The C905 was the first mobile phone outside Japan and South Korea to feature an 8.1-megapixel camera. It was designed to look like a compact digital camera when its slide was closed.
The phone had an impressive specification for the time featuring GPS, Wi-Fi, a xenon flash and the 8.1-megapixel camera. It was also the first Sony Ericsson phone to support the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard for home networked devices.
The decision to offer an 8.1-megapixel camera phone reflected the megapixel "arms race" which was taking place in the industry at the time.
The C905 was designed to reinvigorate Sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot portfolio after the disappointing K850i which had failed to meet the high expectations consumers had of devices carrying the Cyber-shot brand.
The C905 joined the C702 and C902 Cyber-shot phones in Sony Ericsson’s line-up acting as a "halo product" to these phones.