Sony Ericsson Satio U1

Year: 2009
Prototype level: Non-Final
Codename: Kokoro

Overview

The Sony Ericsson Satio, originally introduced as the Idou, was Sony Ericsson’s flagship multimedia smartphone of 2009. It was unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2009 and combined a large 3.5-inch touchscreen with a 12.1-megapixel camera, Xenon flash, GPS, Wi-Fi and Symbian S60 5th Edition. The Barcelona presentation was the first public appearance of the phone, then still known as Idou, before Sony Ericsson renamed it Satio and prepared it for commercial release. 

The specimen in this collection is a non-final version distinguished by its unreleased matte-black covers. This is particularly interesting because contemporary reports confirm that matte-finished prototypes existed before the retail version; one reviewer specifically noted having previously seen a matte prototype before receiving a later black unit. The covers therefore appear to correspond to the early hardware shown during the development and pre-release period, rather than the glossy black finish used on the commercial Satio.

This particular phone also has a personal history that makes it especially meaningful. It was used by the collector before the Satio was officially released, including on a vacation trip to Spain. Beyond its value as a non-final specimen, the phone therefore carries a lot of personal memories from the period when the Satio was still a new and highly anticipated device.