Sony Ericsson Xperia active Delayed in UK; Sony Will Offer LiveView for Free

One of the things that I’ve liked about Sony Ericsson has been their attempt at creating different kinds of Android smartphones. While everyone has been busy upping their single core processors to dual core and just raising specs from one device to another, Sony has been one of the few makers who has created different smartphones, catered to different consumer groups. The efforts have also shown signs of paying off, though in our opinion, if Sony would actually properly market their products, they might be far more ahead then where they currently sit; however, that’s a topic for a different article. The Sony Ericsson Xperia active fits this bill quite accordingly. A one of a kind Android smartphone, designed for users who are well, active in their life. The Xperia active is both dust-proof and water-resistant. In fact, the phone can be kept under 1m of water for 30 mins.

Parts of Europe have received shipments of the Xperia active as early as September but UK, a major territory was left out of the launch at the last minute. Sony never confirmed the reasoning but is now targeting the end of November for a launch window. As the mantra goes, good things come to those who wait, UK owners should be pleased that Sony is sweetening the deal for them by throwing in their LiveView (£40, $63) accessory, for free. LiveView is a 1.3-inch OLED colour (128×128 pixel) display accessory with a clip which can attach to your belt, wrist band and whatever else place you can think of. With a four touch sensor display, two physical buttons and bluetooth, LiveView is designed to integrate with existing apps and display additional information for you, without requiring you to take your phone out to view the content. Examples include texts messages, email and Facebook notifications appearing right on the LiveView screen. To make finding compatible LiveView apps easier, Sony has also developed the LiveWare manager which scans the Android Market for LiveView capable apps. Now if someone would just hurry up and make a communicator badge that I can wear on my chest so that I can make calls Star Trek style, I and the rest of the geek kingdom would highly appreciate it. So would Star Fleet.

After the jump, additional pictures of the LiveView, a video overview from Sony and your chance to comment await you.