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Sony Ericsson announces X8, 2.1 for Q3

John Walton — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:11:29 +0000

Today Sony Ericsson officially announced the X8 – a device that fills the tiny gap in between the X10 and X10 Mini models. The X8 was previously leaked with the title, Shakira, and sexiness is a strong point. Available flavors of the phone, reported to sell for a little over $300, are: White, Dark Blue/ White, Aqua Blue/ White, Pink/ White, and Silver/ White. Physical design and software appearance have been the primary selling points for the company’s Androids, which currently run version 1.6 of the operating system. The outdated software has been one of the primary detractors for potential customers, but SE also announced today that their XPERIA Androids (”in select markets”) will see 2.1 in the third quarter of the year rather then the fourth, as was previously planned. The update will bring new features to the X10, such as the ability to view content from a users television on the device.

The X8 features a 3″ screen and 3.2MP cam, powered by a 600 MHz processor. It will launches in Q3.

Press Release:

Sony Ericsson delivers the most entertaining smartphones

· Sony Ericsson brings together the very best of communication and entertainment in its Xperia™ collection

· The Xperia™ X10, X10 mini and X10 mini pro will all receive software upgrades from Q3 onwards in selected markets. Additional features to be added to the X10 in Q4.

· The Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X8 extends the range of the most entertaining smartphones

Singapore – June 16, 2010 – Xperia™ brings consumers the best communication and entertainment experiences, delivered in a collection of smartphones to give consumers choice in size and style.

The Xperia™ X10, X10 mini and X10 mini pro smartphones will all receive software upgrades during their lifecycle to improve performance and add new communication and entertainment experiences. From Q3 2010 onwards, the Xperia™ X10, X10 mini and X10 mini pro smartphones will be upgraded to run on the Android 2.1 operating system in selected markets. The Xperia™ X10’s position as the best multimedia Android smartphone will be strengthened through the addition of HD video recording as part of the same Q3 upgrade. A further upgrade to the Xperia™ X10 in Q4 will make it possible to connect wirelessly to and display content on your television and enhance the Timescape™ and Mediascape applications.

Xperia™ smartphones add best-in-class entertainment on top of smartphone fundamentals such as applications (apps), maps, email and fast internet connection to create the most entertaining smartphones. The Xperia™ X10 is the flagship of the Xperia™ collection and has an 8.1 megapixel camera and 4-inch screen for best in class multimedia creation and viewing. Signature applications such as Mediascape and Timescape™ help you to organise content and bring your multimedia and communication alive.

In addition to features and applications, design is essential to the entertainment experience. Sony Ericsson’s human curvature design philosophy is applied across the portfolio to package the technology into products that look and feel great. Using design innovation, Sony Ericsson makes the Xperia™ smartphones available with a choice of size and style.

Steve Walker, Head of Product Marketing at Sony Ericsson, commented, “Sony Ericsson’s vision is to be the communication entertainment brand. We are focusing strongly on the smartphone market and specifically on creating the most entertaining smartphones. Sony Ericsson is uniquely positioned to do this thanks to our experience in creating Walkman and Cybershot phones and the strong collaboration with our parent company Sony.”

Today Sony Ericsson announces the Xperia™ X8, which will build on the success of the X10 and the mini products and extend the most entertaining smartphones collection to an even broader audience.

Introducing the Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X8

The Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X8 is a great entertainment smartphone that extends the appeal of the Xperia™ collection to new market segments. The user interface is similar to that of the Xperia™ X10 mini, with the four-corners that give easy one hand use and can be customised for one touch access to your favourite applications. The Xperia™ X8 also includes Timescape™ for easy access to all your social networking and the infinite button for one click access to a world of content. The open Android operating system delivers great smartphone functionality and access to thousands of applications on Android Market™. Timo Maassmann, Product Marketing Manager for XperiaTM X8, said, “We are delighted to be able to bring the full experience of our XperiaTM smartphones to new consumers by delivering a fully featured device at a more accessible price point.”

The Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X8 is perfect for enjoying multimedia entertainment. Whether it’s a game from the Android Market™, the latest funny clips on YouTube™ or browsing the web, the 3-inch screen means you won’t miss a thing. Discover and download songs from PlayNow™, then listen to all your music using the 3.5mm headphone jack. If you are feeling more creative, there’s a 3.2 MP camera and video recording functionality.

