ericsson

Verizon Wireless has slashed the price of the Xperia Play in half, now offering the phone to customers for $99.99 with qualified two-year service agreements. The carrier contends that the new price point is part of a "back-to-school" promotion, but I suspect otherwise.

I don't know about you, but I've yet to see anyone in the real world carrying one of these "PlayStation phones." Cutting the price in half only two months after its release tells me that it's not living up to expectations. Besides, I've never seen a gaming-centric smartphone … Read more

A consortium of companies that includes Apple and Microsoft has been given the OK by courts in the U.S. and Canada to buy some 6,000 patents and patent applications from Nortel Networks.

Reuters reports that judges from both countries approved the sale in a joint hearing held earlier today.

Late last month, Nortel's patent portfolio was sold to a consortium of technology companies comprising Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion, and Sony. The group beat out rivals including Intel and Google with a $4.5 billion bid for the intellectual property, which included patents and patent … Read more

Telling no one but its Web site, Sony Ericsson has begun offering the Xperia arc to U.S. consumers with an unlocked, no-contract $599 price tag.

Listed as having support for AT&T's 3G bands (850MHz/1900MHz/2100MHz), it's very possible that it may arrive later at at the carrier. T-Mobile subscribers can pick up an unlocked Arc as well, though it won't support T-Mobile's 3G network.

Sony Ericsson started off the year with a bang, announcing the Android 2.3-powered Xperia Arc at CES 2011. As one of the first Gingerbread-powered phones after the Nexus S, hopes were high and things looked good. Here was a super thin, gorgeous handset with the latest version of Android.

Hardware was impressive as well, with a 1GHz processor, 4.2-inch display, 1GB internal storage, an 8.1-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth support.

So at the time, it appeared as if Sony Ericsson had learned from past mistakes and could rise to Android greatness. Six months later, however, I'm not so confident. … Read more

Facing intense competition from the likes of Apple and Android, Nokia has cut the prices of its smartphones in Europe, according to Reuters, which cited information from industry analysts.

One of the analysts pointed to Nokia's N8, C7, and E6 models as hit by the deepest cuts of around 15 percent, while price cuts on other phones were smaller, according to two analysts, Reuters said.

Nokia did not immediately return CNET's request for comment.

A company representative declined Reuters request to comment on specific price cuts but said the "changes were part of its normal business." … Read more

Ericsson yesterday demoed a new version of LTE technology that's 10 times faster than today's current standard and delivers speeds of nearly 1 gigabit per second.

Conducted in the company's home base of Sweden, the demonstration of LTE Advanced was presented to the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS). Using existing commercial hardware, Ericsson was able to use a test frequency provided by the PTS to show off certain features of LTE Advanced for the first time.

One feature of LTE Advanced that Ericsson demonstrated was carrier aggregation, which combines signals from multiple carriers to achieve a … Read more

Download.com Associate Editor Jaymar Cabebe stops by to help Antuan Goodwin host today's show. We take a look at CNET's wishlist for the rumored next Nexus phone and, boy, are our expectations great. Leaked photos show that LG is taking aim with a dual-screen gimmick phone at an entry level price. If rumors are to be believed, Antuan will have something to look forward to on his HTC Thunderbolt and so do you Motorola Atrix 4G users. Jaymar helps us figure out what Yahoo is up to with its new Play music app for Android and Antuan … Read more

Each June, cell phone manufacturers from across Asia journey to Singapore for the annual CommunicAsia show. Though not quite as big as Mobile World Congress, CommunicAsia still offers plenty of wireless sights. And as they've always done, our colleagues at CNET Asia were out in force in their home town to cover the latest and greatest gadgets. Their full package will show you everything you need to know--including their top cell phone picks--but we're happy to offer the highlights here.

Despite its new focus on Windows Phone 7, Nokia pretty much stole the show in … Read more

The Sony Ericsson Xperia family grew by two today with the introduction of the Xperia Ray and Xperia Active.

The two Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphones, which were announced at CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore, are expected to ship in Q3 to select markets worldwide--specifics, such as pricing and U.S. availability, were not revealed at this time--and offer two different areas of focus.

If you couldn't tell by the name, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active is a handset aimed at those with an active lifestyle. It features a dust-proof and water-resistant design with a 3-inch, 320x480-pixel Reality Display that … Read more

Sony Ericsson took to Facebook today to announce two new feature phones, the Mix Walkman and Txt pro.

Features phones, if you remember, have become a new class of handsets that aren't quite smartphones, but aren't basic models, either. Indeed, the Mix Walkman and Txt Pro fit right into this category. They do much more than make calls even if they lack the fanciest features available on a mobile device. The handsets also run Sony Ericsson's OS (so no Android here, folks), but they offer elements of the Xperia Mini's interface including the touch controls resting … Read more