xperia

Back in July, AT&T revealed that, like Verizon, it, too, would offer the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, and now, the release of the gaming smartphone is near.

The carrier announced this morning that the Xperia Play 4G would be available starting September 18 for $49.99 with a two-year contract, which is both affordable and smart, considering the smartphone's been out for a little while and doesn't quite stack up to today's higher-end devices.

Of course, its main draw is the gaming capabilities. The PlayStation-certified handset offers dedicated gaming controls and comes preloaded with seven … Read more

In addition to showing off an Android-based Walkman prototype, Sony Ericsson took the wraps off its latest Android smartphone at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin today.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is a follow-up to the Xperia Arc and brings a faster 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and more entertainment options. These include access to Sony Entertainment's Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services, with a catalog of 10 million songs, radio channels, and the latest movies and TV shows. As for performance improvements, Sony Ericsson says the Xperia Arc S delivers 25 percent faster camera startup … Read more

Japanese phone giant NTT Docomo has announced the launch of Sony Ericsson's Xperia Ray smartphone, available later this month.

The Android 2.3 Gingerbread device was originally announced at CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore. Powered by a 1GHz CPU, it has an aluminum body that's only 2 inches wide. It weighs 3.5 ounces.

It has a 3.3-inch, 854x480-pixel display as well as an 8.1-megapixel camera with a Sony Exmor R CMOS sensor, as well as face-detection, 16x digital zoom, and autofocus features.

Other features include xLOUD sound technology for enhanced audio quality, and POBox Touch 4.3, a predictive text-input system that facilitates typing in English as well as Japanese.

Available in pink, white, and gold, the Xperia Ray hits Docomo shops in Japan on August 27, with orders accepted from August 12. … Read more

Sony Ericsson is now offering some Xperia X10 owners the chance to upgrade their smartphones to Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

To update the Xperia X10, which was formerly running Android 2.1 Eclair, users need to connect the device to their computers and employ the company's PC Companion software. Over-the-air updates are so far not available.

According to Sony Ericsson, the availability of Gingerbread for user devices "is dependent on operator and/or country," so it cannot provide an "exact date for when the update will be available for you."

Sony Ericsson released the Xperia … Read more

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

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

Sony, you baffle me. I'm sitting down with an Xperia Play, the PlayStationesque Android phone released earlier this year. The one I had been awaiting, for a year, the so-called "PlayStation phone." CNET's already reviewed the Xperia Play, but I was sent the unit to play with a little for myself, at long last. After this year's E3, the Xperia Play sits in my hands like an afterthought. I'm underwhelmed, unexcited, bored. Partially, it's the software: a depressing suite of PlayStation 1 games and choppy frame rate Android titles. Partially, it's the hardware: the Xperia Play has its own buttons, the build quality is impressive, and the device feels good to hold, yet it lacks physical analog sticks.

Yet, what bothers me most of all, strangely, is the branding.

The Xperia Play doesn't say "PlayStation" anywhere on it. A small square with square, triangle, X and circle icons on the lower-left corner of the control pad are the only indication of any PlayStation relationship. "Sony Ericsson" and "Xperia" appear once each, and "Verizon" appears twice.

Even in the software menus or apps I could find, not once did the "PlayStation" word or logo appear. It's a branding white-out.

Does that matter?

Not really. But it's a critical statement. I can't help but be reminded of the MotoRokr E1 phone. The first phone to play well with iTunes, it predated the iPhone as a music phone by two years. However, the device lacked any clear Apple branding or iDevice labeling, or even a look that matched the iPod. The MotoRokr died a quiet death in the shadow of the iPod Nano, a precursor to all that happened after with the iPhone.

I wonder if the same story is inevitably true for the Xperia Play.… 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