Sony Ericsson’s advertising of the semi-touch Aino focuses solely on the phone’s multimedia capacity and, after using the phone for a matter of minutes, it’s easy to see why; the Aino is close to multimedia perfection. However as an actual phone the Aino slips into mediocrity especially in comparison to similarly priced rivals.

Sony Ericsson is known for producing great camera mobiles with even better music features. In the Aino the two are combined, and easily accessed through the 3-inch touchscreen which comes alive when the alphanumeric keypad is closed.

We found no point to the capacitive touchscreen at all, especially when you consider that the full touchscreen flagship Satio features a less-than responsive resistive display.

The display is reserved for triggering the multimedia functions, and the 8.1-megapixel camera can be activated quickly by tapping the first camera icon. It's perfectly simple to operate using simple touches, such as zooming, using the hardware volume buttons on the side.

Pictures appear in high quality colour on the large screen and can be distributed with social networking tools such as Flickr onboard. While lacking the camera effects other phones offer (such as sepia imagery) the snapper comes with almost all other extras you'd think of, ranging from LED flash to face detection.

Next up on the touch menu are the music and film features. The Aino comes with the ability to switch media files to and from your computer via Wi-Fi or the mobile’s Media Go technology. When using the Sony Ericsson Aino with its desk based charger included in the box, the phone and computer will often be in contact.

Media Go makes this contact simple to handle, using drag and drop between computer and phone. A file converter is also included to prevent the hassle of having incompatible songs or films.

Music quality is strong, whether using the Aino’s speakers or headphones. Songs are presented within a stylish interface, which comes in a variety or colours. The only significant drawback is the absence of a 3.5mm headphone jack, forcing the annoyance of using specialist Sony Ericsson earphones on the user. The multimedia touch screen also offers a similarly stylish and simple radio feature.

Playstation 3 fanatics out there should know the phone comes with a remote play feature, similar to that seen on the PSP allowing for interaction with anything stored on your PS3, including . The Aino is far from a gaming mobile but Sony Ericsson is certainly shaping the technology needed to create such a device.

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