Unwired View » Sony Ericsson

Orange UK launching white Xperia X10, HMV mobile games store

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:39:22 +0000

Orange is the last major UK mobile carrier to announce the upcoming availability of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (which will also be launched by O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Virgin).

Unlike the other British carriers, Orange will sell the Xperia X10 in black and, exclusively to Orange, also in white.

As you most probably already know, the Xperia X10 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU at 1GHz and features Android 1.6, a 4 inch WVGA touchscreen display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 8MP autofocus camera and 1GB of internal memory. Orange will offer the X10 in the UK starting early April, for free on select contracts.

Before introducing the Xperia X10, Orange UK plans to launch an online mobile games store for Java phones – on March 26.

Created in collaboration with HMV, the store is called HMV Mobile Games and it will allow customers to download games even if their phones use other networks than Orange’s.

Games will cost from £1 to £5. Orange’s customers will be able to add the cost of downloads to their monthly bills, while customers of other carriers will have to pay online.

According to RegHardware, users who want the HMV Mobile Games storefront app on their phone should text “hmv” to 87010.

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Motorola Milestone, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 to be launched in India next week

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:21:28 +0000

Two new Android smartphones will be launched in India next week: the Motorola Milestone and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

Reportedly, Moto’s Milestone will be available starting March 22 as India’s first Android 2.1 device.

The smartphone will cost about 30,000 INR ($660) unlocked, coming with features like: a 3.7 inch WVGA touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, digital compass, 3.5mm headset jack and a 5MP autofocus camera with D1 video recording.

Motorola also plans to launch the Dext and the Backflip in India sometime before June.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 should be available to Indian customers on March 26, probably also for about 30,000 INR.

The Xperia X10 features Android 1.6 with Timescape / Mediascape UI, 4 inch WVGA touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 8MP autofocus camera, and 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

Via Cell Passion

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Virgin UK launches 4 Android phones: HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy Portal, Xperia X10 and LG InTouch Max

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:49:38 +0000

Virgin Mobile UK has announced no less than four new Android smartphones from HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG.

Two handsets are already available: the LG InTouch Max GW620 (free with an 18-month contract of at least £22 per month) and the Samsung Galaxy Portal – which is actually the soon-to-get Android-2.1 Galaxy Spica i5700. The Galaxy Portal is also free with a £22 18-month contract).

In April, Virgin UK will start selling the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 “on a range of compelling tariffs”.

More importantly, Virgin plans to offer the HTC Desire (also starting April).

The Desire is HTC’s flagship Android smartphone for 2010, featuring Android 2.1, a 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED multi-touch display, HTC Sense UI, optical trackpad, HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera, and 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

Like the Xperia X10, the HTC Desire will be available at Virgin UK “on a range of compelling tariffs.”

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro prices in Europe: €300, €330

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:22:23 +0000

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro will be released in France and Belgium starting late May (the Mini) and June (the Mini Pro).

According to FrAndroid, Sony Ericsson has confirmed the prices of the two new Android smartphones: the Xperia X10 Mini costs €300 ($410), while the Xperia X10 Mini will be sold for €330 ($450) – both prices are for the unlocked handsets, of course.

Expansys had previously estimated that the X10 Mini would cost £300 and the X10 Mini Pro £340 in the UK – the retailer initially said the handsets would be available in the UK starting April, but it now changed the estimated shipping date to May 24.

A video preview of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro can be found here.

As for the “big” Xperia X10, this should be available in France (and probably in other European countries as well) starting April, for £599 unlocked.

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Sony (not Sony Ericsson) launching a PSP phone this year to rival Apple?

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:37:55 +0000

If Sony Ericsson won’t make a PSP phone, Sony might. The Japanese company hasn’t launched a cell phone under its own brand since 2001, when the joint venture with Ericsson was established.

A Wall Street Journal report has it that Sony wants to launch a phone of its own this year because it’s “threatened by Apple’s growing stable of portable devices.”

Said phone is actually a smartphone which should be able to download and play PlayStation games, and access the upcoming Sony Online Service (which will be somewhat similar to Apple’s iTunes).

Although the alleged PSP phone will only have Sony’s logo on it, it’s reportedly made in collaboration with Sony Ericsson.

Apparently, Sony wants smartphones to play a strategic role in the company’s future. It will be interesting to see what OS Sony chooses for its first smartphone. Android? Windows Phone 7 Series? Symbian?

(this is a China-made fake PSP phone)

Sony is also planning to make some sort of tablet that should have the role of “a netbook, an e-reader and a PlayStation Portable.” The Sony tablet should compete with Apple’s iPad and other similar devices.

Via Phone Scoop

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro to hit the UK on April 13

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:11:26 +0000

Sony Ericsson’s latest Android handsets, the Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro, might be available in the UK as soon as April (when Vodafone UK should launch the Xperia X10).

Expansys has both new devices on pre-order, saying that they’ll be out on April 13 – the Xperia X10 Mini costs £299.99 ($446), while the Xperia X10 Mini Pro is priced at £339.99 ($506).

Running Android 1.6, the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro are identical, save for the fact that the latter has a sliding QWERTY keyboard. Their common features include: QVGA touchscreen display, a homescreen with four icons in the corners, HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera and MicroSD card support.

Both the SE Xperia X10 Mini and the SE Xperia X10 Mini Pro should be offered with a 2GB memory card in the box.

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Vodafone UK announces the Sony Ericsson Vivaz, Qik mobile video service

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:51:30 +0000

Vodafone UK has just announced that its customers can pre-order the Sony Ericsson Vivaz as of now. The Symbian smartphone will be available through Vodafone starting March 9, for free with a 2-yr contract agreement of at least £30 per month.

The Vivaz (which will also be sold via T-Mobile UK) features a 3.2 inches touchscreen display, 8MP camera with HD video recording, GPS, Wi-Fi and an 8GB memory card in the box. Unlike the Vivaz Pro, the Vivaz doesn’t have a full QWERTY keyboard.

You can pre-order the Sony Ericsson Vivaz from Vodafone UK here.

Vodafone has also announced that it now provides access to Qik, the well-known live video streaming service for mobiles.

