Sony Ericsson - 5/8 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Photos Of NEC MEDIAS - World's Thinnest Android Smartphone - Leaked

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in NEC, News, NTT DoCoMo, Rumors

Last Updated: January 21st, 2013

If rumors are to be believed, NEC's newest Android phone - the MEDIAS E-04C - will be the world's thinnest smartphone at 7.7mm when it launches this Thursday. It has only been a short time since Sony Ericsson launched the razor-thin Xperia arc and Samsung crowned its Galaxy S II phone as the "world's thinnest smartphone," but at 8.7mm and 8.49mm at their thinnest points, respectively, these phones look positively obese in comparison.

According to Akihabara News, Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo will be announcing its new spring collection later this week, but apparently someone could not wait and leaked photos of NEC's newest offering to Japanese blog Ameba.

Feb

[Updated] Sony Ericsson Expands The Xperia Brand With Gingerbread-Powered Neo And Pro

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Pro (Iyokan)

The days where the Nexus S was the sole Android 2.3 smartphone are over, it seems - as are the days where Sony Ericsson had only one Android-powered Xperia-branded device.

SE just announced two new Xperia devices: the Neo and the Pro. Both pack 3.7-inch WVGA (854x480) displays, 1GHz Snapdragon processors, 2MP front-facing cameras, 8MP rear counterparts, Bravia graphics engines, and Gingerbread-based software, with the Pro adding a slide-out QWERTY keyboard to the mix. Additionally, the pair of smartphones will feature HDMI ports and Exmor R technology, which improves photo quality.

Sound like a good time? The Neo will be available "globally in selected markets" starting at the end of Q1, while the Pro will launch at the end of Q2.

Feb

Sony Ericsson Announces PlayStation Certified Xperia Play - Coming To Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile UK This Spring

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Sony Ericsson, Verizon Wireless, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

It's hardly a surprise, but it's welcome news nonetheless: Sony Ericsson just announced the Xperia Play, also known as the PlayStation Phone. We're still waiting for the full specs on this PlayStation certified device, so be sure to check back here soon for all the official details!

Update: The Play will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread at launch, and will be compatible with 50 games, including such titles as Assassin's Creed, Guitar Hero, Dead Space, and Reckless Racing. Compatibility with PSOne games - presumably via the PlayStation Suite - is also in the pipelines.

Update 2: It's official: This spring, Verizon will become the first US carrier to offer the Xperia Play!

Feb

[Update: Aired During The Super Bowl] Sony Ericsson's Leaked Xperia Play Commercial Redefines "Creepy"

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Sony Ericsson, Videos, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Update: We're still getting over the fact that Sony Ericsson just aired a slightly longer version of this ad in front of the millions of people watching the Super Bowl - check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4lxuoGgbxs

Sony Ericsson's upcoming "PlayStation phone," the Xperia Play, has been leaking left and right pretty much since its inception, and therefore it's no surprise that its first official commercial was also reveals via a leak.

Droidnytt.no, a Norwegian Android fan site, published the following video showing our little green friend getting thumbs attached to his hands for easier game controller handling, all in the creepiest way imaginable.

Feb

Confirmed: Sony Ericsson Announcing Xperia Play On February 13th, Gingerbread Included

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

There's been no shortage of leaks involving the Xperia Play, but Sony Ericsson hasn't said a single word on the matter... until now, that is. A new event was just posted on the company's Facebook page, and guess what it's related to:

That's right - expect an official announcement of the Xperia Play on February 13 (the day Mobile World Congress kicks off) at 1:00 p.m. EST / 10:00 a.m. PST. Can't wait? Check out the (now official) commercial for the device - not only is it super creepy; its description confirms that the phone will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Feb

Sony Ericsson X8 And X10 Receiving Software Updates Now, Multitouch Finally Included (For The X10)

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Sony Ericsson, Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X8 (Shakira)

The impossible has happened: thanks to a new software update, the Xperia X10's Internet and Maps applications are finally multitouch-capable. And as if that weren't exciting enough for X10 owners, the update also introduces support for bi-directional languages (i.e. Arabic, Farsi, Thai, and Hebrew) - a nice addition, though definitely not as high up on most users' wish lists as a version of Android more recent than 2.1 (or 1.6, if you're using AT&T's edition of the device).

