The UK Mobile Phone Blog

Sony Ericsson R300i and R306i Radio mobile phones

Today Sony Ericsson announced the release of two handsets that have a built in AM and FM radio receiver.

First, the Sony Ericsson R300i Radio

The Sony Ericsson R300i Radio is a compact handset, which allows you to store your favourite FM and AM radio stations that can be accessed with the press of a dedicated radio button on the phone. You can set the alarm clock on the phone to wake you up to your favourite radio station, or to an MP3 file of your choice. The R300i has the ability to record directly from the radio station as you are listening to it, although with only 8MB shared memory on the phone and no memory card expansion slot there isn’t a lot of memory to store recordings.

The R300i Radio has a built in loudspeaker, actually designed to look like a real speaker. Sound quality is optimised by pressing the audio enhancer key.

Along with the radio, the Sony R300i has many other features, including a digital camera, email client and support for java. With java support you can install third party program applications and games to enhance your phone functionality. Some top java programs include Opera mini, which offers a superior web browsing experience, Gmail, a smooth simple menu layout for access your Google email, and Ebay, who provide a java app that lets you keep up to date with all your auctions and purchases.

Also included is the fantastic Track ID application, native to most Sony Ericsson phones. With Track ID you can find the name of a song and/or artist simply by starting the application and pointing your phone’s microphone towards the sound source. Powered by Gracenotes Mobile MusicID, Track ID will capture a segment of the music, and forward it on for recognition. Back to your phone you receive the track name, artist name, album info and a link to purchase the song.

Sony Ericsson R306i

The Sony Ericsson R306i shares many features with the R300i. One major difference is in the quality of camera. Whereas the R300i comes equipped with a standard VGA digital camera, the Ericsson R306i has a 1.3 megapixel camera, which should enhance the quality of pictures, especially if they are viewed on the screen of a PC. With the camera on the R306i it is also possible to record video clips, which you can then send to friends via Bluetooth, or send them via picture message or email directly from the phone.

The Sony R306i is also equipped with an AM and FM radio receiver, and has the ability to record directly from the playback. Memory capacity is even worse on the R306i, with only 5MB of shared memory available, and no memory card expansion slot.

The R306i has built in stereo speakers and the overall design is to give the impression of a radio. Information of the channel you are listening to, when available, is displayed on the front sub screen. You can also set the alarm clock on the R306i to wake you up to the sounds of your favourite radio station, with the radio alarm clock functionality.

The R306i includes Bluetooth, which enhances your options when connecting to a PC, or another mobile phone, enabling fast data transfer. MP3 ringtones are supported on the phone, and you can even use a clip you’ve recorded as a ringtone, if you wish.

As found on the R300i, the R306i also includes the fantastic Track ID application.