To download the Qik app from Vodafone you have to text “Qik” to 97886. Qik is compatible with lots of phones, including the iPhone, BlackBerry smartphones and Nokia handsets.

A video demo with Qik on a Vodafone phone can be watched below:

Via Mobile Burn

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Sony Ericsson should’ve made the Google Nexus One, but they refused

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:25:19 +0000

When you say “Google Nexus One”, you’re immediately thinking about Android and HTC (which manufactures the smartphone).

Most probably, Google wanted HTC to build the Nexus One due to the fact that the Taiwanese company is one of the most respected smartphone makers in the world. However, it looks like Google has chosen HTC also because another handset maker refused to build its first phone.

Bert Nordberg, Sony Ericsson’s CEO, recently stated that Google initially wanted SE to make the Nexus One, but the Swedish-Japanese joint-venture said “no”. Why? Because Sony Ericsson doesn’t want to be a subcontractor – it only wants to make and sell phones under its own brand. Well, if SE’s revenue and profit don’t grow in the near future, this might turn out to be a dumb decision.

Just for the record, Sony Ericsson currently has three Android smartphones (Xperia X10, Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro), none of which is available yet.

As for the Google Nexus Two, Motorola will probably make it – but, who knows, maybe Sony Ericsson will reconsider its decision and make the Nexus Three or Nexus Four (if they’ll be named like that).

Via Engadget

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#MWC10. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Pro. First impressions, hands-on video

Staska — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:31:21 +0000

Finally, with the introduction of Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Pro, the troubled vendor is displaying some innovative and original thinking, that made this company great once.

I’m not saying that all of the recently launched Sony Ericsson phones are bad. But, despite their claims to the contrary, during last 2 years and even more, I haven’t seen any SE handset that stood out from the crowd. Original Xperia X1 – interesting when announced, too little too late when it finally shipped 8 months later. Idou/Satio – the same again, too long from announcement to shipment. Plus, despite nice UI customizations on Satio, it still has an obsolete Symbian^1 OS inside, making for a pretty inconsistent user experience.

Vivaz/Vivaz Pro – again, nice phones, but on Symbian^1. And, with Symbian^3 based Nokia handsets hitting the streets soon after Vivaz launch, I don’t think that these phones have much of a chance.

But the newly announced Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Pro, are surprisingly fresh. And they really do stand out from the sea of Android devices introduced here, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

To tell, the truth, looking at all the Android handsets introduced by various vendors here, it is rather difficult to tell them apart. Yes, each phone has a slightly different specs and design, some have customized UIs on top of Android OS, some have QWERTY keyboards, but in the end, you are looking at roughly 16:9 shaped rectangular slab of equipment, with a touchscreen covering most of the surface front area. Most of these Android handsets even are roughly the same size.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Pro are different. Compared to other Android phones, they are really compact. And they have a nice UI on top of Android, optimized for a smaller screen of the device, which works really well. And I can see quite a few people for whom this combination of compact, easy to use, yet powerful smartphone might prove irresistible.

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AT&T “definitely” launching the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10?

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:00:04 +0000

AT&T has already announced that it would launch lots of Android smartphones this year – including the Motorola BackFlip and the Dell Mini 3i – so it should probably not come as a surprise that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 might make its way into AT&T stores, too.

I say “might” – but Boy Genius has it that the Xperia X10 will “definitely” be released by AT&T sometime in April or May.

Apparently, AT&T will sell the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 for $199 (or even less) with a 2-yr contract agreement.

In case you don’t know yet, the X10 (which will soon be launched by Rogers in Canada) is Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone – meanwhile, the company has also announced the Xperia X10 Mini and the Xperia X10 Mini Pro).

The X10 features – among other things – a 4 inch capacitive touchscreen display with 480 x 854 pixels, HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and an 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash.

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#MWC10: Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro, Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro (video)

Ilinca Nita — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:18:35 +0000

Today – one day ahead of the official MWC 2010 debut – Sony Ericsson announced three new phones: Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro.

All three new handsets will be available starting the second quarter of 2010, for prices that should be announced later on.

As you’ve probably already guessed, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro is a Vivaz with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It’s based on Symbian (Symbian^3, I assume) and has most of the features the original Vivaz has, including a 3.2 inch, 16:9 wide touchscreen, and HD video recording (although its camera seems to be a 5MP one, and not a 8.1MP one) . Here’s the Vivaz Pro:

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro video promo:

Next, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini (also known as SE Robyn) is, simply put, a smaller Xperia X10. It runs Android 1.6 and it’s reportedly “very powerful” – not sure if this means that it has a 1GHz CPU, like the big X10 (update: nope, it has a 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 CPU). The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini features a 2.55 inch QVGA touchscreen display, HSPA, A-GPS, Google Maps, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera, and a 2GB MicroSD card in the box. It will be available in six colors: Black, Pearl White, Lime, Pink, Red and Silver.

The third new SE phone announced at MWC 2010 is the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro – it’s similar to the X10 Mini, but it adds a hardware QWERTY keyboard.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro video promo:

Via Press release and Press release

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T-Mobile UK to launch SE Vivaz, Xperia X10, Nokia X6 and more

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:17:54 +0000

Until its merger with Orange is completed, T-Mobile UK is still an independent mobile carrier – one that’s getting ready to release some pretty nice phones this quarter.

The British carrier has recently unveiled its Q1 2010 line-up, including phones that it already sells (like the Nokia E72, Samsung Galaxy Portal, LG InTouch Max GW620 and LG GD510 Pop).

Some of T-Mobile UK’s new phones that aren’t available yet but will be offered on contract include: Nokia X6, BlackBerry Storm2 9520 (launched by Vodafone last year), Sony Ericsson Vivaz (pictured below), and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (which will also be launched by Vodafone and O2).

There are new handsets coming on Pay As You Go, too: BlackBerry 8520, T-Mobile Variy Text, T-Mobile Vairy Touch 2, Nokia 2220, Nokia 1616 and T-Mobile Pulse (with Android).

A video preview of the T-Mobile Vairy Text can be watched below:

Via MobileNewsCWP

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 coming to Vodafone UK in April

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:57:59 +0000

O2 is not the only carrier that will offer the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 in the UK. Vodafone will sell the X10, too.

