Sony Ericsson is bringing out an Arabic version of its P1 smartphone for the Middle East market.

To be launched at Gitex, it includes a range of features in Arabic, such as handwriting recognition, virtual keyboard, menu and multi-tab functions to make sending text messages easier. For Muslims, prayer times are included, along with a Hijri calendar and the Kebla direction for Mecca. There are also English/Arabic and Arabic/English dictionaries.

As you’d expect, other features are usual for the P1, including UMTS and wi-fi support, an mp3 player, radio and video capabilities.