Sony Ericsson Ai pictures: the non-fuzzy edition

It's practically a foregone conclusion that the first shots of anything these days just have to sport the most atrocious quality possible, as anything better would just ruin the mystique and allure. Running par for the course, the first snapshot we saw of Sony Ericsson's presumably forthcoming "Ai" thinphone looked more like a smattering of pixels than an actual image, but we've now found a few pictures that confirm the general shape, size, and layout. While we're not sure if the firm will stick with the "Ai" moniker, there's word that it could be marketed as a Chocolate-rivaling Walkman (W880i?), but time shall tell. Be sure to hit the read link for a few more shots.

[iptydafu @ Dec 14th 2006 10:20AM]

Those nubby bits for the keys had better be pretty damn stiff, otherwise they're all going to get mashed trying to navigate putting in a number. Why would they group them so closely when there's so much real-estate left on the front? It's not that great an aesthetic effect.

[james @ Dec 14th 2006 10:31AM]

TOO MUCH SPACE! Fill the front up. make keys slightly bigger? get rid of the semi circle buttons..square them off to easy the flow of the phone. PUT A lens cover on the phone! Maybe the "W" symbol could light up different colors depending on call coming in, text, etc. Ahh Perfect i will take the silver one. (DOnt forget to add the 850mhz and rid of the front camera for the America's!

[Jim @ Dec 14th 2006 10:28AM]

Fugly!

[Jim @ Dec 14th 2006 10:30AM]

Fugly! SONY, you done it again...

[Alex C @ Dec 14th 2006 3:58PM]

I'll stick with my D900 thanks...

Those keys look awful.

[manuel arenas @ Dec 14th 2006 11:15AM]

Maybe "Ai" stands for "love". The pin yin of the chinese term for love is just "ai". Just a guess (romantic one :o) )

[KC @ Dec 14th 2006 11:12AM]

So how do we even know this is a thin phone? There are no side shots. God help SonyEricsson if it's not though as I am in complete agreement with the earlier posters who dislike the mashed together keypad and what appears to be a very small screen for a 3G phone these days.

Either way, this is no chocolate fighter and I would almost guarantee it will not see the light of day in North America beng carried by one of our GSM carriers. North Americans do not like needing to find a toothpick in order to dial their phones.

Anyone remember the old Ericsson T66? This phones buttons remind me of it and it never came here either despite being one of the few world phones available at the time. Granted I'm sure this one is bigger but the buttons look equally tiny.

[James @ Dec 14th 2006 11:17AM]

Take it from me, this phone is tiny and super thin. It's not until you actually see and hold it that you realise how small it is.

[Fei @ Dec 14th 2006 11:19AM]

I think it's pretty cool looking, and I like the name "Ai" it means love in Japanese, I don't know if that's what they were going for though.
I do agree that those keys would probably be harsh on your fingers after about the fifth phone call dialed. :/

Good try on the design though.

[Castle @ Dec 14th 2006 11:21AM]

Need a side view.

Suppose to be thinner then the SLVR. . .

[nikster @ Dec 14th 2006 11:33AM]

Wooo, a SonyEricsson(tm)Walkman(tm) Phone! Perhaps it has a Bravia(tm) screen as well?

Nice phones, shame about the deal-killing branding-overkill.

[PreGHz @ Dec 14th 2006 12:42PM]

Wow Nikster.

Have you ever seen another company crossbrand? If not, crawl out of your hole.

In fact, the Walkman line from SE shows a music-centric line of cell phones, which are (usually) very good quality. And very well received. It helps for a bit of brand recognition. And it works.

There supposedly is a line of Bravia phones coming out, with DMB or DVB-H support. Sure, another case of crossbranding, but even Sharp has put their Aquos line in their phones. Good business is good business.

Also, those buttons are status quo for first gen phones of a product line. P900->P910, anyone?

[Jamar @ Dec 14th 2006 7:25PM]

Well, the Japanese ones do, actually (like the DoCoMo SO903i).

[Manuel @ Dec 14th 2006 11:40AM]

ugly, where is wifi in regular phones ???

[Manuel @ Dec 14th 2006 11:43AM]

test

[Farris @ Dec 14th 2006 12:39PM]

It's too squarish for my tastes. I would prefer a more rounded version. That's my major gripe about my RAZR, too. Why do manufacturers have to make their phones so dang angular? Before I had my RAZR I had a three or four year old phone (it was a base model back then!) and it was very rounded. I think it was a Samsung. Maybe. Idk, I'm at work, so I can't go check, but the point stands. It was very easy to slip in and out of my pocket.

[Skirrow @ Dec 14th 2006 1:12PM]

Dont like the look of the phones. They look like 1960's Bond gadgets.

[flamer's grill @ Dec 14th 2006 1:23PM]

Um.

This phone is HIDEOUS. I've always thought SE phones were on the boring/ugly side, but.... this one stands head and shoulders above the rest.

I do agree though, that this phone will give the Chocolate a run for it's money... in the race to see who will be the ugliest phone in the world!

[XSportSeeker @ Dec 14th 2006 3:35PM]

They look like something made to step on. Brushed stainless steel? And how the fuck they managed to make the buttons even smaller? I have a W810i and it's already a hassle to play games and type messages with it.

Make the buttons bigger. Make the LCD display bigger (looks small, though it might not be, prolly because of the design).

Other than that, looks good, depending on user's tastes.

[Yem @ Dec 14th 2006 3:27PM]

When is someone going to make a phone of this style, but with an oled display that goes right to the edge instead of apparently wasting precious front real-estate with an (mostly) empty border?

If you've got to make a phone a certain minimum size to fit all it's guts in, then for the love of god, USE that space on the front. Cheers.

[Archietype @ Dec 14th 2006 5:42PM]

Good points; the materials look pretty nice, and as ever, the sqaured shaping makes them look kinda sleek.

Bad points; the damn keypad again...when is SE going to do a modern phone with a good looking keypad *and* well spaced keys? It reminds me of a remote I had for a TV set back in the 80's.

[fgdfgdfdfgdfg @ Dec 14th 2006 10:58PM]

Ugly.

[tekdroid @ Dec 15th 2006 8:43AM]

the good:
SE's infamous "goes-dodgy" 'stick controller' gone. Not improved, or fixed, but gone. Replaced with regular buttons.

the bad:
Designer still doesn't know the basics about ergonomics. Give it a K300-type keypad if space is at premium, and leave it at that. That alone would be a world of difference to the rice keys on the left, and the vertically-cluttered-but-decent-surface-area keys on the right.

[GiovanniMcAdoo @ Dec 17th 2006 4:50PM]

Only thing I like about it is the XMB [Cross Media Bar]. They will have to change the style alot before they make me switch from my w810i to the Ai. So im hoping this is just a concept design and not anywhere close to the final design. Not to mention I hope they throw on a 3.2 megapixel camera and stick with teh Memory Stick Pro Duo fromat.