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Earlier this year, Sony announced that all its consumer electronics divisions would be merged, following years of decline in the company's mobile sector. Merges inevitably mean job losses, and in addition to cutting around 2,000 employees, Sony is also making plans to shut down the Sweden-based Sony Mobile Communications AB.
Now that the 5G standards are complete (both standalone and the kind that piggybacks on LTE), American carriers are rushing to pump up the hype ahead of initial trials and deployments. For T-Mobile, that means announcing a new $3.5 billion investment in 5G with Swedish supplier Ericsson a mere week and a half after announcing a deal of the same dollar amount with Finland-based Nokia. In total, that's a whopping $7 billion.
Together with Australian network Telstra, Ericsson, and Netgear, Qualcomm announced today at the 4G/5G summit in Hong Kong that it has developed the first device that can reach gigabit LTE speeds. The resulting product, the NETGEAR Mobile Router MR1100, is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X16, the first modem with gigabit LTE class speeds, which was announced back in February. As a bonus, Qualcomm has also announced the first modem that can reach 5G speeds, the X50.
This story is about American hardware and software company Apple and Swedish telecom infrastructure company Ericsson. Neither of these companies makes Android hardware (though Ericsson dabbled in it with its ex-partner Sony), but the outcome might affect all manufacturers that release phones in the United States. That said, it's about patents and lawsuits, so get ready for a snore-fest over the next few paragraphs. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Sony, you really confuse me sometimes. The US is just about to get the Xperia Ion on AT&T, supposedly the Sony-branded flagship smartphone. The problem is that the Xperia GX just took that crown from the Ion - before it even came out. I'm not sure what Sony's grand master plan here is, but looking from the outside in, it seems like the company (that lost .7 billion last year - most of it in the fourth quarter alone) is flying completely and utterly blind.
Sony completed its $1.47 billion acquisition of Sony Ericsson today, launching an aptly-named venture, Sony Mobile Communications. The Japanese conglomerate stated the official goal of Sony Mobile Communications in a statement announcing the transaction back in October:
Just after expanding Nightly support to Samsung's Epic 4G and a slew of LG handsets, the CyanogenMod team has brought nightlies to a handful of Xperia devices, including Coconut (the Xperia Live with Walkman), Iyokan (the Xperia Pro), and Satsuma (the Xperia Active).
Back in 2001, Sony joined forces with Ericsson to push out a new line of mobile phones, while keeping its current line of game devices, media players, and other electronics a separate entity altogether. Now, Sony is looking to buy Ericsson out in order to streamline all of its mobile technologies into one market, allowing one unified ecosystem across all devices.
Sony Ericsson just dropped a press release announcing that the Xperia arc would be available for purchase in the U.S. beginning in August. On the upside, it will be available through Amazon, Newegg, Buy.com, and through Sony directly. On the downside, they give no mention of the device coming to any carrier, and the unsubsidized price is a whopping $600.
Update: Now with video goodness. In fact, you can watch Maria Sharapova (don't get too excited) talk about the Xperia Active. And hey, she knows about active lifestyle phones, because she's sporty.
They may have publicly stated that the Xperia X10 wouldn't be receiving further Android updates just a few months ago, but it looks like Sony Ericsson has had a change of heart: they now say the phone will receive an update to Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) sometime in late Q2 or early Q3. You can apparently thank the Xperia PLAY, arc, and neo, as the company says similarities in development of these devices has made it easier to bring the update to the X10.
It seems the blogosphere is abuzz with the news that an EU trademark for the name Xperia Play has been awarded to Sony Ericsson, filed the first of the month.
Just about a week after Sony Ericsson's latest plaything was first leaked, Mobile-Review's Martin Elm has gotten his greedy hands on the device, and frankly, his initial impressions make the phone seem seriously underwhelming.
Right on time, Sony Ericsson's begun rolling out the update to Android 2.1 Eclair (build number 2.0.A.0.504) for the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro. Judging by what we're seeing on Twitter and from what our tipster told us, it's only available in Scandinavia for now, so we can only hope that other regions will get to join in on the fun soon enough.
Try to contain your excitement, here: Sony-Ericsson will begin rolling out an the update to Android 2.1 (Éclair) for the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro devices starting November 1. As sarcastic as we are about being updated to an already out-of-date version, it's still a huge step up from the current Android 1.6. Major features of the updates:
With the US release of Sony’s Xperia X10, we were given taglines such as “smarter is coming”, but with Android 1.6 running the show, smarter may be a little bit of a loose term for now. Those of us on the other side of the pond may be in luck pretty soon, however, as Sony Ericcson’s UK Twitter account posted a reply to a user stating that Android 2.1 is due for release in the UK “before the end of September this year.”
Earlier today, Engadget broke an exclusive regarding Sony-Ericsson’s work on an Android gaming handset that is currently “in the late stages of planning.” There have been rumblings of a PlayStation phone for quite some time, and it seems like this device may be Sony finally delivering on those long-standing rumors.
Today, Sony Ericsson officially announced the Xperia X8, formerly known as ‘Shakira’, which will offer a middle ground between the Xperia X10 and X10 Mini.