Sony Ericsson M600 The Complete Guide to Features Pricing and More

Introduction to Sony Ericsson M600

The Sony Ericsson M600, announced in February 2006, marked a distinctive entry in the smartphone market with its unique features targeted towards business users and tech enthusiasts. Known for its sleek design and comprehensive functionality, the M600 was an embodiment of innovation and practicality, representative of the era's technological advancements.

Design and Build

The M600's dimensions are 105 x 54 x 15 mm, and it weighs 112 g, making it a portable and lightweight option. Its design incorporates a Mini-SIM and a full QWERTY keyboard, which was a significant appeal for users favoring ease of typing and messaging. The device offered in two color options, Granite Black and Crystal White, provided a professional look suitable for business environments.

Display

The Sony Ericsson M600 features a 2.6 inches TFT resistive touchscreen with 256K colors. The display, having a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, provides clear visibility and capable interaction via touch, although it's less sensitive compared to capacitive touchscreens introduced later. The screen-to-body ratio and pixel density are reflective of its time, offering decent multimedia consumption capabilities.

Platform and Performance

Under the hood, the M600 is powered by the Symbian 9.1 operating system with UIQ 3.0 interface, facilitating a variety of applications and user customization options. A 32-bit Philips Nexperia PNX4008 processor running at 208 MHz supports the device, providing reliable performance for basic tasks such as email, browsing, and document editing. While not extremely powerful by today’s standards, it was proficient for its time.

Memory and Storage

The device comes with 80MB of internal storage, which could be expanded via a Memory Stick Micro (M2) card up to 4 GB, with a 64 MB card included at purchase. This expandability offered users the advantage of storing additional emails, documents, and media files.

Connectivity Features

While lacking WLAN capabilities, the M600 includes Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP for wireless audio streaming, an infrared port for device-to-device communication, and USB 2.0 for data transfer and charging. These features provided a suitable range of connectivity options that were standard for mobile devices during the mid-2000s.

Sound and Media

Despite being crafted with functionality in mind, the M600 also offered multimedia features. The device supports vibration alerts, downloadable polyphonic, MP3, and AAC ringtones. However, it lacked a loudspeaker and a 3.5mm audio jack, requiring proprietary accessories for audio output.

Battery Life

Equipped with a removable Li-Po 900 mAh battery (BST-33), the M600 managed to provide an impressive stand-by time of up to 340 hours and a talk time of up to 7 hours. These battery statistics were favorable, ensuring that business users could rely on the phone throughout their workday without frequent recharges.

Network and Connectivity

The M600 supported GSM technology with bands covering 900, 1800, and 1900 frequencies, along with UMTS 2100 for 3G connectivity, enabling higher-speed data transfer up to 384 kbps. Although limited by today’s standards, the 3G connectivity was progressive for its contemporaries, facilitating faster communication and internet browsing.

Software and Applications

The device came pre-loaded with the Opera 8 browser, offering HTML browsing and RSS feed reading which enhanced its business appeal, allowing users to keep track of emails and updates efficiently. The absence of a camera contrasted with multimedia-centric phones but catered instead to professionals in need of secured environments where cameras might be restricted.

Conclusion

The Sony Ericsson M600 served its niche by focusing on functionality, communication, and slight multimedia usage. Its blend of a QWERTY keyboard, third-generation cellular capabilities, and traditional Symbian OS made it a practical tool for business professionals at its time. Despite newer and more advanced technology available today, the M600 stands as a testament to early smartphone design speculated for distinct user bases.