The Xperia X10 has appeared on Vodafone UK’s official website, in the coming soon section, and it looks like it will be available for purchase starting April.

The handset’s price is not mentioned. However, since smartphones like the Nokia N900 and BlackBerry Bold 9700 are offered by Vodafone for free on contract (with expensive voice and data plans), the X10 should also be free on select plans.

In case you don’t know yet, the Xperia X10 features Android 1.6, a 4 inch WVGA touchscreen display, HSPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, 8MP autofocus camera, and a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will also be available via T-Mobile Germany, Rogers (in Canada), and NTT DoCoMo (in Japan).

Via the::unwired

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WinMo 6.5.3 Specs Come to Light, No Stylus Necessary

Brad Molen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:27:31 +0000

Here’s a crazy thought: smartphone fans everywhere are excited about an OS update in which the number has 2 periods ahead of it. That type of update is normally reserved specifically for bug fixes and nothing else. Yet, Windows Mobile 6.5.3 is being discussed by folks in the know as a rather substantial update that’s supposed to bridge the gap between 6.5 and 7. What in the world?

We know about 6.5.3 through the announcement of the Sony Ericsson Aspen, a device that launches Q2 2010 with WinMo 6.5.3 natively on it. But until today we didn’t really know beyond the usual speculation as to what the update would involve. Boy Genius was nice enough to provide a list covering the notable feature changes.

Platform to enable multitouch
Touch controls throughout system (no need for stylus)
Consistent Navigation
Horizontal scroll bar replaces tabs (think settings>system>about screen)
Magnifier to bring touch support to legacy applications
Simplified out-of-box experience with fewer steps
Drag and drop icons on Start Screen
Browser page load time decreased and memory management improved
Browser pan & flick gestures smoothed and zoom & rotation speed increased
Updated runtime tools (.NET CF 3.5, SQL CE 3.1)
Arabic read/write document support
Watson (error reporting) improvements and bug fixes

Not too shabby for a bug fix update. My favorite? Multitouch, with no need for a stylus. That is a wonderful thought, and it indicates that this is obvious direction Microsoft is heading in when considering the forthcoming WM7 update later this year. Also notable is the drag and drop feature, a smooth improvement to the effectiveness of the Start Menu. What else do you see in this update that would help make your WinMo experience better?

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Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5a approved by FCC, AT&T 3G bands included

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:20:15 +0000

Officially announced last month, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz (aka SE Kurara U5) has passed the FCC’s tests today, as Sony Ericsson U5a.

The Vivaz U5a has been approved to work on the UMTS II and V bands – that’s 1900MHz and 850MHz, so AT&T or Rogers can use the handset on their 3G networks.

Vivaz is Sony Ericsson’s second smartphone based on Symbian S60 5th Edition (Symbian^1), after the Satio.

Its features include a 3.2 inch touchscreen display with 360 x 640 pixels, HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, accelerometer, Google Maps, Facebook and Twitter integration, 3.5mm headset jack, 720 MHz processor, an 8GB memory card in the box, and an 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and HD (720p) video recording.

If the Sony Ericsson won’t be offered by AT&T, US customers will probably be able to buy it via the Sony Style shop.

Via FCC

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Sony Ericsson Aspen (Faith) with WM 6.5.3 officially announced

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:00:16 +0000

The Sony Ericsson Faith smartphone that we recently saw in some leaked pictures has been officially announced as Sony Ericsson Aspen.

Like the Garmin Asus Nuvifone 10, the Aspen runs Windows Mobile 6.5.3. The new Sony Ericsson smartphone is part of the Green Heart series and comes with a “human curvature design”.

The SE Aspen has a 2.4 inch QVGA touchscreen display, as well as a full QWERTY keypad. Customizable panels and the Sony Ericsson Slide View feature enable easy multi-tasking, while the Microsoft MyPhone service can remotely erases phone data in case the device is stolen or lost.

Other specs and features of the Sony Ericsson Aspen:

850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM/EDGE connectivity
850 / 900 / 2100 HSPA connectivity
Wi-Fi
A-GPS
Google Maps
Bluetooth
3.5mm headset jack
Stereo speakers
Media Browser and PlayNow
Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live Messenger
Email, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
3.2MP camera
4GB memory card in the box
Size: 117 x 60 x 12.45 mm
Weight: 130 grams

Sony Ericsson Aspen will be available starting the second quarter of 2010, in two color versions (White Silver and Iconic Black). The phone’s price was not announced.

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson announces Q4 results, reports almost €1 billion loss for 2009

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:32:57 +0000

Not long after announcing the Kurara / Vivaz (and the Xperia X10 for Japan), Sony Ericsson has now reported its Q4 and full year 2009 results, which continue the “positive trend” started in the previous quarter.

The company sold 14.6 million phones in the fourth quarter of 2009 – slightly more than in the third quarter (reportedly thanks to “market seasonality and successful sales of Satio and Aino phones”), but considerably less than in Q4 2008, when 24.2 million devices were shipped. The average selling price (ASP) for Q4 was of €120.

Sony Ericsson lost €40 million (before taxes and excluding restructuring charges) in the fourth quarter of 2009 – not bad compared to the €198 loss announced for Q3 2009.

Overall, SE sold 57.1 million phones in 2009 and lost a whopping €878 million.

(the Sony Ericsson Vivaz)

“We will continue to focus on returning the company to profitability by establishing Sony Ericsson as the communication entertainment brand based on an exciting portfolio of mid- and high-end products, such as our recently announced Android-based phone, the XPERIA X10. 2010 will still be challenging as the full benefit of cost improvements will not impact results until the second half of the year, however we are confident that our business is on the right track,” declared Sony Ericsson’s president Bert Nordberg.

Sony Ericsson hopes to see a “slight growth” in phone sales during 2010.

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (SO-01B) goes to Japan via NTT DoCoMo

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:59:22 +0000

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile operator, has just announced the upcoming availability of Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (SE’s first Android smartphone).

The Japanese carrier’s X10 is called “docomo Smartphone Xperia” (model number SO-01B) and it should be commercially available starting April – one month after it will be launched in Europe.

