Hands-on with Sony Ericsson AINO
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Yesterday we were at the global launch of the new Sony Ericsson AINO, the first mobile phone to include PS3 Remote Play technology.
We got a chance to get our hands on the device itself whilst at the event, and managed to capture some (shaky) video of the phone accessing the PS3. But what else does the AINO offer?
Whilst the early firmware we got to play with, and the fact that the handsets had inactive SIMs inside, slowed things down somewhat, it is clear that the AINO will have Sony Ericsson’s most intuitive interface.
A kind of XMB, the main screen shows a number of icons for images, movies and the like. Pressing any one of these options doesn’t bring the content ‘down’ the screen like you would expect, but rather the content is pushed forward similar to the 3D ‘touchflow’ menu systems you see on some mobile phones and MP3 players. In fact, in the demo unit we tried out it was possible to move forward and back through the content windows with some ease.
It makes sense for the AINO to include an XMB-style interface since users will need to have a common experience when using the phone by itself and via Remote Play to the PS3. If you were jumping from one interface type to another without some level of consistency, it would make the experience more confusing.
The Bluetooth adaptor works well and has touch controls too to manage things like the volume. Because it has a standard jack output, you can plug it into any hi-fi device to stream your music. Usefully, the included docking station charges both the phone and the Bluetooth adaptor.
You can see in our video the phone showing some inFAMOUS trailer action before heading into PlayTV to display live television on the move. You can rest assured that we’ll bring you more on this mobile phone as the year progresses.
looking forward to seeing what other news you can bring me about this phone
Given that I only really use my PSP to stream music while doing the washing up, I doubt I’ll be getting this phone any time soon! Looks like a really interesting piece of kit though.
Looks very nice. Im very keen to here more about this little beastie.