And here's where things get interesting for X8 users - you guys are also getting this update, albeit with multitouch stripped out. Hey - if it's any consolation, the new software will make your devices compatible with ANT+, which enables support for "things like heart rate monitors."

Rikard Skogberg from the official Sony Ericsson blog says the update is now available via PC Companion, while an OTA is currently rolling out to "most markets." It isn't yet clear whether AT&T X10 users are getting this update, but I certainly hope so - otherwise, Big Blue headquarters might soon be a little...

Jan

Android Takes The Top Spot From Symbian Following Strong Sales In Q4 2010

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, News

Just a few weeks after Android became the number one smartphone platform in the US, Canalys is reporting that strong sales of Android devices in Q4 2010 has helped it overtake Nokia's Symbian OS to became the world's best selling mobile platform.

33.3 million Android-based devices were sold globally in Q4 2010, compared with 31.0 million Symbian-based phones and 16.2 million iPhones.

Android's growth is astonishing. In Q4 2009 it sold a mere 4.7 million units, a year later shipments have jumped by over 600%. In the same time-frame Symbian has grown by a mere 30%, while Apple's iOS platform has jumped by 85.9% (this is just limited to smart phones and would not include iPad sales).

Jan

Xperia Play Prototype Previewed, So Far Only Plays PSX Games

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Games, News, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Engadget was lucky enough to get its hands on a prototype of Sony's much-anticipated PlayStation Phone (believed to launch as the Xperia Play), and while not everything on the unit they got was finalized (Wi-Fi was completely broken), it does give us a pretty good idea of what to expect when the phone officially launches.

First, we have some of the most important specs:

4.0" 854 x 480 LCD display
Single-core 1 GHz processor (believed to be Qualcomm) with Adreno 205 GPU
512 MB RAM
Android 2.3 with Timescape UI
5 megapixel camera

That single-core processor might seem disappointing with all the excitement surrounding Tegra 2 phones, but the Xperia Play still manages to get high marks in a number of benchmark tests (including a Quadrant score of 1,689).

Jan

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Shows Up In A Detailed Video Walkthrough, We Wipe Off Drool Yet Again

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Sony Ericsson, Videos, Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12)

A couple of weeks ago at CES 2011, Sony Ericsson announced its latest Android handset - the sleek and sexy Gingerbread-running Xperia Arc. They've also invited the press, Android Police included, to attend a media breakfast where we ended up spending over an hour of quality time with the new device, documented in great detail here. If you have questions about the Arc, I highly recommend you dive into the above post, as it contains a plethora of useful bits and pieces, all wrapped in a convenient package.

Though the Arc was promised to land in consumers' hands sometime in Q1 2011 and no review units have been sent out just yet, the writers from an Italian blog HDBlog.it managed to get their hands on both the Misty Silver and Midnight Blue models and give the hardware and the interface a very thorough walkthrough.

Jan

Sony Ericsson Has Sold Over 9 Million Android Phones, Despite Fewer Sales Overall

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson posted profits of 35 million euros ($47.14 million) in Q4 of 2010, due largely to major downsizing combined with a shift towards Android-based smartphones. Although Sony Ericsson sold fewer phones overall, Android enthusiasts will be happy to hear that they managed to sell over 9 million Android-based Xperia phones, including the X10, X10 Mini, X10 Pro, and X8, since their launch.

In the last year, Sony has made significant changes after reporting losses of 836 million euros in 2009 ($1.13 billion). A total of 4,000 employees were laid off and annual operating costs were reduced by over 880 million euros ($1.19 million).