The only notable difference between DoCoMo’s X10 and the smartphone previously announced by Sony Ericsson is that the former comes with more RAM (384MB) and POBox Touch 1.0 – a predictive text-input system for Japanese and English.

Other than that, the Japanese X10 features Android 1.6, a 4 inch WVGA (854 x 480) touchscreen display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, Google Maps, 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, Timescape and Mediascape, 3.5mm headset jack, 8MP autofocus camera, 1GB of internal memory and MicroSD card support.

DoCoMo will sell the Xperia X10 in two colors (black and white), for a price that wasn’t announced.

Update: according to Reuters, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will also be launched in China this spring (China’s spring).

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson Vivaz (Kurara U5) gets official earlier than planned

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:59:12 +0000

We don’t know when Sony Ericsson intended to announce the Sony Ericsson Kurara U5, but the smartphone has just been fully unveiled (with press shots and even a video preview), so it’s safe to say that it’s now official. The website that published all the info available below has almost immediately retracted the article, but the photos and details live on.

First of all, the new handset has been renamed – it’s called Sony Ericsson Vivaz. However, it’s got everything we’ve expected it to have since it was known as Kurara.

The Vivaz run Symbian touch and comes with a 640 x 360 pixels display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, and an 8.1MP autofocus camera with LED flash and HD 720p video recording.

There will be no less than four color versions of the smartphone: Cosmic Black, Silver Moon, Venus Ruby and Galaxy Blue.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz should be available starting the next few months, for a price that will be announced later on.

Here’s a video presentation of the Vivaz, watch while it’s still online:

Via Phone Arena

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Sony Ericsson Faith, the first WM 6.5 Green Heart phone

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:28:45 +0000

A new member of Sony Ericsson’s Green Heart family has just appeared on the Web – and this time it’s a Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone called Sony Ericsson Faith.

The Sony Ericsson Faith is certainly different from what SE has launched until now, looking like the child of a Nokia E71 and an LG GW550.

The new smartphone features a 2.4 inch QVGA display, full QWERTY keypad, quad-band GSM / EDGE (850 / 900/ 1800 / 1900) and dual-band UMTS / HSDPA (900 / 2100) connectivity, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, multi-tasking, panels, 3.2MP camera, and MicroSD card slot.

Sony Ericsson Faith should be available in two color versions (Silver and Black), but there’s no word yet on its release date and price.

Via Daily iPhone Blog

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Sony Ericsson Robyn appears again, may come in many colors

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:48:43 +0000

That mini version of the Xperia X10, which currently goes by the name of Sony Ericsson Robyn, has appeared in new photos, standing next to Apple’s iPhone.

We still don’t have too many exact details about the features of Sony Ericsson Robyn, but it looks like it will come with a 5MP camera, Wi-Fi and a 3.5mm headset jack. Regardless of its features, one thing’s clear: the phone is interesting.

Most probably running Android, the Robyn seems to have a QVGA touchscreen display (since it’s too small for higher resolutions).

Another leaked image of the Robyn shows it to have at least four color versions (black, white, pink and yellow – lime), so I believe that the phone might be Sony Ericsson’s response to handsets like the Samsung Corby.

No word yet on when Sony Ericsson plans to officially announce the Robyn, or if the handset will be launched under this name.

Via PointGPhone, AllAboutPhones

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 delayed until March?

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:33:41 +0000

Initially slated for a February release, the Xperia X10 – Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone – has reportedly been delayed until March. Its exact retail price is still not known, but it’s rumored to be around €550 ($800).

First appeared as Sony Ericsson X3 Rachael, the Xperia X10 (which will be launched by Rogers in Canada in the second half of the year) has a 4 inch WVGA touchscreen display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, HSPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack, 1GB of expandable memory, and an 8MP autofocus camera.

It’s not clear yet if the X10 will run Android 1.6 (as stated by SE back in November) or Android 2.0 – let’s hope for the second option.

Meanwhile, here’s an Xperia X10 video presentation that you may not know (showcasing Sony Ericsson’s Timescape and Mediascape software features).

Via SEMC Blog

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Sony Ericsson Robyn and LG GD880 photos show up

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:12:55 +0000

Not long after we saw the Sony Ericsson Kanna, another new, unannounced SE phone has appeared in a leaked photo. This time it’s an Android phone called Sony Ericsson Robyn.

What’s weird about the Sony Ericsson Robyn is that it looks like a mini version of Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (recently announced by Rogers in Canada).

There aren’t too many details about the Sony Ericsson Robyn at the moment, but the handset may have a QVGA display (touchscreen, of course), as well as Sony Ericsson’s new Timescape and Mediascape features.

As you can see in the photo below, the X10 is almost twice taller that the Robyn:

Also appeared today is the LG GD880, which looks a bit like the LG GD510 Pop:

The rumored features of LG GD880 include a WVGA (480 x 854 pixels) touchscreen display, HSDPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio, 5MP camera, 100MB of internal memory, and MicroSD card slot.

The LG GD880 might cost around €350 unlocked – but there’s no word on when it will be launched.

Via GSM Arena

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Sony Ericsson Kanna U8i to be a QWERTY-equipped Kurara

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:30:25 +0000

Sony Ericsson Kanna is an unannounced SE smartphone that should be unveiled this year, alongside the Sony Ericsson Kurara U5i.

The Kanna looks a lot like the Kurara, but the main difference between them is that the former has a sliding QWERTY keyboard.

Like the Kurara, Sony Ericsson Kanna will run Symbian, featuring: a 3.2 inch display with 360 x 640 pixels, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack, 8.1MP autofocus camera, and 720p HD video recording.

Sony Ericsson Kanna U8i might be announced at MWC 2010 (February 15 – 18), probably together with the Kurara U5i.

Via SEMC, GSM Arena

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Sony Ericsson Elm and Hazel – new GreenHeart phones

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:09:59 +0000

Previously known as Susan and Sunny, the Sony Ericsson Elm and Sony Ericsson Hazel have just been officially announced as SE’s newest GreenHeart phones.

The handsets are made out of recycled plastics, they’re free from hazardous chemicals and come with E-manuals (thus being packaged in minimized packaging). The Hazel and Elm also feature a Walk Mate eco application, a green calculator and a low power consumption charger (called EP300 GreenHeart).

