Sony Ericsson
Satio

The Satio was a headline-grabbing multimedia device announced by Sony Ericsson under the code name Idou at Mobile World Congress in 2009. It was an important device for Sony Ericsson as it was the first phone to use the new Symbian Foundation Symbian OS 9.4 operating system. It drew a line under Sony Ericsson's failed attempts to use the UIQ user interface layer on its smartphones and instead used Nokia’s S60 5th edition user interface. It was powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP 3430 chip, which made it extremely quick. The Japanese development team that worked on the Satio had worked hard to deliver a user interface that looked very different to other Symbian products. Of particular note was its support of leading Web-based services offering content sharing and social networking. The Satio re-introduced touchscreen capability to Sony Ericsson's portfolio and its 3.5-inch 16:9 ratio 360 x 640 TFT resistive touchscreen display meant it was seen as a competitive response by Sony Ericsson to Apple’s iPhone (albeit that the Satio did not have a capacitive touch display). The phone was focused on delivering a high-end audio and video experience as well as a market-leading photography offered via its 12.1-megapixel camera which had a Xenon flash and dedicated shutter button. Users could also zoom in and out using a rocker switch that was located on the same side of the device as the shutter button. There were also buttons that allowed users to toggle between still photography and video modes. It was available in three colours: Black, Silver and Red (which Sony Ericsson referred to as Bordeaux). Despite high expectations for the device, it ran into difficulties in the UK market in November 2009 due to software problems. This led to UK retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U suspending sales of the device. The software issues caused the phone to freeze, sometimes prevented the ringtone from sounding and the device would also turn itself off when certain applications were launched. Sony Ericsson rectified the issues soon after they were reported. They were believed to be caused by customised software for UK mobile network operators. The device went on back on sale but the reputational damage to the Satio limited its future sales.