Conclusion
There aren't many Symbian OS phones being carried by US cell phone providers right now. I really hope that changes. Symbian 9.1 is a great mobile operating system for smartphones, and UIQ 3.0 as Sony Ericsson has implemented it on the m600i is perhaps my favorite flavor of it thus far. Multitasking, customizing, accessing messages and contacts and web pages - Symbian can handle it all and running UIQ 3.0 on top of it lends a friendly, computer-like feel to the platform.
Sony Ericsson's m600i will not become a best seller in the United States, and that's too bad because it's a powerful and unique mobile phone. The primary hurdle it faces in the US is SE's own doing - it's a European phone that lacks support for any high speed data services available in North America. There's no WiFi, and no EDGE, HSDPA, or EV-DO band. There's also no camera, and cameraphones are big right now.
The other hurdle for the m600i is its unique look and feel. Tall, wide, and slim with a clean, subdued look and a somewhat "cuddly" system font -- this isn't what Americans are used to from their mobile electronics.
Except, wait. Doesn't "Tall, wide, slim, clean, subdued, and cuddly" describe the iPod? Hasn't that been a runaway success stateside? Hmm ... Maybe Sony should reconsider a U.S.-spec m600i. It might just catch on here after all; I know I'd buy one.
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4.5
