Thanks to Tony who got in touch with us about whether we knew the Sony Ericsson Aino would be arriving the UK for this Christmas. Unfortunately having just checked, we don’t think there is any sign of this happening with any of the UK’s networks. However it does appear to be available as a sim free phone for a one-off purchase price in excess of £380 quid at a certain online shopping site which begins with “a”. Is this pricing worth it though? We think many have the misconception of considering the Aino as a potential “PlayStation phone”. The Sony Ericsson Aino as we mentioned in a previous post, it boasts a keypad with an intuitive touch UI for use with media. Its onboard intuitive media browser gives users a clear overview and one touch direct access to their content. With an 8.1-megapixel camera, automatic syncing with a home computer via MediaGo and Remote Play from a Playstation 3, the Aino should be the all-in-one multimedia hub.

Here’s a brief highlight of the Sony Ericsson Aino’s main specs:

• Network:GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• Announced:2009, May
• Size:104 x 50 x 15.5 mm
• Weight:134 g
• Display:TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 240 x 432 pixels, 3.0 inches
• Ringtones:Downloadable polyphonic, MP3, AAC ringtones
• Vibration:Yes
• Memory card:microSD (TransFlash), up to 16GB, 8GB included
• GPRS:Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
• HSCSD:Yes
• EDGE:Class 10, 236.8 kbps
• 3G:HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
• Wi-Fi:Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA
• Bluetooth:Yes
• Infrared:No
• USB:Yes
• Messaging:SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email
• Camera:8.1 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
• Battery:Standard battery, Li-Po 1000 mAh

While some (especially PlayStation fans) may be keen to see how well the Aino works in this respect. So far, we have learnt that the Aino does well and doesn’t do so well in these features:

Pros:

• Bluetooth headphone adaptor offers good sound quality
• Handy charging and syncing dock
• Packed with features
• Innovation with good-looking design

Cons:

• Terrible touchscreen user interface
• No touch control when the phone is slid open
• Poorly organised features
• Uunimpressive camera
• PlayStation 3 streaming is hard to configure

Of course, there will always be good and bad to all phones, but if you are considering the Sony Ericsson Aino as a possible Christmas gift. We would recommend you read the full review done by TechRadar just recently.

You may have already seen our gallery of the black version of Sony Ericsson Aino, here’s the white version for those interested:

[via Sogi]

Hope this helps Tony (and of course everyone else!).