Sony Mobile

Sony creates Single Copper Cable for Cellphones, helps give them more flexibility

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 20, 2011 | 10 comments

Many times when we see patents for a particular product or technology, it’s meant to be something that may or may not happen and can be years down the line. For Sony, this new design is right around the corner. Inside of most handsets, especially the flip and split screens, runs about 22 cables that connect power, control signals, audio, video and other functions of the phone. With this new single wire interface technology, Sony will be replacing all of them with a single cable that is capable of doing speeds of 940Mbps. This means that not only is Sony able to clear the clutter inside of the phone and give their engineers more space for other components or help reduce weight and size, but they will also give the design team a lot more freedom to create. Sony has stated that it plans to “swiftly” use this new creation.

[Via Sony]

Sony Ericsson to Release LTE Device “Pretty Soon”, Could Be the Sony S1 Tablet?

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 17, 2011 | 9 comments

Little is still known about the Sony’s Tablet ambitions outside of the few facts that we’ve reported. Still, it’s interesting to see Sony Ericsson CTO Jan Uddenfeldt talk about the future of the company and mention LTE devices and Tablets in the same conversation. As Uddenfeldt mentioned, Sony Ericsson is looking at bringing LTE devices to the market “pretty soon”, with a focus on the US market. The first of their goals was reached with the Android assault of phones, ranging from the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Play, Neo and Pro that are set to be released in the US in the next few months. Secondly, Sony Ericsson wanted a partner in the US this time around and their partnership with Google helped them secure deals with Verizon who is getting the Xperia Play exclusive. This is actually quite a big step for Sony as prior to this, their phones would get released in the US with no carrier support. This meant that consumers who actually wanted their devices had to hunt down the few select locations that sold them. Once found, because of the lack of carrier support, the phones would be at full price, instead of the usual carrier subsidized price with a two year contract.

Now with multiple handsets on their way to the US market with carrier partners, Sony is discussing their LTE ambitions as well. With Sony already having TD-LTE prototypes in house, they expect to release LTE devices “pretty soon” though no exact time frame was given. However, what might be even a bigger news is the fact that Uddenfeldt mentioned a collaboration between between Sony and Android on future tablets. Could this mean that the Sony S1 tablet is actually a collaboration between Sony and Ericsson? If their new handsets are any indication, this would make perfect sense. Especially if you consider that tablets are designed around the idea of connectivity, outside of WiFi offering. With Sony Ericsson, Sony can offer 3G, 4G and LTE variations with carrier support to ensure their product has a healthy network connectivity behind it. Outside of that, not much more was given from the Sony Ericsson CTO.

[Via Fierce Wireless]

Sony Ericsson Loses First Round Against Clearwire Trademark

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 17, 2011 | 1 comment

Last month, Sony Ericsson decided to sue Clearwire, indicating that the companies logo was too similar to that of their own, thus infringing upon their trademark. Many times, when it comes to trademark lawsuits, it’s mostly about companies freaking out, or more appropriately, their lawyers being bored but in this case, the logos are pretty damn similar. However, the ruling judge on this case doesn’t seem to agree, denying Sony’s current lawsuit. Still, I’m sure Sony Ericsson will further peruse this but till then, the ruling stands.

Clearwire is pleased with the federal court’s decision to deny Sony Ericsson’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the use of the CLEAR marks at issue in the case. The judge’s findings of insufficient evidence of likelihood of confusion and no irreparable harm further support our contention that the suit is without merit. We expect that the final disposition of the case will be in our favor and that it will demonstrate that the CLEAR branding is clearly differentiated from the Sony Ericsson brand.

Breaking: First Sony Android Tablet News Emerge, Codename S1

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 16, 2011 | 14 comments

With only Apple’s iPad on the market, (Sorry Samsung but you Galaxy S is not real competition) the tablet sector is already feeling crowded, with every major electronic company in the last two months announcing some form of up coming tablet. The problem and reason for these delays include that Android is still not yet designed for Tablets. Of course, all of this will change, once Android 3.0 comes out but till then, you either have to create subpar experiences ling Samsung has and use a version of Android that Google itself admits was not meant for tablets. Or you can wait like the other companies till Google actually gives you the tools you need to create something compelling.

