When it comes to high-speed HSDPA connectivity, Sony Ericsson hasn't exactly been very forthcoming. On the other hand, Nokia and Samsung have been outing HSDPA handsets for some time and, once in a while, Motorola pops up with a model of its own.

The most recent HSDPA handsets from the Swedish-Japanese manufacturer were announced in the lead up to CommunicAsia this year, targeted at different segments of the market: The K850i Cyber-shot at the snapshooting crowd and the W910i Walkman at fun-loving music lovers. At last count, there were a total of three Sony Ericsson HSDPA handsets including the Z750i unveiled in Q1 2007. All three are expected to be available this month.

Today, Sony Ericsson adds another member to its HSDPA stable--the K630i. We have a prototype unit with us to give you a hands-on impression. Do note that the K630i we're taking a first look at is still a technical set and may differ slightly from the actual commercial unit.

The K630i is neither a Cyber-shot nor a Walkman and doesn't pretend to be either. Instead, it is positioned as an all-rounder with HSDPA connectivity as its main draw. On digital imaging, there's a main 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera on the back and a front-facing CIF camera for 3G video calls.

Things are a little more interesting on the music entertainment front. Remember previously when we reviewed the K850i, we wrote about the new-fangled media-browsing interface that looked vaguely like the Sony PlayStation Portable? Well, the K630i has it, too. Besides it being a refreshing change from the old school kind of navigation, the new media browser streamlines photo, music, video and podcast playback with a tree-like structure. As this is still a prototype unit, we're not sure how "powerful" this new browser can be, but suffice to say that we already like what we're seeing.

The K630i is also one of the very few Sony Ericsson handsets that comes with call/end keys. The recent ones we saw that sported it as well include the K850i and the T250i. While this could have been a taken-for-granted feature on almost every other mobile device out there, having the call/end option on the K630i is certainly a welcomed one. The rest of the front fascia is typically Sony Ericsson with three circular controls in a row: The left and right ones are split into top and bottom halves, effectively offering four keys, while the center directional control with central button doubles as music playback functions.

Two colors are available for the K630i--Havana Gold and Quick Black--though it essentially means you have an option of a dark brown handset with gold trimmings or a black handset with orange trimmings. We prefer the earlier color combination as it has a slight resemblance to some of the color schemes of luxury brand Louis Vuitton, but that's just us. Overall, the K630i feels a bit more masculine and that's probably due to its 15.5mm profile.

Other features include a 2-inch 176 x 220-pixel LCD, external Memory Stick Micro M2 expansion slot, FM radio (requires headset to be connected), Bluetooth stereo and push email capabilities (operator-dependant).

The Sony Ericsson K630i is expected to be available this quarter in selected Asia-Pacific countries.