MANILA - Sarah Geronimo fans will surely have a field day with this one.

Sony Ericsson announced on Tuesday that they are launching the new "Sarah Phone" in a bid to encourage more people to join the company's "Spread the Smiles" campaign that aims to raise P1 million for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The special limited edition "Sarah Phone", a C510 Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone with a bright red casing, is also in tribute to Geronimo, who was appointed the campaign's "Brand Ambassador."

Patrick Larraga, Sony Ericsson Philippines Marketing Manager, said that Geronimo was chosen as their "Brand Ambassador" for her great smile, wholeshome image, and her huge following - which makes her a perfect endorser for the company's target market.

Aside from a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera, the "Sarah phone" comes with Sarah Geronimo wallpapers, screensavers, graphics, and a special scrapbook containing trivia about the singer. Further, the C510 comes with an embedded music file of Geronimo's latest single "Dahil Minamahal Mo Ako" from VIVA records.

Reasons to smile

The "Spread the Smiles" campaign involves setting up three "Smile Booths" every two weeks at various SM Malls nationwide in Baguio, Manila, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, and Pampanga from May 13 to June 31.

Customers who register their names at the "Smile Booth" can have their pictures taken by a Sony Ericsson representative, and a copy of these photos will be posted on large walls already dotted with previous "smile donations."

Every photo taken at official Sony Cybershot booths will constitute a P1 donation to UNICEF, and the goal is to get a million people to smile for the cameras. This will reportedly be used to augment UNICEF's pool of funds for various educational projects in the country.

Users can also post their photos on Sony Ericsson's website to get a chance to win tickets for the Sarah Geronimo Concert Tour next month. Users who donate the most smile photos online can also win a Sony Ericsson C510 Cyber-shot phone.

Never miss a smile

Aside from spreading goodwill for a good cause, the "Spread the Smiles" campaign is also a way to promote Sony Ericsson's trademark "Smile Shutter" technology, whichallows the phone to automatically snap a picture once it detects a subject's smile.

The smile shutter (available in the C510, C905, and C903 phones) can detect up to three subjects' smiles and works as an autofocus to make photography easier, a guarantee that users will "never miss a smile."

Apart from its Experia line of phones meant for business use and its Walkman line meant for music lovers, the Cybershot offers user-friendly photography and a feature called the "burst mode" where the camera phone takes nine consecutive shots. 

Priced for various income levels, the C510 costs about P10,000, the C905 costs about P20,000, while the C903 costs P18,000. It is available at various Sony Ericsson dealerships and stores nationwide.  Photo courtesy of Sony Ericsson.