With every other major electronic company announcing some kind of tablet ambition and or future release, Sony has been curiously quite on the front. The company has on several occasions hinted at a Sony tablet but we have yet to get a sense of the companies plans till now. Sony is said to be using a wide range of its engineering teams, bringing in people from the VAIO, Reader, Sony Ericsson and PlayStation divisions to help built what’s been described as “cutting edge” tablet. With Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) running under the hood, this 9.4-inch tablet is believed to be released under a new title from Sony, instead of relying on current brand names like VAIO. On top of what Honeycomb will provider to companies, Sony is said to be building a custom tailored UI, centered around media, with Sony’s own Qriocity service playing a dominant roll, much like Apple’s iPad and iTunes. This of course makes perfect sense with Qriocity providing Movies, Shows and Music, Sony also has its own ebook store and game offerings with PSN. With the recent announcement of the PlayStation Suit coming to Android devices, including tablets, we can’t but think with the inclusion of PlayStation engineers onboard the S1 (Sony’s current internal name) that Sony wants to create a compelling entertainment experience.

Xperia Play Gaming Video

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 16, 2011 | 1 comment

If you haven’t already, read our prior post where we discuss the Xperia Play and what the Sony Ericsson Smartphone has to offer. For those who want to see what gaming will look like on the Xperia Play, here is another video for you. Checkout some prior videos as well if you’re still hungry for details.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Comes to Verizon in the US, Rogers in Canada (Updated 2x)

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 15, 2011 | 3 comments

As we reported yesterday, we have a much better idea about the Xperia Play, now knowing the full spec list and games that will be offered on launch. We also reported that for the United States, the Xperia Play will be a Verizon Wireless exclusive. What we didn’t know is who our friends North of us would have as their carrier. Now we know that both the Xperia Play and Xperia Arc are coming to Canada and will be exclusive to Rogers. With a Spring release window set, we’re still awaiting an official launch date.

Update:

Looks like we are a little closer to an official date. Canada’s release window is now set for late March, similar to the US.

Hit the jump for the press release.

Update 2:

Since the product announcement, all information in regards to an exclusivity from Verizon have been taken down from both parties. As one of our readers pointed out, the Xperia Play is “gsm/hspa compatible (t-mo & at&t) with the availability to go to a cdma (code division multible access),” meaning that the phone can come to both Verizon and AT&T/T-Mobile. As we get closer to the launch date, expect us to report on the carrier status of this phone and Sony Ericssons other up coming Android phones like the Xperia Arc, Neo and Pro.

Thanks to SonyFanboy for the tip!

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Video

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 15, 2011 | 20 comments

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is designed to cater to the smartphone user who wants to game on the go as well. Running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Xperia Play is a fully loaded with the latest offerings from Android while giving PlayStation users a familiar pop out keypad, designed to satisfy the gamer on the go. If you haven’t already, read our previous post where we dive into the phone and it’s offerings. Bellow, you will find some videos from Sony Ericsson, highlighting the idea of the Xperia Play and some of the devices functionalities.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Details, Specs and Games

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 14, 2011 | 84 comments

With the Mobile World Congress 2011 (MWC) now in full swing, we have a clear vision of not only the many leaked products from Sony Ericsson, but their exact specs, offerings and release date information. The most infamous product over the last several months from Sony Ericsson has been the Xperia Play. Before we knew the details of the phone, many had though that the device would be a fusion of Sony’s PlayStation and Ericsson division, thus calling it the PlayStation Phone but things are now much more clear. First, the nitty gritty specs of the phone and then we will dive deeper into the games being offered, as well as some video and pictures of the device.

