At a pre-MWC press event, Sony Ericsson has announced the Vivaz Pro, essentially a slightly chunkier Vivaz with sliding qwerty keyboard. Other specs remain the same, with 3.2" resistive touchscreen and it runs vanilla S60 5th Edition with Sony Ericsson panelled homescreen and Media browser/player (same as Satio). Sony Ericsson are emphasising, amidst the simultaneous launch of other smartphones on two other OS platforms, that they're aiming their user experience to be 'OS agnostic', a similar strategy to Samsung's. You'll find specs, photos and promo below. Rafe's at the event and we're hoping to get more details and photos in due course.

From the Sony Ericsson press release:

"The Vivaz Pro adds a QWERTY keyboard to the touch screen offering, delivering a user experience optimised for messaging and entertainment. The full QWERTY keyboard allows consumers to communicate quickly and efficiently via email, SMS or social networking updates. Just like the Vivaz, the Vivaz pro allows consumers to produce and broadcast their best experiences in HD video. The open platform also allows users to personalise their entertainment experience by downloading great applications through PlayNow™ and the Symbian Developer Community."

Essential specs mentioned:

• Full slide-out keyboard for faster typing
• Stay in touch through email, Twitter™, Facebook™, blogging and chat
• View everything on the 3.2” 16:9 wide touchscreen
• Capture the action in HD resolution – upload to YouTube via Wi-Fi
• PlayNow – immediate online access to applications, games and music.
• Supports UMTS HSPA 900/2100 and GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100 and GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro will be available in selected markets from Q2 in the colours Black and White.

Here's the launch promo video:

And some specs from Sony Ericsson:

Camera

• 5.1 megapixel camera
• 4x digital zoom
• Auto focus (photos)
• Continuous auto focus (video)
• Face detection (photos)
• Geo tagging
• Image stabiliser
• Photo light
• Send to web
• Smile detection
• Touch capture
• Video light
• Video recording (720p HD recording)

Music

• Album art
• Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP)
• Media player
• Music player
• Music tones (MP3/AAC)
• PlayNow™
• TrackID™

Web

• Bookmarks
• Google™ search (from standby)
• Web feeds
• WebKit web browser

Voice

• Speakerphone
• Vibrating alert
• Video calling (main camera)

Messaging

• Conversations
• Email
• Handwriting recognition
• Instant messaging
• Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync®
• Picture messaging (MMS)
• Predictive text input
• Sound recorder
• Text messaging (SMS)

Design

• Auto rotate
• Full slide-out keyboard
• Picture wallpaper
• Symbian OS™
• Touchscreen

Entertainment

• 3D games
• Facebook™ application
• FM radio
• Java
• Twitter™ application
• Video streaming
• Video viewing
• YouTube™

Organiser

• Alarm clock
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Document readers
• Flight mode
• Notes
• Phone book

Location-based services

• A-GPS
• Google Maps™
• Wisepilot™ turn-by-turn navigation

Connectivity

• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth™ technology
• DLNA Certified™ (photos and audio)
• Micro USB connector
• Modem
• PictBridge printing
• Synchronisation
• TV out (VGA resolution)
• USB mass storage
• USB support
• Wi-Fi™

Preloaded applications

• Facebook™ – social networking
• Google Maps™ – navigation
• QuickOffice – Microsoft® Office viewer (trial version)
• PDF Viewer (trial version)
• Road Sync – synchronisation
• SMS Preview – messaging app
• Twitter – social networking
• YouTube™ – video sharing
• Wisepilot™ – navigation
• World Mate – clock and weather app
• Quadrapop
• Rally Master Pro

Screen

• 16:9 nHD touchscreen (TFT)
• 16,777,216 colour
• 3.2 inches
• 360 x 640 pixels
• Scratch-resistant

Accessories

• In-Box:
• Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro
• Battery
• stereo portable handsfree
• 8 GB microSD™ card
• micro USB cable for charging and file transfer

• Optional:
• Hi-Fi Wireless Headset with FM Radio MW600

• Hi-Fi Stereo Headset MH710

Facts

• Size: 109 x 52 x 15 mm
• Weight: 117 grams

• Phone memory: Up to 75 MB
• Memory card support: SanDisk microSD™, up to 16 GB

• Memory card included: 8 GB microSD™ card

• Operating system: Symbian™ S60 5th edition
  Processor: 720 MHz

• Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 12 hrs 30 min
• Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 430 hrs

• Talk time UMTS: Up to 5 hrs 10 min
• Standby time UMTS: Up to 440 hrs

• Video call time: Up to 2 hrs 30 min

Availability and versions 

• Networks
• UMTS HSPA 900/2100
• GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

• UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100
• GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• Available in selected markets from Q2 2010

Colour

• Black
• White