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ X8 – Key features

· Four corners for easy one hand use and one touch access to applications

· Customise the four corners with your favourite apps and add widgets to your homescreens

· Enjoy games, video, internet and more on the 3-inch screen

· Timescape™ shows all your communication in one place for ultimate simplicity

· Android Market™ – thousands of applications to keep you entertained

· 3.2 MP camera – snap away and upload instantly to Facebook™

The XPERIA™ X8 supports GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS HSPA 900/2100 and UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100

The XPERIA™ X8 will be available in selected markets from Q3 in the colours White, Dark Blue/ White, Aqua Blue/ White, Pink/ White, Silver/ White.

Log on to The Sony Ericsson Product Blog for more information: http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products

Via SlashGear

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Details for X10 on Rogers

John Walton — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:46:45 +0000

While we in the States don’t have any specific, reliable information on the X10 launch on our side of the boarder, Canadians just got a shot of news that will force a decision for many a fence sitter. The phone – apparently along with all of the bugs we’ve seen in review units – will reportedly launch on Rogers Wireless on April 15th for $149.99 on a three-year contract and $549.99 outright. Those are Canadian dolars but the exchange rate is pretty even right now, for those US readers looking to import and run the phone on AT&T’s 3G. Personally, I would say wait to see what happens with bug fixes and possibly even Android 2.1 before ordering from another country at full price.

Via Android in Canada

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No multi-touch for X10

John Walton — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:49:04 +0000

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X10 has been taking a bit of a beating in tech blogs lately for various reasons, the primary one being that the software doesn’t seem to have improved all that much since an ill conceived luncheon presser in New York that left virtually all attendees wondering why on Earth they were allowed to test a phone so far from being ready for consumer release. While the launch seemed far away at the moment, it’s right on top of us now (at least for UK readers), and it’s a bit disappointing to tap a key on the virtual QWERTY to see it change colors but not register, or to tap around the homescreen with no reaction for a few seconds and then have the wrong item selected. We are told that these issues will be resolved – that software updates will address the problems. I certainly hope so, because it would be a damn shame for a company like Sony Ericsson – who is known for elegant hard and software – to watch a flagship sink on their maiden Android voyage.

One thing that will not be improved upon, however, is the phone’s lack of multi-touch support. The hardware just doesn’t support it. This isn’t such terrible news, really. There are a lot of great devices out there lacking multi-touch. But it has become one of those features that Android fanatics look for the second they learn of a new device. For that reason, the X10 will come out of the gate an underdog in their eyes. Not to mention that it ships with Android 1.6. I think a lot of you would agree with me in saying that it’s a bit late in the game to be selling Donuts – at least at full price with an eye on being a serious competitor.

I, like many of you, was very excited for the X10. The physical design is distinguished and sexy, the user experience (UI, or UX) is beautiful, and most of the specs are quite impressive. Considering Sony Ericsson’s reputation, I think we were right to anticipate the phone as a potential front runner – possibly even a game changer. And though it still has massive potential (pending a software update) I kind of get the feeling that one more bit of bad news might drag this thing out of the heavyweight ring altogether. This is a bad thing in my mind, because SE clearly went to great lengths to make the X10 stand out in the Android race and to offer us the very best phone they could. The camera is killer; the Nexus UX is aesthetically pleasing and assisted by brilliant, exclusive apps; and the body of the phone is an object of lust. But it seems to me that some poor choices were made in the screen department. We can’t even get a straight answer on how many colors it supports. I’ve heard three different answers from reputable sources.

Rikard Skogberg of Sony Ericsson had this to say to Slash Gear:

“I don’t have any technical details around the screen to share, sorry! – However I have now gotten confirmation on the question of multi touch. As said earlier there’s no multitouch in X10 – and I also can confirm that it’s not only related to SW but also to HW. Despite this, for future updates of X10 we are of course working on other solutions for e.g. zooming, which has been requested frequently on this blog, such has the solution demoed on X10 mini”

I hope the updates come soon, and I hope they are complete, because I really want to love this phone. Right now, I’m on the fence. I will be posting an overall review, camera samples, and sore question and request videos this week. Stay tuned.

