Sony Ericsson P5

Year: 2008
Prototype level: Cancelled
Codename: Paris

Overview

The Sony Ericsson P5, better known by its codename Paris, was developed as the successor to the P1i and represented a significant change in direction for Sony Ericsson’s UIQ smartphone range. Instead of the P1i’s conventional candybar form, Paris used a compact slider design, with the display and navigation controls on the upper section and a P1-style QWERTY keyboard revealed underneath. The planned device combined a touchscreen with 3G/HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS and a 5-megapixel camera, making it one of Sony Ericsson’s most advanced UIQ smartphones at the time. 

Paris progressed well beyond the early concept stage. Sony Ericsson had working prototype hardware and had even produced promotional material for the phone, but the project was cancelled in June 2008 before it could be released. Contemporary reports suggested that the phone’s specifications were already looking dated compared with competing smartphones, although the exact reason for the cancellation was never clearly established. The cancellation also came as Sony Ericsson was preparing to move towards its new Xperia strategy, leaving Paris as one of the last major UIQ smartphones that never reached the market. 

The surviving P5 prototypes therefore represent an important missing link in Sony Ericsson’s smartphone history: a fully developed successor to the P1i that was ready enough to be demonstrated, but disappeared just before it could become a commercial product.