Phones

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]

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]

Android 2.1 Coming To The Sony Ericsson X10 Family

by Sohrab Osati | May 11, 2010 | 6 comments

Remember those sexy Sony Ericsson X10 units and it’s little sister, the X10 mini? Well they currently are using the lackluster Android 1.6 but all of this is set to change in Q4 of this year when Sony Ericsson will release Android 2.1 for the entire X10 family. Keep in mind that for Sony, Q4 2010 starts in September.

Vodaphone To Get Xperia X10 Mini Soon?

by Sohrab Osati | May 4, 2010 | 3 comments

During the Mobile World Congress, Sony Ericsson debuted its Xperia X10 Mini. The X10 Mini comes with a QWERTY keyboard and runs Android 1.6 though this could change by the time the unit launches. The internal guts are running on a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 with WiFi, Bluetooth, a touchscreen, and a pack-in 2GB microSD card. A particular feature that Sony touts on this unit is their Timescape feature that enables all your communications with contacts to be accessed in one place making it simple to access to call history, Facebook, Twitter, messaging, which reminds us of the Microsoft Kin phones (or Project Pink). These units were then announced for a 2010 Q2 launch. Now, the Xperia 10 Mini is being shown off in a Vodaphone catalogue. Is this an error, or are they right around the corner for those in Europe? There is no news on a US launch, but they are indeed intended for us. Also, expect the usual suspects to carry it; AT&T and maybe T-Mobile.

[Via CoolSmartPhones]

Hit the jump for an official press shot of the Xperia 10 Mini.

PSN Videos Now Playable On Your PC

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 29, 2010 | 8 comments

Here is a little interesting tidbit. Today, I jumped on Media Go, which is Sony’s version of iTunes so to speak for the PSP. The service allows for you to add Music, Photos and Videos to your PSP. The Media Go Software will also talk with iTunes and grab files from it (Even over a network; my iTunes library is on my Mac and it was able to grab music from it no problem). To my surprise, when I logged into the Media Go software today, where you also have access to the PSN store to download content for your PC, I found a new feature.

Sony has now given you the ability to watch your downloaded videos, which were originally meant for your PSP and PSPgo exclusively, on your PC as well. This of course is a very welcome feature. If we have the files on our computer, why not be able to play them on there as well? In iTunes, the video content you download is not just meant for your iPhone or iPod. Those who ran the update will note that the Media Go software also asked for a new update which, besides the random enhancement and bug fixes, also adds compatibility for some Sony Ericsson phones as well. The reason this interests me is that like I’ve always said, PSN needs to be at the core of Sony’s business model. Its laptops, cellphones and other mobile devices all need to have access to the content on there. This not only makes PSN more valuable when you know your content is good for 10 platforms versus 2 (PSP and PS3), but also makes your products more valuable as it gives them an ever-growing content service.

While all these features and ideas are great, I do have one small caveat with the Media Go platform. Why is there not a Mac version? I mean, seriously. Do Mac users not buy PSP and PS3’s and other Sony products? The majority of my media is on my Mac it would be nice to be able to just dock my PSPgo and PSP-1000 with my Mac. Come on, Sony.

My Current PSP Setup:

Sony Ericsson Posts Surprise Profit

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 21, 2010 | 4 comments

It’s no secret that the Sony Ericsson team has been in trouble the last few years. They have no clear strategy and a wide support of OSes, including Symbian, Windows Mobile, Android and some in-house Sony OSes as well. Regardless, Sony Ericsson posted a €21 million, besting analysts who were expecting a €128 million loss. This marks their first profit since Q2 of 2008. SE managed to bump the average handset selling price to €134 on 10.5 million sold compared to the 14.5 million sold at an average of €120 a year prior thanks, in part, to the launch of its X10 and Vivaz. However, all of this comes at a cost of a decreased global market share of 5% to now 4%. Also to help with this profit was a slashing of employees and some facility closing so this might end up being a short term win. However, we hope that this gives Sony Ericsson enough time to be formulating what we hope is a strategy behind closed doors and will begin some form of road map and not random headsets. A starting point for them would be to leverage the Playstation Brand and PSN Network? A PSP Phone with access to all PSN content and PSN friends list? That would put them right in par with the Windows 7 Series Phone Xbox Live integration and the new gaming network that will be introduced in iPhone OS 4.0.

[Via WallStreet Journal]

Sony Ericsson To Use Android 2.0

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 15, 2010 | 623 comments

At a launch event over in Taiwan, SE Asia-Pacific’s vice president of marketing Peter Ang was quoted as saying that Sony Ericsson is hard at work on their next generation smartphone which is said to be based on Android 2.0. The good news here is that at least Sony is working on an open technology that gives them full control, but is an open platform that can easily expand, adapt and grow without being tied to a particular format. The bad news of course is that Android 1.5 isn’t even out yet, let alone 2.0. With that in mind, I highly doubt that, behind the scenes, Android 2.0 is so far along in production. I see this as meaning only one thing, don’t expect these guys before fall of 2010, easily.

The big problem here is that Sony Ericsson is hurting bad. Profits have dropped 50% over and over and the rumors keep coming that the two companies may split. All this just puts added pressure on a company that’s on the edge. Now, the good news is though that Sony is at least developing these phones and if they can come out with something that’s really different and maybe part of a larger plan, they have a chance at redeeming themselves and establishing themselves as a game changer. The reason is this: the iPhone wasn’t the first smart phone but it was the first one for the masses and this truly set up for the growth that the smart phone sector is seeing. A lot has came out since then, but it was again the G1 that gained attention and now the Palm Pre is earning its place. This means that the majority of people are just starting to transition to the smartphone market. As good as the Sony X1 is in the Mp3 market, I feel like that market is already fully owned by Apple and they are starting to go towards the smartphone market (Why have an iPod and a phone in your pocket when you can have one device that does both?). If the smartphone market is truly just beginning to grow, then Sony is still not late to the party, as long as they bring a product that’s part of a community of Sony services, yet is open and part of a longer term plan.

