Sony Ericsson

Sony Starts Shipping Xperia X8, Still Sports Android 1.6

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 12, 2010 | 854 comments

Sony Ericsson has started to ship the Xperia X8, the smaller, less beefy version of the Xperia X10. The unit includes what you would expect with GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi and touchscreen. Less stellar is its 600mhz processor and 3.2 fix focus camera, but then again, its not meant to be a flagship unit and not everybody cares for all the bells and whistles out there. Currently, this unit ships with Android 1.6, but an update to Android 2.1 is expected for later in the year. Although I’m not too clear about the contract based price of this phone sense those shift weekly with provider promotions, you can pick this unit up from Sony unlocked with no contract for $300.

Hit the jump for a video overview of the Xperia X8 which will give you a pretty good feel of what Sonys take is on the smart phone.

Sony Xperia Won’t Gain Android 2.1 Till Late October

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 4, 2010 | 17 comments

Sony Ericsson continues to be one troubled division, seeming to be schizophrenic. There are times where the company gets it and decides to get into the smartphone war with a lower price to gain some shares and even abandon dead formats. Then, during the same big launch, Sony releases its Xperia X10 and Xperia X10 Mini Pro with Android 1.6, already a dated OS. Now, after promising a September release date, Sony wont be giving its users Android 2.1 till late October. This of course wouldn’t be as bad if Android 2.1 hadn’t been out for months, but not only has 2.1 been available all summer, but 2.2 is currently out as well. Sony needs to realize that the smartphone market is moving fast and every other week there is a new device coming out that wants to be king of the hill. Sony Ericsson, who has not had any real presence in the US market, cannot afford to enter the market with outdated software. This then brings us to the point that this is a software upgrade. All Sony needs to do is to give Xperia users new build to download and they will gain all the new features. Now I understand that there needs to be engineering and coding to make sure the build works with all of the Xperia features and layouts but this is work that should have been done months ago. In order for Sony to truly compete, they cannot play catch up with everybody else. They need be aggressive, both in their pricing, marketing, and support of their smartphone lineup.

[Via Sony Ericsson Blog]

Sony Ericsson Dumps Symbian, Favors Android All Around

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 1, 2010 | 19 comments

Not too long ago, Sony Ericsson was in a huge rut and the marriage between Sony and Ericsson seemed to be all but over. Then Sony introduced the Xperia X10 and the X10 Mini Pro and the company seems to have its mojo back. In the glory days of Sony Ericsson, the company used the Symbian OS which is an open source platform much like Google’s Android along with other giants like Nokia and Motorola. That was pre-iPhone. Since then, Motorola has gone nearly out of business, fully dumped Symbian and now is banging out Android phones while it holds onto dear life. Nokia, once-dominant handset maker, has now zero presence in the United States although the company has a huge worldwide market presence, though that has declined from 51% a year ago to current 41.2%. In order to make Symbian relevant, Nokia and the Symbian foundation are dumping a lot of money into revamping the OS and making it a much better competitor to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Let’s not forget that there is Rim with their new Blackberry 6 OS and Microsoft this winter with their Windows Phone 7. You can quickly see how much work Symbian has ahead of itself. In the meantime, Sony wants to make money, not wait to see if Nokia and Symbian can deliver. As Sony Ericsson spokesperson Aldo Liguori bluntly puts it, “We have no plans for the time being to develop any new products to the Symbian Foundation standard or operating system.” With Sony having many new ventures with Google, this news doesn’t come as a surprise as we expect many new Sony Ericsson products with the Android OS. Still, never say never is a universal lingo for Sony’s statement: they will leave the door open for them to develop future Symbian products, pending how well things turn out for Nokia and their new OS.

[Via BusinessWeek]

Sony Ericsson Xperia and Bike Have Sex

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 7, 2010 | 22 comments

During the IFA conference last week, in celebration of the launch of the new Xperia X10, Sony had a cool concept bike out. Ever wondered what a bike would look like if Sony Ericsson made one? Well wonder no more! There you have it. You can now finally sleep at night, not having to wonder about the possibility and outcome.

[Pic Via Engadget]

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro Review

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 3, 2010 | 10 comments

Hot on the heals of their Xperia X10 launch, Sony is following up with a newer and different take on the Smartphone, the Xperia X10 Mini Pro. Woo, mouth full. Why not X10 Mini? Because that’s not how Sony does, they prefer extremely long and unconsumer friendly names. But that is for a different topic. With the new X10 Mini Pro, Sony is looking to target a different segment of the market. Those who want more then a phone that just makes phones calls, yet they don’t need everything an iPhone might have to offer. Now if you are reading this blog, chances are that you might not be one of those people but if you look around, there is plenty of people I’m sure that can come to mind. It seems that the guys over and Engadget agree as well.

Despite the relatively slow 600Mhz processor, the phone is actually very speedy. Running apps such as Tweetcaster and NewsRob are much faster than devices such as theGalaxy S that runs a processor nearly twice as fast.

It seems like Sony was able to take the best feature of a regular phone, add some Android to the mix and create a very functional and affordable phone for those who just don’t need a fully fledged Smartphone. Hit up Endgadget for the full review.

