Sony Ericsson has announced the P1 smartphone, the successor to its popular P990 handset. The new model is 25 percent smaller and includes support for push email from BlackBerry and Microsoft Exchange servers.

The P1, set to ship in the third quarter of 2007, runs Symbian OS v9.1 with Sony Ericsson's own UIQ user interface and has a VoIP-enabled Wi-Fi interface as well as 3G and tri-band GSM for voice calls. It has an unusual dual-function keyboard supporting both dialling and text input, with two alphabetic characters on each key.

While the P1 can be seen as an evolution of earlier models, it also introduces significant improvements in design, speed and battery performance, according to Sony Ericsson marketing head Steve Walker.

The handset has built-in support for a range of push email services including Microsft's ActiveSync and BlackBerry Connect. It also enables remote wiping of data if the phone is stolen or misplaced, the firm said.