As promised it was this morning that Sharp, Microsoft and Willcom presented (at the Okura hotel) their brand new WM6 running smartphone: the Advance ES.

Let’s jump straight to the specs sheet and grab every details!
The Phone is using Willcom’s PHS network (not so good if you need to make foreign calls) and features a Flat Fee which is quite nice for all the data. Dimensions (50x135x17.9mm) and weight (157g) make it a compact product equipped with, as usual with Willcom, a keyboard and VGA screen (3 inches) using the AQUOS technology, yes, the same as on TeleVisions. Inside is stored 128/256MB of memory, the digital camera’s sensor is a 1.3MPx and the CPU a PXA270 @ 520MHz. Last but not least, the new wheelpad should make menus browsing as easy as it always should be.
Design wise, the Advance ES looks nice even though the quality of the plastics feels a bit “cheap”.

Now my point of view…ok it looks good, the specs are good and WM6 is a good OS but…the overall quality is not so nice and most of all, the lack of another network (GSM…) makes it a product that appeals to a few people…especially when you see what companies like HTC can do with their TouchFLO and ADVANTAGE.
I am really hoping that Microsoft can help some Japanese companies to provide better products because, despite various qualities, this Advance ES is not the best of its kind on the market right now.