The first phone, Sony Ericsson Elm, is a candybar with a curved case. It will be available starting the first quarter of 2010, in two color versions (Metal Black and Pearly Rose).

The specs of Sony Ericsson Elm include: 2.2 inch QVGA display, HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, Google Maps, “10 days free weather forecast with Accuweather”, “clear voice and intelligent volume adaptation”, social networking integration (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter), push email, 5MP autofocus camera with Led flash, 280MB of internal memory, and MicroSD card support.

The second phone, Sony Ericsson Hazel is a slider that has most of the features the Elm has. The main difference is that its QVGA display is bigger – 2.6 inches. The phone will be available from Q2 2010, in Superior Black and Passionate Rouge.

Both the Elm and Hazel are splash resistant and are offered together with the Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-60J (also part of the GreenHeart family of products).

In addition to the two new phones, Sony Ericsson announced the Bluetooth Noise Shield Handsfree VH700, which features Intelligent Voice adaptation and will be available starting the second quarter of 2010.

Via Press release

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Some Sony Ericsson Aino phones have touchscreen problems

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:28:18 +0000

Launched not long ago in Europe, the US and India, the Sony Ericsson Aino isn’t doing too well in the UK.

More exactly, some customers have reported issues with the phone’s touchscreen functionality.

According to Reuters, a SE spokesman said that only a small number of Aino units have issues and the company is “working as quickly as possible” to solve them.

Together with the Sony Ericsson Satio, Aino is SE’s flagship phone for this Holiday season, featuring a 240 x 432 pixels display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 8MP camera and the ability to remote control Sony’s Playstation 3.

The news about Aino’s issues comes shortly after the Satio was (temporarily) withdrew from Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U, because of other software problems.

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Unannounced Sony Ericsson Kurara U5 gets previewed

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:56:59 +0000

The Sony Ericsson Kurara has not been officially announced (or confirmed), but that didn’t stop Eldar Murtazin from Mobile-review to publish an interesting preview of it.

Also called Sony Ericsson U5, the handset is certainly an interesting one and it will probably be one of SE’s flagship devices for 2010, together with the Xperia X10.

The main difference between Kurara and Xperia X10 is that the Kurara is a Symbian smartphone while the X10 is, of course, an Android one.

Eldar compares the SE Kurara U5 to the Samsung i8910 OmniaHD (which also runs Symbian), and he says that the SE smartphone doesn’t bring anything new, although its UI is faster than the one the OmniaHD has (in part thanks to the Cortex A8 processor that Sony Ericsson uses for the Kurara).

The handset has a 3.5 inch touchscreen display (not AMOLED, as previously believed), 3.5mm headset jack, MicroSD card slot, and Twitter and Facebook apps. There’s also an 8.1MP camera with autotfocus, but it’s “nothing to write home about, and except for its 720p resolution for video, it’s little to no different from your average cheap 8 MP module.”

All in all, Sony Ericsson Kurara U5 may be successful, but only if priced right – at about €300. Head on over to Mobile-review for the full preview.

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Sony Ericsson WebSDK for Android and Symbian launched

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:47:38 +0000

Sony Ericsson announced the availability of WebSDK beta for Android and Symbian, which will allow developers to create apps for the company’s Android and Symbian smartphones – starting with the already-available Satio and the upcoming Xperia X10.

The WebSDK is created together with PhoneGap (an open source community) and enables devs to work with HTML, CSS and JavaScript programming for developing application.

The Sony Ericsson WebSDK beta can be downloaded here – where you’ll also find more info and documentation.

Sony Ericsson has also launched a Web App Challenge, which requires you to “download the WebSDK and make something fantastic for the XPERIA X10 by December 31.” The creator of the best app will receive $4000. More info here.

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson to close four facilities, fire 2000 people

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:23:37 +0000

Sony Ericsson is getting ready to fire about 2,000 employees worldwide and close four of its facilities.

The affected locations will include two facilities in the US (the Research Triangle Park facility in North Carolina, and a small Miami facility), plus operations in Chennai (India) and Kista (Sweden).

The Research Triangle Park facility will be closed sometime in the second half of 2010, when Sony Ericsson’s North American headquarters will be moved to Atlanta. Some employees will be offered the chance to apply for jobs in other locations, while others will receive severance packages.

Sony Ericsson is currently the world’s fourth largest phone maker, behind Nokia, Samsung and LG, but ahead of Motorola. The company hopes to re-conquer its lost market share with new handsets planned for a 2010 – including the Android-based Xperia X10.

Via Engadget

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Sony Ericsson Kurara leaked again, no HD this time

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:09:42 +0000

More and more photos of the unannounced Sony Ericsson Kurara are showing up, and this new set is the best so far, as it presents the phone from almost all angles.

Unfortunately, there are no new details about the features of Kurara, so we’ll have to stick to the previously rumored ones: 3.5 inch AMOLED touchscreen display, an 8.1MP camera with autofocus and flash (the camera can be clearly seen now), and Symbian – probably Symbian^2, which is based on Symbian S60 5.1 Edition).

The HD inscription can no longer be seen on the back of the phone, so it may have been just a photoshop job.

The Sony Ericsson Kurara should be released in the first half of 2010 – maybe at about the same time with the Android-powered Xperia X10?

Via Pestaola

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Sony Ericsson Kurara shows up in new photos, promises HD video capabilities

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:31:29 +0000

Remember that Sony Ericsson Kurara which appeared last week in two photos that actually didn’t show much?

The handset has now been spotted in new images, and this time we can take a better look at it.

As previously reported, the Sony Ericsson Kurara is a smartphone based on Symbian S60 5th Edition and it should be included in SE’s Entertainment Unlimited line-up (like the Satio and Aino).

The features of Sony Ericsson Kurara apparently include a 3.5 inch AMOLED touchscreen display and an 8.1MP camera (which, judging by the HD seen on the phone’s back, should be able to record video in HD).

The Kurara should be announced in the first half of 2010, probably under a different name.

