xperia

Sony Ericsson details its first Android phone

Sony Ericsson has released details and a video of its upcoming Xperia X10 smartphone based on Google's Android operating system.

The X10, which had been code-named Rachel, has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, which should make this one of the fastest Android phones yet. The phone will sport version 1.6 of Android--aka Donut--and it will run applications from the Android Market and Sony Ericsson's PlayNow arena. The device will also feature an 8-megapixel camera, with autofocus and an LED photo light.

Expect to see the Xperia X10 in stores in the first quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, here's … Read more

SE Xperia X3 to be official on November 3?

We've read about the upcoming Android-based Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 too many times to count. There was a video of its interface, images published by Expansys, even leaked specifications. Well, those speculations may soon come to an end if the latest teaser from the Japanese-Swedish company is anything to go by. If you visit www.sonyericsson.com/whatsnext, the November 3 date is prominently displayed with a few lines of text under it.

Sometimes there's a thin line between extraordinary and the magical. Did we cross it?

With a bold statement like that, it'd better be something … Read more

Sony unveils X Series Vaio, Xperia 2 smartphone at IFA

BERLIN--Sony introduced a digital camera and a smartphone, and gave a brief glimpse of an ultrathin laptop, as well as a new look for its global advertising, at IFA Berlin Wednesday.

At the tail end of the company's press conference here, the head of Sony Europe, Fujio Nishida, briefly showed off a new laptop, the Sony Vaio X Series, which has yet to be officially announced. It has a black carbon fiber exterior, will weigh less than 1.5 pounds, have an 11.1-inch screen, and be less than half an inch thick. Beyond saying that it will have built-in wireless 3G and an "all day and into the night" battery, Nishida gave no internal specifications or a price for the PC.

Earlier in the day, Sony revealed the new Xperia 2 smartphone. It's the first phone with Windows Mobile 6.5, which was unveiled by Microsoft on Tuesday. Though Nishida did not give a price, he said it will be for sale during the fourth quarter of this year. … Read more

Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 announced with Windows Mobile 6.5

Holy cow, it's been a busy morning of phone announcements. In addition to the Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6 and X3, and the HTC Touch2, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 made its official debut on Wednesday.

As the successor to the Xperia X1, the X2 will run Windows Mobile 6.5, bringing new features such as Flash support in Internet Explorer Mobile and Microsoft's app store, and the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Sony Ericsson also added something called the SlideView feature that notifies users to missed calls or new messages and provides quick access to them.

The Xperia … Read more

Finally...something interesting in Skymall

Since I can read United Airline's in-flight magazine only so many times on a 10-hour flight between San Francisco and Frankfurt, Germany, I took a few minutes to leaf through the ubiquitous Skymall catalog as well.

Normally, for every one thing I would consider buying in Skymall, I find 20 completely useless things (seriously...who really wants to make a bulletin board out of wine corks?). But this issue of the catalog had the fancy Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 on its cover.

As you may recall, the touch-screen smartphone debuted at the 2008 GSMA World Congress. And even as … Read more

Xperia X1 gets Skype, CNN panels

A year after it launched its Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson used the 2009 GSMA World Congress here in Barcelona to launch launch new panels for the high-end smartphone. All panels will be available for download from Sony Ericsson in mid-March.

The Skype panel will offer quick access to the calling service. You'll be able to tell which of your friends are online, browse contacts, and call and instant message your friends. The evening, daylight, and event-based effects will let you customize your handset at will.

The CNN panel will constantly update with the latest news, sports, and weather, all … Read more

Nokia's mystery device? The Nokia N97

Twenty-four hours after teasing us with news of a major product announcement, Nokia officially took the wraps off its mystery smartphone on Tuesday at the Nokia World 2008 conference in Barcelona, Spain. And despite some close guesses, no one got it quite right, so without further ado, let us introduce you to the Nokia N97.

Part of the company's high-end N series of multimedia computers, the N97 trumps all previous models with a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard and a tilting 3.5-inch touch screen (anyone else reminded of the AT&T Tilt or Sony Ericsson Xperia X1?). Yes, there's the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, but the N97 includes phone capabilities and is designed for the "needs of Internet-savvy consumers."

For example, the smartphone provides easy access to a number of social-networking sites, and the Web browser supports streaming Flash videos. The N97 also introduces something Nokia calls "social location," which uses the capabilities of the integrated A-GPS sensors and electronic compass to automatically update users' social networks, or let them share their location via photos or videos with friends.

The Home screen can be personalized with widgets of favorite Web and social-networking sites. Finally, the N97 is fully compatible with Nokia's Ovi Internet services, which include the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and the N-Gage gaming platform--though these services have yet to fully launch in the United States.

The Symbian-based smartphone also features a music and video player, a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, and a whopping 32GB of onboard memory that can be expanded with a 16GB microSD card.

The quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) world phone is HSDPA-capable handset, but it currently supports only the 900/1900/2100MHz bands (AT&T's 3G network runs on 850/1900MHz, while T-Mobile runs on 1700/2100MHz). There is integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, however. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 851: Boxcar Jack is looking for you at HoboBook.com!

Social networking finally reaches its most underserved niche: the hobos. Look for Tom to officially join the Hobo Nation any day now. In other news of the day, Caroline McCarthy joins us for a rollicking discussion of The Washington Post's war on spam, and Molly most likely gets herself fired from CBS and kicked off TWiT in one fell swoop. So, learn to love Caroline. She might be sticking around.

Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 851

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 makes date with U.S.: Black Friday for $799.99 http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/12/sony-ericsson-xperia-x1-makes-date-with-us-black-friday-for-79/Read more

Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 review, release date, pricing

You're hearing it here first, folks: The long-awaited Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 will be available in the United States on November 28 for an unlocked price of $799.99 through Sony Style stores. Go ahead, we'll give you a second to catch your breath from the sticker shock.

Yes, these are the official details as given to us by Sony Ericsson on Tuesday. The highly anticipated Windows Mobile smartphone, which was first announced at GSMA 2008 in February, won't be coming to a U.S. carrier for now, but it will be available for preorder starting November … Read more

Sony Ericsson: Microsoft said no, no, no

With Sony Ericsson's inaugural Windows Mobile device set to be launched in the coming days, the handset maker has revealed that it had to convince Microsoft to embrace plans to make the Windows interface more user-friendly.

Sony Ericsson hopes that the Microsoft device, first announced at the Mobile World Congress event in February, will appeal to "fast living" professional types who want to be able to use their device for work and play. The Xperia X1 will be released first in the U.K., Germany, and Sweden.

To take the device beyond Windows' traditional business roots, Sony … Read more