Sony Ericsson unveils 12-megapixel Idou smartphone

Sony Ericsson got in early at this year's Mobile World Congress with a Sunday-night press conference to reveal two new handsets.

Idou was the one that made people's jaws drop. It's a smartphone based on what will become the Symbian Foundation operating system, and is packing a 12.1-megapixel camera.

But it also has a touchscreen, and will run high-end Symbian games as well as regular Java titles.

Idou is part of a new Sony Ericsson initiative called Entertainment Unlimited, which has shades of Nokia's Ovi in that it aims to blend content, applications and services in one overall brand. In short, it's handsets that do everything.

The name Idou is a working title, so is likely to be changed by the time the handset goes on sale during the second half of this year.