Via PhonesDB

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Sony Ericsson will open Xperia X10 Timescape and Mediascape UX apps to developers, port across Android and Symbian devices

Staska — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:12:38 +0000

The news reports about the new Sony Ericsson X10 Android handset today were mainly focused on it’s awesome specs and cool Timescape and Mediascape user interface apps, on top of Android 1.6.

And they are indeed pretty cool.

But today’s announcement actually gives even more hints, about how Sony Ericsson plans to go bout making new devices that should get it out of the current slump.

One of the first steps in SE plans, is making this *scape user interface, into an open UI platform, across multiple lines of devices.

Sony Ericsson head of portfolio planning has confirmed to Electricpig.co.uk that they do plan to port the new UI to Symbian handsets. And I will not be at all surprised, if their own high end feature phones will get the same UX too.

The other thing, revealed in Sony Ericsson communication to developers today, is that they plan to open Mediascape and Timescpe UI apps to third party developers, by releasing SDK sometime in 2010. According to SE:

We are keen to open up the APIs for these applications, and we welcome a dialog with developers to get ideas and feedback, with a view to launching a Sony Ericsson SDK in early 2010.

This common UI across multiple platforms approach, is actually nothing new. All major handset vendors are already doing it, in one way or another. HTC has the Sense UI, LG created “S-Class”, Samsung uses TouchWiz, which even has an SDK for third party widgets, etc;

But it’s good to see Sony Ericsson finally getting in tune with the industry trends with their multi platform user interface initiative and pretty cool devices. Both, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and Timescape/Mediascape UX apps, look good, albeit extremely laggy, in presentation and limited demos.

Hope they will iron out the bugs in a couple of months remaining before launch. Which was pretty nice.

Now comes the “easy” part. Implementation

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Opera Mobile 10 launched for Symbian S60 (touch and non-touch)

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:46:28 +0000

Opera announced the availability of Opera Mobile 10 beta for Symbian S60 phones from Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Opera Mobile 10 beta works with Symbian S60 3rd and 5th edition, so it can be installed on both touchscreen and non-touchscreen phones.

The new version of Opera Mobile has a fresh design, it’s twice as fast as the older versions launched for Symbian, and comes with desktop-like features such as Speed Dial and tabbed browsing.

Here’s a video presentation of Opera Mobile 10 beta for Symbian:

You can download Opera Mobile 10 beta for free from Opera’s official website.

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is official, comes with Android 1.6, new UX platform and more

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:57:38 +0000

Sony Ericsson’s first Android phone is now finally official and it’s called Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 – not Xperia X3 and neither Rachael.

The X10 will run Android 1.6 Donut (why not Android 2.0?), coming with a new UX (user experience) platform that we’ve seen before. This UX platform should provide a unique user experience, as it’s “combining best-in-class entertainment features with signature applications, unrivalled integration of social media services and a rich graphical user interface.”

As previously rumored, the Xperia X10 is based on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor – being the second Android phone to use a Snapdragon platform, after the Acer Liquid A1.

With the X10, users will have access to both Android Market and Play Now Arena. At the same time with the X10, Sony Ericsson will introduce two new features: Sony Ericsson Timescape, which “manages all your communication with one person in one place – you can browse through your conversations the bright way to check out your Facebook, Twitter, photos, emails, and texts all in one go”; and Sony Ericsson Mediascape, which “is the smart way to get all the music, photos and videos you want from your favorite friends and artists. It accesses content from everywhere – your phone, YouTube, PlayNow – and presents everything for you.”

Here are the phone’s main specs and features:

GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100 or UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100
4.0 inches scratch-resistant capacitive touchscreen display with 480 x 854 pixels
Wi-Fi
Gesture control
GPS
Google Maps with Street View
Wisepilot turn-by-turn navigation (free trial version)
WebKit web browser
Gmail
Google Calendar
Google Media Uploader
Google phone-top search
Google search widget
Google Talk
Google Voice Search
3.5mm headset jack
Bluetooth
MicroUSB
8.1MP autofocus camera with touch focus, intelligent face recognition, smile detection, image and video stabilizer, and geotagging (no flash, though)
1GB of internal memory
8GB MicroSD card included
119 x 63 x 13 mm
135 grams

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and X10a will be available starting the first quarter of 2010, in two color versions: Sensuous Black and Luster White. The smartphone’s price was not announced.

Sony Ericsson says about the X10 that it’s “the flagship phone in a family of phones coming to market during the first half of 2010”, so we should expect more Android handsets to be announced soon by the Swedish-Japanese company.

An Xperia X10 promo video can be watched below:

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson Rachael X3/X10’s UI demoed on video again

Ilinca Nita — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:08:19 +0000

Remember that first demo video of Sony Ericsson Rachael’s UI, leaked way back in July? Some sort of sequel to it has recently appeared on YouTube, showing even more of SE’s customized Android interface.

The demo here is concentrated on Rachael’s media player, which looks quite different from what we’re used to see on other Android phones.

If we’re to believe the title of the video, the Rachael’s 4 inch touchscreen display has a resolution of 480 x 854 – just like the display of Motorola Droid (which seems to be one of this year’s nicest Android handsets).

November 3 is the date when Sony Ericsson plans to officially announce the Rachael Xperia X3 (or X10) – let’s hope the phone will meet the high expectations everyone has about it.

Via Engadget

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael teaser video shows up

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:05:31 +0000

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 (aka Rachael) is definitely going to be announced on November 3, as previously rumored.

Sony Ericsson posted a teaser video with what’s going to be unveiled on this date, and the phone we can see in the video is the white version of X3 / Rachael (spotted several times until now around the Web).

Sadly, the video doesn’t tell us much, so we still have to wait until November 3 to finally take a look at the official Rachael X3 (or X10, or whatever Sony Ericsson will name it in the end).

The Rachael will be Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone. Its features should include a 4 inch WVGA touchscreen display, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, 8MP autofocus camera and a 3.5mm headset jack.

Until all these features get to be confirmed, here’s the promised teaser video:

Via Engadget

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Sony Ericsson Satio, Aino and Yari launched in India

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:11:09 +0000

Sony Ericsson announced the release of three new phones in India: Satio, Aino and Yari.

