The Sony Ericsson P900 is a Symbian OS v7.0 based smartphone

Smartphone

A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

 from Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....

.

It was introduced in 2003 and is the successor of the Sony Ericsson P800

Sony Ericsson P800

The Sony Ericsson P800 is a smartphone introduced in 2002 based upon UIQ version 2.0 from Sony Ericsson...

, and, like the P800 uses the UIQ

UIQ

UIQ by UIQ Technology is a software platform based upon Symbian OS. Essentially this is a graphical user interface layer that provides additional components to the core OS, to enable the development of feature-rich mobile phones that are open to expanded capabilities through third-party...

 platform.

Like other Symbian-based smartphones, the P900 is an open

Openness

Openness is the quality of being open. It sometimes refers to a very general philosophical position from which some individuals and organizations operate, often highlighted by a decision-making process recognizing communal management by distributed stakeholders rather than a centralized authority...

 phone, which means that it is possible to develop and install third party applications without restrictions. A UIQ 2.1 SDK based upon Symbian C++

C++

C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...

 is freely available from the Sony Ericsson developer website http://developer.sonyericsson.com. Additionally, the P900 supports applications written in Java

Java (programming language)

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...

.

Because of this openness, a great number of third-party applications exist that can be used on the P900 and other UIQ phones (such as the Motorola A1000

Motorola A1000

The Motorola A1000 is a 3G smartphone from Motorola using the UIQ platform based upon Symbian OS. One of the most notable features is its built-in A-GPS. The A1000 is the successor to the A925 and A920....

 and BenQ P30

BenQ P30

The BenQ P30 is a 2.5G smartphone from BenQ that uses the UIQ platform based upon Symbian OS.The phone was released into the marketplace in October 2004, primarily in Far Eastern markets.-Specifications:* User interface: UIQ 2.1...

). Many are shareware

Shareware

The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...

 and freeware

Freeware

Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...

.

As the P900 uses UIQ version 2.1 it is backwards compatible with UIQ 2.0 as found in the P800. Applications made for the P800 will normally work on a P900 as well. It, like the P800 and P910i, has an ARM9 processor

Central processing unit

The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...

 clocked at 156MHz.

The P900 can be used without the flip as well, acting more like a PDA

Personal digital assistant

A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...

, but still usable as a phone. The P900 supports Memory Stick Duo cards (but not Memory Stick Pro Duo) up to 128MB in size, as does the P800. However, it has been confirmed that this 128MB limit is just a software restriction.

An updated version of the P900, the Sony Ericsson P910i was released in July 2004. It features a small QWERTY keyboard and enhanced software, but was reported to be less battery-efficient . The P910i has double the P900's memory (64 MB

Megabyte

The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...

, versus the P900's 32 MB) and supports Memory Stick Pro Duo, allowing the phone up to 4 GB

Gigabyte

The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...

 of storage on a single card.

The P900 is the first Sony Ericsson product for which Research in Motion

Research In Motion

Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...

's BlackBerry

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...

 wireless email service will be available.

Some of the specifications of the P900 are:

1. Triband GSM - 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
2. Dimensions - 115 x 57 x 24 mm
3. Weight - 150 g
   Gram
   The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
   
    (with flip), 140 g (without flip)
4. Internal camera
   Camera phone
   A camera phone is a mobile phone which is able to capture still photographs . Since early in the 21st century the majority of mobile phones in use are camera phones....
   
   : VGA (Display resolution
   Display resolution
   The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
   
    up to 640 x 480 pixels)
5. Connectivity: Bluetooth
   Bluetooth
   Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
   
   , Infrared
   IRDA
   IRDA may refer to:* Infrared Data Association, in information and communications technology , a standard for communication between devices over short distances using infrared signals...
   
   , USB dock
6. GPRS (WAP
   Wireless Application Protocol
   Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
   
    2.0)
7. Messaging: SMS
   SMS
   SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
   
   , EMS
   Enhanced Messaging Service
   Enhanced Messaging Service , is a cross-industry collaboration between Samsung, Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens and Alcatel, among others. It is an application-level extension to Short Message Service for cellular phones available on GSM, TDMA and CDMA networks.EMS is an intermediate technology,...
   
   , MMS
   Multimedia Messaging Service
   Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
   
   , POP3, IMAP, SMTP

'P905'

P905 is the unofficial term for a Sony Ericsson P900 flashed with hacked Sony Ericsson P910a firmware

Firmware

In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...

. The P900 is flashed using a 'Fighter Kit'. This is usually done for four reasons:

1. The P900 has a software restriction on the size of the memory card that can be used (128 MB).
2. The P900 software does not support HTML email.
3. The P900 software does not provide an option to alter the screen brightness
   Brightness
   Brightness is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to be radiating or reflecting light. In other words, brightness is the perception elicited by the luminance of a visual target...
   
   .
4. Flashing the firmware is cheaper than purchasing a new P910.

Though this may seem all beneficial, there may be the drawback of not being able to connect to certain Bluetooth headsets (however, this is rare).

Though the P905 may be identical to the P910 in software terms they are not identical in hardware terms.

External links

• "Sony-Ericsson P900: Almost, Almost", a short review of the P900 by Dan Gillmor
  Dan Gillmor
  Dan Gillmor is a noted American technology writer and columnist. He is director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard...
  
   (via archive.org)
• P900 and Linux, collection of tips, tricks, hacks, software and Linux
  Linux
  Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
  
  connectivity.