Sony Ericsson updates a classic with the slim T700

Anyone remember the T610? It was a svelte, sexy Sony Ericsson candybar from 2003, one of the original camera phones and the first handset I fell in love with. Now, after a five-year wait, we finally get a full-fledged update—same sleek form factor, but loaded with bleeding-edge features. I want one.

First, a little history. The T610—or, to be specific, the T616 variant—was one of the first cell phones I ever reviewed, and it was definitely the first one I would have paid serious cash for. It was slim and trim (easily slim enough for a jeans pocket), it had a color (color!) display, GPRS access (for slow, stately WAP browsing), and best of all, a built-in, 288 by 352-pixel camera (that's not even VGA quality, folks). Sounds quaint now, but back in 2003, the T610/T616 was a red-hot phone, and I wanted one bad (although I ended up holding out for a Sidekick II).

Fast forward five years later, to the T700. Same candy-bar design, except at just 2.8 ounces and a mere 0.4 inches thick, it has only half the girth of the original T610, while the T700's 240 by 320-pixel display boasts nearly four times the resolution of its predecessor.

Specs-wise, well ... the T700 would have been mind-blowing back in 2003, and it's pretty impressive by today's standards. We're talking HSDPA data access for broadband surfing and downloading speeds, a 3.2MP camera (better than my stand-alone digital camera circa 2003), a video/music player, stereo speakers and support for stereo Bluetooth headsets, and FM radio, a slot for Memory Stick Micro memory expansion, and support for Exchange ActveSync e-mail.

Pretty nice—no touchscreen, but if you're still into physical buttons and you're in the hunt for a super-slim candybar, you might want to give the T700 a look. You'll have to be patient, though; Sony Ericsson says the new handset won't hit worldwide markets until the last quarter of 2008, and there's no specific word on pricing or when it'll arrive in the States (we might not get the exact T700 model, but I'm sure some variant will land here eventually). Stay tuned.

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