xperia

Rogers taking preorders for Xperia Play, Arc

Our Canadian readers will be happy to learn that Rogers has begun taking orders for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Xperia Play. According to recent reports, both Android 2.3-powered handsets are expected to arrive later this month on April 28.

Pricing is consistent other high-end Rogers smartphones at 99.99 Candadian dollars ($103) with a 3-year commitment or 549.99 Canadian dollars ($571) outright. Effective today, interested customers also can go to their local Best Buy and preorder either phone with a $50 down payment.

As a refresher, the sleek Xperia Arc features a 4.2-inch super LCD … Read more

Xperia Play misses United States in initial release

Sony Ericsson announced via its blog today that the Xperia Play has gone on sale in 11 markets around the world. The United States, however, is not among them.

While the "PlayStation Phone" is available today in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Russia, Verizon Wireless customers in the United States will have to wait a couple of weeks at least. At CTIA last month, Sony Ericsson said the device will launch by early next month, though a recently leaked Verizon document predicts an April 14 arrival. That fits with a recent admission by Sony Ericsson that six … Read more

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 to get Gingerbread

Sony Ericsson has backtracked a bit on plans for its Xperia X10 smartphone, saying today that it will release an update to the Android operating system.

Toward the end of the second quarter or the beginning of the third quarter, Android 2.3 Gingerbread will be coming to the Android 2.1-equipped Xperia X10, the company announced on its blog. The update will be available to customers when they connect their devices to a computer, which means over-the-air updates are out.

Sony Ericsson previously said that it would not update the smartphone beyond Android 2.1 Eclair. Consumer demand, however, … Read more

Xperia Play to land at Verizon by early May

ORLANDO, Fla.--Sony Ericsson didn't offer any new phones at CTIA 2011, but we did get the chance to handle the official Verizon Wireless version of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. What's more, Sony Ericsson also revealed that the gaming Android phone will land in the United States either late next month or in early May.

In fact, Verizon Wireless may be the first carrier in the world to get the Xperia Play. Rogers in Canada may beat it with a release of the GSM handset on April 14, but either way it means that North America will … Read more

Reports: PlayStation chief Sony's heir apparent

Sony plans to combine its consumer-electronics and gaming units and promote PlayStation chief Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai to head the new business, making him the "leading candidate" to succeed current CEO Howard Stringer, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported that in addition to the new Consumer Products & Services Group, the April 1 reorganization will establish a Professional and Device Solutions Group, which will handle chips, components, and broadcasting products.

The Journal said the 69-year-old Stringer has renewed his contract and will oversee the restructuring, staying on for an unspecified period of time. Stringer told the JournalRead more

Dialed In 164: Mashing buttons on the Xperia Play (podcast)

This week, we tell you what we thought of the Xperia Play's gaming controls. We also discuss T-Mobile shutting down the Danger service, the latest HTC phones, Android news, and the continuing debate over radiation. Also, yes, we do talk a little about the latest Apple announcement.

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News The iPad 2 makes its debut iOS 4.3 hitting March 11 Hot spot coming to GSM iPhone 4s Playing the Xperia Play Before there was the Xperia Play T-Mobile to shut down Sidekick data service May 31Read more

Playing with the Xperia Play: The controls

After a lot of hype and an awkward Super Bowl ad, Sony Ericsson finally introduced the Xperia Play to the world at Mobile World Congress 2011. Since then, however, we've yet to get a proper gaming impression of the phone, at least until this afternoon, when a few CNET editors headed over to a Sony event to get their hands on it. Our colleague Dan Ackerman had a chance to handle it, too, and compared the gaming experience with that on the iPhone. Here, we'll focus a bit more on the feel of the controls.

It's clear … Read more

Gaming on the Sony Xperia Play phone (hands-on)

We've seen plenty of the upcoming Sony Xperia Play phone, otherwise known as the PlayStation phone, but less so far of its gaming capabilities. I finally got a chance to spend some hands-on time playing games on an Xperia phone at this week's Game Developers Conference, and while it's closer to a handheld gaming console than one might have initially thought, it's still a far different animal than Sony's current PSP or upcoming NGP, and in fact feels a bit more like gaming on an iPhone or iPad than anything else.

That's in part because many of the first batch of games optimized for the system comes from game makers such as Gameloft, a major producer of games for the iPhone and iPad. That means you'll see titles such as Asphalt (from Gameloft), Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior, and Galaxy on Fire 2, all of which were at today's Sony event, which was billed as the Xperia Play's U.S. debut. … Read more

Before there was the Xperia Play

Sony Ericsson is betting big that its Xperia Play will offer a new way to bring gamers and phone users together, but it's not the first time that the company has tried to do so.

Seven years ago, just as Sony Ericsson was getting into a groove with notable handsets like the P910 and S710, the company rolled out one of the more interesting mobile accessories I've ever seen. The EGB-10 Gameboard allowed you to play games on selected Sony Ericsson handsets while using controls that were more comfortable than a standard navigational keypad.

Though its design was … Read more

Sony Ericsson has tools and vision to become dominant Android player

After a less than perfect start to its Android efforts, Sony Ericsson has hit the ground running in the new year. The company already has introduced four new smartphones since January and CEO Bert Nordberg told CNET at Mobile World Congress that Sony Ericsson is aiming to be the No. 1 Android player in the world.

That's a lofty goal for any company, but especially for Sony Ericsson. Can it really put the Xperia X10 and its software problems behind it and start anew? And, more importantly, what are the tools it needs to claim that top spot?

Given … Read more