[Via Slashphone]

Sony Ericsson Satio To Launch In October

by Sohrab Osati | May 28, 2009 | 17 comments

Earlier this year, during the Mobile World Congress, Sony Ericsson showed off a new phone, code named at the time Idou. Well, today comes news that the Idou will be called the Satio and will launch sometime in October. Some key features of this phone include:

640 x 350, 3.5-inch touch screen
12.1 Megapixels (take that Palm Pre and iPhone combined)
Dual-Band HSPA
Xenon Flash
MicroSD expansion with an 8GB in the box (Is Sony looking to get rid of the Memory Stick Micro?)

Look for this unit in October then in Black, Silver or Bordeaux. No price point yet though. As always, hit the MagicGate for more shots. (reminds me of my Cybershot T-300)

[Via SEMC Blog]

MagicGate!

Facial Recognition From Sony Ericsson, Plays Your Moods Song

by Sohrab Osati | May 28, 2009 | 13 comments

A new patent was recently discovered from Sony Ericsson that while listening to our music, your device will change the song depending on your mood. The example is based on the idea that while you hold your Smart Phone, through the camera, a picture of your face will be taken, scanned and pending on your mood, a corresponding song will play. Of course as all patents go, I wouldn’t give this a second thought for something like this could be many years out or something that may just never work.

[Via Slashgear]

Head of Sony Ericsson Steps Down

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 26, 2009 | 23 comments

It seems that Najmi Jarwala, President of Sony Ericsson USA and Head of Region North America (comprising the US and Canada markets) (thanks engadget) has decided to to “peruse other career opportunities” out side of Sony Ericesson. This all comes after many rumors of Sony and Ericesson breaking their long time partnership and even more recently, having a drop of 50% in Q1 sales. The person to be taking over in the mean time is Anders Runevad (pictured), Executive VP and Head of Global Sales & Marketing. But of course, the problem at Sony Ericesson isn’t something that any one person can shift and has to do with the entire platform and partnership of Sony Ericsson. Here is to hoping that their Android based handsets come out sooner, then later. Maybe that long rumored PSP phone might change things up too, although, i’d much rather see them take their time with that device, then just slapping the PS brand on something (looks at Walkman).

[Via Mobileburn]

Sony Introduces New MBS-900 Bluetooth Speaker

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 13, 2008 | 56 comments

The MBS-900 is a product of the Sony Erisson Wireless Home Audio devision that is designed to work with Sony Ericsson phones to play your media off of them, via bluetooth. This tiny little guy comes with a monochrome OLDEM display with touch screen controls. Via your Sony Ericsson phone turned remote control, you can control the MBS-900, including its built in FM tuner.

Those without a Sony Ericsson phone though are not shunned from this product as it supports an 3.5mm jack so you can plug in other media players to it. Another interesting aspect of this product is that it also doubles as a speaker phone and automatically mutes as an incoming call is placed and restarts your music, once the call has ended, making it perfect for an office (not cubical) environment. As of right now, there is no price point for this guy, but you can expect it in UK in early 09 and 2019 for those of us in the states…..

Hit the MagicGate for one more shot.

MagicGate!

Sony’s Xperia X1, Coming to Best Buy Next Month

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 11, 2008 | 2 comments

According to a leaked inventory photo from Best Buy, Sonys much anticipated Xperia X1 is coming to Best Buy on December 7th. Current listing price has this high end phone tagged in at $800 but this could very well be a place holder price or it could be the unlocked price where an $800 price tag would not be so unusual.

[Via BGR]

Sony Ericsson stumbles with profits. Hopes to break even in Q2

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 3, 2008 | 19 comments

It seems like the world wide recession isn’t holding back on Sony Ericsson as the cellphone giant struggles to make that division profitable. Last week, SE pointed out that “disappointing European sales of its mid- and high-end mobile phones”, putting to company to hopefully just break even for Q2 of 2008. Some analysts are suggesting that shipment delays and a dearth of low-end handsets also carry a share of the blame, although Sony is introducing some brand new low-end sets to hopefully pull in those, looking to spend less. On the flip side, as the high end, smartphone handsets get more popular, Sony has the highly anticipated and eagerly awaited Xperia X1 on the way. Hopefully some advertisement will help educate customers that there will be other phones besides the iPhone.

New Bluetooth Pieces From Sony Ericsson

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 1, 2008 | 6 comments

Newly introduced The HBH-PV715, HBH-PV720 and HBH-PV740 are the latest of Bluetooth pieces from Sony Ericsson. Boasting a variety of colors and patters and packing a mind blowing 10 hour of talk time with 700 hours in standby mode and even Automatic volume adjustment. Look for these fashionable units to hit in Q4.

Sony Ericsson Candybar J132 and K330 Enter Entry Market

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 22, 2008 | 43 comments

In order to stay competitive in the global recession that seems to be happening, Sony Ericsson is starting to introduce a lower priced lineup to both expand the brand and influence of the Sony Ericsson brand but also help fuel further growth in a time where consumers are shying away from higher prices products. Enter the Sony J132. Nothing fancy beyond talking and texting but the budget friendly unit does boast an impressive 9 hours of talk time (450 standby), making it perfect for those who just want a nice enough phone. The K330 improves with Bluetooth, video capture/camera, 1.7-inch display and Health mate application.

Expect the J132 to hit in Q4 within “select markets” in Night Black and Heaven Blue. The K330 will be available in “Gold on Black / Green on Black” in Q3 of 2008. The J132a and K330a will both support GSM 850/1900 and will be headed State side.