Previously known as Sony Ericsson Idou, the Satio is SE’s flagship cameraphone, coming with a 12MP autofocus camera that features touch focus, geotagging, face and smile detection, Xenon flash, and VGA video recording at 30fps.

Sony Ericsson Satio also comes with Symbian S60 5th Edition, a 3.5 inch touchscreen display with 360 x 640 pixels and 16 million colors, GSM and HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, stereo FM radio, ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz processor, and an 8GB memory card in the box.

Indian customers will be able to buy the Sony Ericsson Satio for 35,950 INR ($759).

The second new phone, Sony Ericsson Aino (which was just launched in the US too), comes with a 240 x 432 pixels display, alphanumeric keypad, 8MP camera, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, 8GB memory card, and the ability to work as a remote controller for PlayStation 3. The Aino is priced at 28,950 INR ($612).

And finally, the Sony Ericsson Yari features a QVGA display, 5MP camera, gesture and motion gaming, GPS and a 1GB card in the box.

The Yari is cheaper than the other two SE phones – 16,950 INR ($358).

Via Tech2

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Sony Ericsson Aino hits the US, $599.99 unlocked

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:41:40 +0000

Almost two months after it got FCC’s approval, Sony Ericsson Aino is now available in the US via the SonyStyle online shop.

The Aino is sold unlocked and you have to pay $599.99 to get it. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s currently out of stock, but you can still order it (and receive it as soon as stocks are refilled).

The good news is that the phone has 850/1900 MHz UMTS/HSDPA connectivity, so you’ll be able to use it on AT&T’s 3G network.

The other features of Sony Ericsson Aino include: 3 inch TFT touchscreen display with 240 x 432 pixels and 16 million colors, GPS with Google Maps, Wi-Fi, clear audio experience, MicroSD card support (8GB card included), and an 8MP autofocus camera with Led flash and VGA video recording at 30fps.

Sony Ericsson Aino also has a sliding alphanumeric keypad, and it can be used as a remote controller for your Sony PlayStation 3 console.

Via PhoneScoop

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Sony Ericsson Equinox announced by T-Mobile USA

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:34:28 +0000

October 28 may be a big day for Verizon (the largest US carrier is going to launch the BlackBerry Storm2 and announce the Motorola Droid), but it’s also a somewhat important day for T-Mobile, which will release the Sony Ericsson Equinox.

The Equinox is a 3G clamshell phone featuring “eye-catching light effects” that let you associate up to five contacts with a unique effect.

Coming as the US version of Sony Ericsson T707, the Equinox also features a 2.2 inch QVGA internal display, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, FM radio, YouTube access and a 3.2MP camera.

T-Mobile will sell the Sony Ericsson Equinox for $50 with a 2-yr contract agreement.

To celebrate the release of Equinox, Sony Ericsson’s brand ambassador Maria Sharapova will be present at the opening of a new T-Mo store in LA, California, on October 31. A “Maria Sharapova look-a-like contest” will be organized by Sony Ericsson – prizes will include Equinox phones, Sony PSPs and Sony VAIO laptops. More details here.

Press release via PhoneScoop

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Sony Ericsson Rachael (X3) to be announced on November 3; SE Kurara coming soon too

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:51:47 +0000

The long-rumored Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael (which might be called X10) will apparently be officially announced on November 3.

Sony Ericsson’s What’s Next webpage lets us know that this is the date of some mysterious announcement. The guys over at the se-blog took a look at the page’s HTML code and found that the word “Rachael” appears two times in it.

So it’s almost certain that Sony Ericsson will finally unveil the Rachael – its first Android smartphone, rumored to feature a 4 inch WVGA display, an 8MP camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

In other SE news, it looks like the Swedish-Japanese company is also readying a new Symbian S60 smartphone (like the Satio), currently codenamed Sony Ericsson Kurara.

According to the Semc blog, Kurara is a full-touch handset with a large display (possibly a 3.5 inch one) and an 8.1MP camera. The two photos below are the only ones available at the moment:

Sony Ericsson Kurara could be announced in the first half of 2010.

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New Pics and Videos of Sony Ericsson Susan and Sunny Emerge

Brad Molen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:13:07 +0000

Just a couple weeks ago we reported at Unwired View that Sony Ericsson has a couple new handsets in the works that will be rugged and waterproof. At the time we had a couple drawings or mockups of these devices, but just recently we found some more official-looking pics and videos showing them off.

Here’s what we knew going into today: Susan is a candybar, Sunny is a slider. Both phones have 5 MP cameras with LED flash, though neither would likely be a Cybershot device.

Today, however, we saw the pics and videos of the device in a lot more detail, but the only additional thing we truly learned was that there is some kind of new UI platform on these devices. It’s not the traditional style for Sony Ericsson, so we are left speculating on exactly what it could be, and if it will make it into the final versions that get shipped out.

So check out the pic and videos we dug up and see what you think of these new devices.

via PhoneArena

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FCC approves Sony Ericsson Xperia X2, provides User Guide

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:51:58 +0000

Officially announced in early September, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 has now hit the FCC (almost at the same time with the Samsung i5700) – although, we have to mention, the US version (Xperia X2a) is still not approved by the Federal Commission.

Anyway, the FCC has published an X2 User Guide, which teaches you how to switch between Xperia panels, use the 8.1MP autofocus camera, and other things like that. The User Guide can be seen here (PDF file).

Part of the new line up of Windows Mobile 6.5 phones, Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 features a 3.2 inch WVGA touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack and so on.

There’s no word yet if any of the US carriers will sell the Xperia X2.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael to be called X10?

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:25:43 +0000

Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone, the unannounced Xperia X3 Rachael, might be officially called Xperia X10.

According to Tweakers.net, the info was obtained from anonymous SE employees, who also said that the Android-powered Xperia would be available starting 2010 (yeah, we’ve heard about this before).

Although it might not hit the market until next year, the SEMC Blog has it that the Rachael will be officially announced in November – they say nothing about the handset’s renaming to X10 though.

Well, until something official about all this shows up, here’s the latest Xperia X3 live photo, appeared over at 4pda.info:

In case you don’t know yet, the smartphone should come with Android 2.0, a 4 inch WVGA touchscreen display, 8MP camera and – more importantly – a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU.