[Via Engadget]

Sony brings Xperia X10 to AT&T, something Smarter is Sony

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 9, 2010 | 14 comments

Sony over the weekend teased us that something smarter is coming. Our guess was the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and that’s exactly what Sony is introducing to the United States. Details on the phone are a little slim in the sense that we know the entire hardware, but we don’t know which version of Android it will be shipping with and there is no mention of the specifics on Sony’s own site, other than OS Android. You might wonder why I mentioned in the title that the something smarter is Sony. The reason is simple, the phone is priced at $129 with a two year AT&T contract. That is a fantastic price for the phone, but more importantly, Sony knows that the $199 price range is currently way crowded by brands everybody knows. Palm tried the $199 with the Palm Pre and they got destroyed because of the iPhone and others. The same is true for Sony; at $199, there is a huge selection for customers. So instead of just being another $199 phone, they are aiming to offer a great phone for a lower price to set themselves apart. Also, currently on AT&T, there are not many Android-based phones so for those looking for something other than an iPhone or Blackberry, this puts Sony at a nice position. Well played Sony. More details on this as Sony makes them available.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Coming to AT&T Soon?

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 6, 2010 | 9 comments

As always when it comes to Sony Ericsson, there is good news mixed with bad news. The good news is that not only has Sony Ericsson been doing much better than years before, but that they may finally get a decent presence in the United States. If everything goes according to plan, in late August/early September, Sony and AT&T will be partnering to bring to the States the much raved Xperia X10. As Engadget reports: “It’ll cost independent dealers $345 per unit (retail pricing is anyone’s guess)” so there is no real price point out there. The other negative they seem to point out is that the Xperia X10 would be shipping with Android 1.6 which is just pure garbage compared to the now 2.2 Froyo.

I’m personally not sure if this is true or not, mostly because Sony has stated that it’s planning on bringing the newer Android build by Q4 at the exact time when the Xperia X10 would be launching in the States. But if we take the negative news for fact, this can be devastating for Sony from the reviewers’ stand point and Sony can’t use the bad press for their launch because of the fact that they don’t have any real following or fan base here in the phone market. The biggest reason is that Sony won’t simply be competing with the undisputed king, the iPhone, but it has to take on the everyday growing portfolio of Android phones and there are plenty of good phones for the consumer to pick through. With HTC and Motorola (and soon LG) beating each other over the head, the much anticipated Blackberry Torch with the new Blackberry software has basically been shrugged off by every review site and Blackberry is a brand with loyal users. Sony in the States would be starting off from scratch so a lackluster software offering would never make up for the phone, no matter how good the hardware and quality is that the device itself holds. So to Sony, please make sure that your software is up to snuff or hold off the release. Seriously.

Sony Ericsson Posts Another Profit, BP Oil Spill Also Stops

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 20, 2010 | 8 comments

Wow people. That is two miracles in one month. Sony Ericsson has honestly been the BP of Sony, oozing out random phones that never made much sense or were too expensive for anybody to afford. Sony itself never knew what to do with the brand name and it seemed like everybody was stuck in this awkward relationship where Sony fed them the parts and Ericsson made something. Sony Ericsson used to be a very highly profitable brand for Sony and in the world, they were a leader of the new and sexy. This all changed a little over 3 years ago when Apple introduced the iPhone. Suddenly, you either had to be a fully functional smart phone or you were oblivious to everybodys radar. But being just a smart phone isnt enough either with iOS4, Android and Palm and soon Windows Phone. This transition really caught many of the big players like RIM and Motorola and Sony Ericsson off guard. Making a phone with sleek design, high quality and great individual components like an 8MP camera is one thing, having it jump on the web, publish to Facebook and get apps is another beast. You need a platform for that and Sony didnt have one.

BP was finally able to get an cap on the huge gulf spill thats pretty much ruined the planet. Wall*E and Big & Large, here we come. Sony Ericsson seems to have made its own oil cap, Android. On Friday, during Sonys second quarter earnings call, they Sony Ericsson division was able to pull of a second profitible quarter in a row. Profit for the three months to June 30 was €12 million ($15.5 million), compared with a €213 million loss a year earlier, sustaining a turnaround that started in the first quarter, reports the WSJ. Now of course, things in some ways are only going to get tougher from here on. Apple was able to ship 3 million iPhone 4 unit so far, HP has bought Palm to drive that division and its presence in the Smart Phone Market and Microsoft will be bringing its Windows Phone series in late 2010. This all means more competition in the market but can also mean more revenue for Sony.

The one benefit that companies like Sony and HTC have is that they are not in the OS side of it. Meaning, they can make as many phones as they wish. Apple will clearly only put the iOS on the iPhone. Palm will only run its software on their phones (sense they make the hardware and software). All Sony has to do is to use current software from the likes of Google and Microsoft and make the best damn phone they can. They dont need to worry about the battle between MS, Google and Apple because they can be too busy making fantastic phones and if one platform goes to hell, they can continue to make phones for the other platform. Even better yet, Sony can make both Windows based phones and Android based phones. This way, it’s a win win.

