Originally ground up in the rumour mill and spat out as the Kurara, the first product announcement of 2010 by Sony Ericsson was actually a leak from PR agency Burson-Marsteller. No stranger to crisis management (think Bhopal and Tylenol for starters) B-M attempted to put the struggling genie back in its bottle but – too late! The good people at Sony Ericsson have confirmed the news and we now await the official launch.

So what is the Kurara? Ironically, given the genie poppers’ back catalogue it is a municipality in Uttar Pradesh. But no longer: the new handset has a brand new moniker: the Vivaz, after a collection of vintage 1960s cars from Vauxhall…or maybe not.

From its spec, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz is a smartphone to rival anything on the market, most notably with an 8.1 megapixel camera with image stabilisation and face detection and the ability to capture video in 720p HD (ultra-sharp, minimal to zero flicker). It is also said to offer autofocus in its video mode and a dedicated video capture key. The results can be viewed on the 3.2 inch, 640×360 pixel resolution (or WVGA, it’s not yet clear) resistive touchscreen.

At 107×52x12.5mm, the Vivaz is conventionally smartphone sized and nice and well weighted at only 97g (pretty amazing considering the technology within). All the usual smartphone gubbins are included, including HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and A-GPS.

Expected within two to three months, you will be able to sport the Vivaz either in Vivaz Ruby, Moon Silver, Galaxy Blue or - trying a little too hard, perhaps - Cosmic Black.

Sony Ericsson had a hard time financially in 2009, despite the Satio still being arguably the best camera phone in the world. The Vivaz could revive its fortunes and rival the Satio for its camera phone crown.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz deals (coming soon)

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