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Sony Ericsson’s Q3 2009 results show “positive trend”

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:50:25 +0000

Today, Sony Ericsson announced its results for the third quarter of 2009 and, although they’re far from being great, they’re a bit better than the results for the second quarter of the year.

14.1 million Sony Ericsson phones were sold in Q3 2009 (compared to 25.7 million units in Q3 2008, and 13.8 million units in Q2 2009) and SE estimates that its global market share is of 5%. The average selling price was €114.

The Swedish-Japanese company lost €198 million (before taxes) – that’s actually good news if you think about the €283 million loss reported in the previous quarter.

“Our business in the third quarter started to show the effects of our ongoing transformation programme. Having refreshed our brand we are now better positioned to support the launch of new products such as Aino and Satio in Q4 2009. We have cleared channel inventories, and have continued to realign internal resources and improve efficiency. We have also arranged external financing to strengthen the company’s financial position. Transforming the business for future growth and returning Sony Ericsson to profitability is the focus of the senior management team and will continue under the new leadership,” said Dick Komiyama, ex- President of Sony Ericsson, now replaced by Bert Nordberg.

Now let’s wait and see if the Satio, Aino and Xperia X2 (pictured above) will further improve SE’s situation.

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson Susan and Sunny to be rugged, waterproof phones

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:53:00 +0000

It looks like Sony Ericsson plans to enlarge its portfolio of handsets with two rugged and waterproof phones, currently codenamed Sony Ericsson Susan and Sony Ericsson Sunny.

Both new phones should have 5MP photo cameras with Led flash, although they don’t seem to be part of the Cyber-shot series like the C702 (the latest-released rugged SE handset).

Sony Ericsson Susan is a candybar that apparently has a home button, similar to the one Android handsets have – however, the chances for it to be an Android phone are quite low.

The other upcoming phone, Sony Ericsson Sunny, is a slider that looks a bit like the T715 model:

Of course, these photos only show renderings of the phones, so the real devices could look different. For the moment, there’s no word on when Sony Ericsson plans to announce the Susan and Sunny.

Via Esato

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3 launches app store for Nokia and SE phones in Scandinavia

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:26:05 +0000

Today, Mobile Virtual Network Operator 3 has launched its own application store, which is currently available only in Denmark.

For the moment, the app store – apparently called 3apps – is compatible with Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones, but more handsets will probably be added soon.

The store features 500 applications organized in categories like Social Networking, Business, Entertainment and Health & Fitness.

The first phone to come with 3’s app store preinstalled is the eco-friendly Sony Ericsson Naite (which was announced by O2 UK yesterday).

Via Mobil.nu

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O2 UK launches eco-friendly Sony Ericsson Naite

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:22:39 +0000

Unveiled in June, at the same time with the C901 GreenHeart, the Sony Ericsson Naite has just been announced by O2 UK.

The Naite is an eco-friendly candybar phone made from recycled and recyclable materials. It’s being shipped with reduced packaging, a low power consumption charger, and an e-manual instead of a printed Users Guide.

The phone’s features include: QVGA display, HSPA connectivity, stereo Bluetooth, 2MP camera, and MicroSD card support (up to 8GB).

Sony Ericsson Naite should be available through O2 UK as of now, free on select plans, or for £97.86 ($155) on Pay & Go.

If you buy the Sony Ericsson Naite you have the chance to take a free gift for yourself (like a solar power charger), or give a donation to charity – “pay the salary of a teacher for a month, help the care of a vulnerable child or even contribute towards a PlayPump roundabout water system in Africa.”

In case you’re interested in what O2’s Head of Environment, Gareth Rice, has to say about the Sony Ericsson Naite, watch te video below:

Via O2

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Sony Ericsson phones to feature visual voicemail from Comverse

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:29:03 +0000

Comverse, a New York-based software provider, has announced that it’s collaborating with Sony Ericsson in order to bring visual voicemail to its phones.

With visual voicemail, your voicemail messages are shown in an in-box which features an email-like interface – this provides valuable info including date, time and length of messages, and even caller number or identity (if available).

Neither Comverse, nor Sony Ericsson has mentioned which phones will get visual voicemail, but we assume the Xperia X2 and Xperia X3 are among them.

“Our strategic cooperation with handset leaders like Sony Ericsson helps ensure that new handsets can offer the most attractive and user-friendly visual voicemail experience to the broadest number of people. Visual voicemail’s success comes from providing users a richer array of capabilities and choice. Its value to operators is underscored by solid global take-up figures showing that it can increase voicemail usage and penetration in key segments,” declared John Bunyan, Chief Marketing Officer at Comverse.

Many carriers around the world (Verizon included) have launched visual voicemail services for a while now.

Via Press release

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Sony Ericsson Equinox (T707) coming to T-Mobile USA in October

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:20:51 +0000

Announced back in March by Sony Ericsson and Maria Sharapova, the T707 will be soon released by T-Mobile USA as Sony Ericsson Equinox.

Coming as a fashionable clamshell phone, the Sony Ericsson Equinox should be on sale via T-Mo starting October 28.

The features of Sony Ericsson Equinox include: scratch-resistant displays (QVGA internal one and 36 x 128 pixels external one), stereo Bluetooth, picture messaging, 3.2MP camera and “fashionable pulse light.”

No word yet on the price of Sony Ericsson Equinox from T-Mobile USA, but it will probably be under $100 with a contract agreement for 2 years.

Via TmoNews

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael already unboxed

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:54:29 +0000

Expected to be released in January 2010, Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 Rachael has recently been unboxed in Germany – or at least that’s what some pictures appeared at Mobile-nova want us to believe.

The unboxed Xperia X3 is a white one, but there will be a black version of the handset too.

Coming as Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone, the Rachael / Xperia X3 has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8MP camera, 4 inch WVGA display, 3.5mm headset jack and probably many other nice features.

And since we’ve mentioned the black SE Xperia X3, some blurry live photos of it have appeared at the SE-nse forums:

Also, lots of X3 / Rachael renderings are available at 3D Export.

All in all, Sony Ericsson’s first Android handset looks pretty cool. Let’s hope it will be indeed launched in January 2010 and not later.

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