[Via WSJ]

Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Teardown

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 2, 2010 | 7 comments

Until Sony becomes nice enough to give us units to review by hitting our Contact Us button, we’re going to have to rely on other sites. To the rescue comes the guys over at iFixit who got their hands on a Xperia X10 Mini and decided to take it apart. The inside of the unit reveals no real surprises but shows a very clean and compact interior. I would assume that the Sony Ericsson Yendo will be very similar on the inside.

[Via iFixit]

Sony Ericsson Brings First Full Touch Screen Walkman Phone

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 30, 2010 | 2 comments

Sony Ericsson is introducing its first full touch screen Walkman phone, the Yendo. Now remember, their Walkman phone lineup is different than the other Sony Ericsson lineups, so don’t mistake this for Sony Ericsson’s first touch screen phone. Those familiar with the Xperia 10 mini will note that the Yendo works with a similar design, but is being aimed for a Q3 release date with no pricing yet. The touch screen is 2.6 inch with 262k colors and 320×240 resolution. Other specs include:

200MHz of processor
3.5 mm audio jack
Bluetooth
Micro USB support
Pre-loaded apps: Facebook, Orkut, and Twitter, FM radio and Java support
Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
MP3/AAC music tones
Walkman Player and TrackID
2.0 Mpixel only with 4x digital zoom.

Look for this phone to come in black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, silver, white and yellow. I believe this is for Asia and Europe only but I can’t be sure of it. Sony Ericsson barely has a presence in the United States anyway.

Hit the jump for an amazingly lengthy (and official) press release.

Sony Ericsson Makes Shakira Phone

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 17, 2010 | 2 comments

I originally wanted to write Sony Ericsson and Shakira team up but whatever, that title works. Now don’t worry, your Sony phone’s hips wont shake like Shakira’s, but instead, it’s rumored that Sony is looking to followup its dominating Xperia 10 with another, smaller version that will be a higher model then the Xperia 10 mini, codename Shakira. So business-wise, it makes perfect sense. Lets just see if it’s actually a real phone. At this point, it’s of course a none brainer to presume that this will also boast Android on it and more than likely 2.1 by the time it gets released.

Sony Ericsson Phones To Gain Pressure-Sensitive Tactile Touchscreen?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 16, 2010 | 6 comments

Sony has a new and unique idea for its touch screen phones: a pressure sensitive screen, meaning the harder you push on the screen, the faster or slower (depending on the application) the unit will react. For iPhone users: think of when you flick the screen, the faster your flick, the faster the screen moves. Sony has gone on record and stated that “commercialization might not be too far off” and that they want to bring it to the Sony Ericsson line “as soon as possible.”

As cool as a technology this is though, I fear it won’t matter much if Sony Ericsson doesn’t get their act together. Put it this way, Sony does make some amazing phones like the Xperia 10 but when was the last time you saw anybody in the states with a Sony phone? The problem is that Sony never works with a partner to give customers incentive deals to buy their phones. So instead of a price of $200-$300, they always have the normal $600 price and nobody in this day and age will pay that much for a phone. So until they partner up with AT&T and T-Mobile, things are not going to take off for them on the phone side, no matter how amazing of a new feature they put into them.

[Techon]

Sony Ericsson To Make An Android Phone With QWERTY Keyboard

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 4, 2010 | 4 comments

From the looks of this photo and the tipster who is said to have been very reliable in the past, Sony is putting together a QWERTY keyboard-based Android phone that will sport Android 2.1 (the latest software) on this 5.5-inch screen unit. The rumor further states that they are looking to launch this unit in the fall. Now it still seems like this unit is in prototype condition, so expect cosmetic changes to be had, but there you have it folks. QWERTY and Android from Sony Ericsson

Note: Some people think this will actually be the long-rumored PSP phone. Although I believe that such a device is in the works, I don’t believe this is that, but that screen size makes me wonder.

[Via IT168]

Xperia 10 Dominates In Japan

by Sohrab Osati | May 25, 2010 | 4 comments

Did you know that the Xperia 10 is dominating in Japan and taking out the iPhone as being the best selling handset? The Xperia, as you know by now, is running Android and will be getting Android 2.1 in the near future. Google CEO, Eric Schmidt reminded him that “Google doesn’t dominate,” (This is Google’s way of pretending they are not set out to destory every company out there), but Stringer responded with “When you beat Apple, you’re dominating.”

It’s of course no surprise that Sony used to be what Apple is today: the cool, hip, and modern brand. Where Sony used to have the Walkman and Sony Ericsson brands, now there is the iPod and iPhone. In my mind though, Sony has all the tools it needs to stand up with the likes of Apple and use Google’s own open software like Android to battle back brands like Samsung and Microsoft. I just hope they see all of their own assets and bring their many departments together.

[Pic Via Gizmodo]

Sony Xperia X10 Mini Unboxed

by Sohrab Osati | May 20, 2010 | 2 comments

Remember the upcoming the X10 Mini we told you about? Well guess who has one? Yup, not us. So we’re not unboxing it for you. Instead, Sony itself will do it! Watch away!

[Via SonyBlog]