Sony Ericsson's C905A Cybershot 3G handset has received approval from the FCC, so it shouldn't be long now before the phone's finally available in stores. We first heard about the C905A a few months ago when it became the historic 5000th device certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance for its adherence to wireless protocols. At the time, there was no information on what carrier would release the phone in the US. Though there still hasn't been a formal announcement, we can be pretty certain now that AT&T will be picking up the Cybershot. As part of the FCC approval process, phone manufacturers provide full tech details on their phones, which then get published by the government agency. Looking through the paperwork on the C905A, you can see that it supports a radio band that only AT&T uses for 3G data in the US.

So, if you're an AT&T customer who has been thinking about upgrading your phone, digital camera, or both, this might be a good model to watch for. It features an 8-megapixel camera and a xenon flash, just like a stand-alone digital camera would. The lens has a cover to keep you from damaging it when toting the phone around in a bag, so it should hold up better than the cameras on cheaper cell phones. The one thing that might make you reconsider the camera-side of the C905A is the lack of an optical zoom. If that's not a big deal for you, keep your eye on AT&T for a formal announcement of the phone's availability.

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