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play Retail Booths Leaked

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 4, 2011 | 10 comments

The still unannounced PlayStation Phone of sorts, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, continues its streak of public leaks. The latest is the retail booths, designed to place in retailer outlets such Best Buy to help the product stand out from the now ever-so-crowded Android market. In this case, these booths emphasize the gaming capability of the Xperia Play, in hopes of drawing in the gamers on the go. As a quick recap, the Xperia Play will boast a 4-inch multitouch 854 x 480 LCD, 1GHz Processor, 512MB of RAM, 802.11 b/g/n, 8 Megapixel Camera with 720p Video Recording and Android 2.3 to name a few.

These booths come as a great step for Sony, helping to show off the company’s new phone as well as hopefully raise the company’s profile in the US. As we reported, Sony Ericsson has enjoyed some success in Europe, selling over 9 million Xperia X10 products. Still, we think the company has some way to go before it can really compete with the likes of HTC, LG and Motorola. This is more due in part to lack of brand awareness than quality of products.

[Via All About Phones]

Sony Makes $887 Million Net Profit in Q3, Sees Rise in Sales in Most Divisions

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 3, 2011 | 0 comments

Sony has just announced their Q3 Holiday results with ¥137.5 billion (approximately US $1.68b) operating income and a total of $887 million in net profit. Compared to 2009, this is actually down by nearly 6% though this is mostly due to a 5% stronger yen and not an actual reflection of the companies performance. Sony’s Consumer, Professional and Devices division dropped 47 percent to ¥26.8b ($327.3m) as margins have shrunk, thanks to the global recession, factored with already fierce competition between rivals like Samsung and LG. On the other hand, Sony’s Networked Products and Services (which includes the PlayStation brand) saw a dramatic 134% jump to ¥45.7b ($559.78), helping offset the decline of the consumer products.

The good news for Sony is that in midsts of all the woes mentioned above, the electronic giant was able to raise unit sales in almost all divisions compared to 2009. Bravia sales were up 2.5 million, totaling 7.9 million. Video cameras was able to sell only .1 million more, an expected decline with most portable devices now having some form of video capturing method built in while Compact Digital Cameras saw a 1 million unit sales increase. The now profitable PlayStation division saw the PS3 lose .2 million units compared to the 2009 Q3 but is ahead of 2009 sales. The PlayStation 3 saw a total of 13 million unit sales in 2009 while the company now sits at a healthy 15 million units sold and still has another quarter to go. The same cannot be said for the PlayStation Portable which saw sales slip .6 million units, down to 3.6 million units. Now in its 11th year, the PlayStation 2 still managed to sell 2.1 million units, on par with the year prior.

Software sales on the other hand were a completely different story with sales raising both on the PS3 and the PSP. PlayStation 3 software sales were up an amazing 10 million units, with 57.6 million pieces of software sold. The PSP, though down in hardware sales also saw an increase in software consumption with a 1.5 million unit increase to sit at 16.5 million units of software sold. The PS2 on the other hand took a big hit, seeing a 5.9 million unit drop, down to 5.3 million.

[Via Sony]

Sony Ericsson Admits They’ve Made Mistakes, Says 2011 Will Be Better

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 31, 2011 | 2 comments

It’s always humbling to see a company be willing to look back, reflect, and admit that they have made mistakes. It’s even better when the company has learned from the mistakes and is both willing and planning on doing better. With the Sony Ericsson Arc on the horizon, it seems that Sony Ericsson will indeed have a different attitude and offering during 2011.

“The first generation of handsets in our portfolio was about getting the capability out there”, Steve Walker (Acting) global head of marketing for Sony Ericsson.

During 2010, Sony released the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro which have now surpassed 9 million shipped though they all shipped with outdated Android 1.6 and only recently saw an upgrade path to 2.1. This and a lack of marketing and strategy made it hard for Sony to stand out from the crowded Android market with the likes of HTC, Motorola and LG.

“It’s important to remember that 2010 was the first year for mass market Android handsets. Yes there had been one or two things out from HTC previously, but when we started to design our 2010 handsets in 2008, nobody really knew the dynamics of the Android smartphone market or even what the smartphone market was going to be”, explains Walker in respect of a range that hasn’t been too well received over the last 12 months.

