i which has a full QWERTY keyboard and WLAN, but is not a touchscreen device and has only a 2 MP camera. Overall, the P1i is a very capable device in it's own right, but not a very worthy update to the P990i.

Sony Ericsson P1i Recommendation: Contacts: Sony Ericsson India Tel: 1800 11 1800 www.sonyericsson.com Specs: Quad band GSM, Symbian UIQ 3.1, 240x320 pixel, 2.6-inch 262k touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, front-facing VGA camera, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, Infrared, M2 card slot, 1120mAh Li-ion battery, 124 g

Although, it is the successor of p990i, the P1i is more or less an upgraded M600i with a camera