“None of us could predict 2 years previously, to what extent users would switch into smartphones. None of us could really predict what would be more important and less important for consumers”.

Sony Creates Worlds First 16.1 Megapixel Camera Sensor

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 30, 2011 | 16 comments

So you thought you were getting fancy with your 8 megapixel camera on your Droid or 12 megapixel on your camera? Well Sony wishes to up you with a 16.1 Megapixel camera sensor for cellphones that is said to be released January of next year. The unit is is said to have a “1/2.8-inch back-illuminated Exmor R model IMX081PQ sensor” that is the industry’s smallest at “1.12μm unit cell size and is capable of shooting 1080p at 30fps or 720p at 60fps”. Sony is also producing a 1/3.2-inch 8.13 megapixel IMX105PQ sensor with IU105F2 lens module for release in April 2011.

[Via Sony]

Editorial: Sony Wants to Become a Top Android Handset Maker. Can They Do It?

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 21, 2011 | 9 comments

Sony Ericsson finally got into the Android handset race mid 2010 and its been a bumpy ride for the two company partnership ever sense. Though they offer a few models, starting with the current flagship Xperia X10, followed by the Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro, Sony has been unable to gain much traction within the cellphone world (though to be fair to them, the company currently claims that they have 17% of the Android market in Europe). Some might point towards the fact that its been hard to find their devices out of few Sony Style stores and now Best Buy promotion. Other might think that the problem has been with the lackluster Android support that we have chronicled on this site with the Xperia X10 finally getting Android 2.1 in late December, months after devices like the Droid X, X2 and HTC Evo had them. Still, Sony Ericsson has been bullish on its prospects and the company has gone on record, stating that it wants to be the top Android handset provider. Can they do it? Currently, I say no.

Sony Ericsson Arc Will Comes With Android 2.3, Not 2.4

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 20, 2011 | 11 comments

Remember those screen shots from the Sony Ericsson Arc sporting Android 2.4 during CES? Well many started to speculate if there was another build of Android after 2.3 before the OS went into 3.0 category and if so, did this have something to do with the PlayStation experience Sony is looking to bring to it’s PlayStation phone. As it turns out, the simple answer is no. Seeing how the Sony Ericsson Arc has yet to go into full production, Sony had to grab still prototype models to use as displays for CES and one phone happened to be sporting the wrong code and thus was showing 2.4. This ended up being part of no greater coverup or surprise from Sony and Google and instead was just an internal code error from Sony. So nothing to see here folks, move right along.

No OS Updates from Sony Ericcson for Xperia X10 Beyond Android 2.1

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 19, 2011 | 2 comments

I’ve long chronicled the hardship Xperia X10 users have had to deal with, with it comes to Android and the latest offerings from Sony. Sony Ericsson first launched the Xperia X10 in Fall with Android 1.6 which for it’s time was already out of date and it took the company till late December to begin a true roll out to Android 2.1. Still, at least those users now have the semi current build of Android. But what about Android 2.2 and 2.3? Not so much says Sony. A few quotes from Sony Ericsson:

“We believe that the current Xperia range on Android 2.1 coupled with Sony Ericsson’s proprietary upgrades and unique hardware delivers a user experience that is on par with, and in many cases better than, a vanilla installation of Android 2.2.

We’re planning another upgrade to bring new features (such as for example multi-touch for Xperia X10) to the current family of Xperia™ smartphones in Q1 2011.

Our priority right now is to keep enhancing the user experience of the existing products through coming updates and to deliver a fantastic range of smartphones in 2011 that are all on the latest possible version of Android – that is a target we are determined to hit.”

So this is a case of good news, bad news. The bad news is obviously that Sony isn’t looking to bring further Android OS releases to the Xperia X10. The good is that the X10, X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro are not being abandoned. Instead, Sony will release it’s own updates for the phones, like Pinch-t0-zoom, something that is completely different from improvements from Google’s Android and can give Sony specific areas to improve upon, without having to wait for the mothership to do something about it. Just keep in mind, the up coming Sony Ericsson Arc will sport Android 2.3 from day one.