Via Slash Gear

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Sony Ericsson X10 entirely subsidized by T-Mobile UK

John Walton — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:14:51 +0000

UPDATE: HTC’s Desire is also free on a similar contract, but with 1200 minutes!

While we still don’t have any details on the American release, we know exactly what customers will be paying to get their hands on the phone on T-Mobile across the pond: nothing. That is, on a two-year contract at £35.00 a month ($currently around $52) for 900 minutes and 500 texts, the phone is included. That’s a comforting price point. Considering what SE handsets usually run, I’ve been a bit worried about the X10. I realize I’m running pre-release software, but I just couldn’t see justification for the numbers people have been tossing around, generally between $800 and $900. OUCH! Perhaps this is an indication of what to expect stateside.

Via T-Mobile UK

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Sony Ericsson X10: unboxing and hands on

John Walton — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:56:22 +0000

Well I know I’m not the only one who’s been waiting impatiently for this one. Does the phone feel as nice as it looks? Does the UX perform as smoothly and quickly as it does in SE’s promo videos? So far, I’m impressed. I have noticed a couple of small detractors in Sony Ericsson’s sex machine but I’ve only been using it for a couple of hours. There is plenty more X10 content to come on DroidDog.

Have a question about the X10 or want to request a video demonstration? @ replay me on Twitter: PhoneDog_John; or send a text message to 503-MOB-BARK (no calls will be answered). Be sure to mention “X10″ in the message!

Video after the break:

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X10 turns up on T-Mo UK site as coming soon

John Walton — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:55:02 +0000

Sony Ericsson’s much anticipated XPERIA X10 has popped up in the “Coming Soon” section of T-Mobile UK’s website, and you can sign up for email alerts regarding status updates. Something tells me that we will have more info very, very soon though. I am interested to see if SE will stick with the Nexus UX (user experience) moniker that they re-branded the sexy Rachael UI with. Whatever they dub it, “UX” does make more sense than “UI,” as the bundled apps go way beyond the superficial sheen one immediately recognizes when first glimpsing the device. For example, check out the camera software’s facial recognition capabilities after the break:

Via Leakdroid and Android Central

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Xperia X10 Mini

Dustin Earley — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:16:58 +0000

As the news from CES rolls in, we catch sightings of more and more things we never knew we would see, like an Xperia X10 Mini. The Robyn (codename), is shaping up to be quite the power-house with WLAN, HSPA, 3.5MM audio jack, and 5MP auto focus camera. I think I speak for everyone when I say I really wanna see what this little guy is all about. We can’t even get a NA release date for the X10 and now this!? Patience, patience. I’m glad Sony Ericsson is showing Android some love, “Compact and clever” indeed. Hopefully we will have more info on the Robyn soon.

Via Android and Me

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X10 product demos

John Walton — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:02:31 +0000

Sony Ericsson is excited about the launch of the XPERIA X10 – their first Android device – and has announced that developers can now submit Android applications to their online app and media store, PlayNow. Coders will receive 70% of net revenue.

The X10 is likely to launch both on T-Mobile and AT&T within the next month or two, so devs might want to get moving if they want their wares to be seen from the get go.

With the holidays upon us, SE has decided to capitalize on current hype by sponsoring an app contest and with a few fun demos of apps running on the X10. I think Santa might need a new beard…and perhaps a bit less caffeine.

If you are reading this on the DroidDog home page, click on through for a second video:

Via Android and Me

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Galaxy Lite and X10 headed for T-Mo UK

John Walton — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:02:27 +0000

Noah from PhoneDog has a good leak for our UK readers today: Samsung’s Galaxy Lite and Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X10 are expected to be launched on Magenta across the pond in January and February, respectively. Apparently, the Galaxy date of January 15th is a sure thing, whereas the X10 details are a bit sketchy.

Noah’s tipster acknowledges the “09″ typo in the image, so disregard that.

Via PhoneDog

DroidDog Android Blog » XPERIA

Sony Ericsson announces X8, 2.1 for Q3

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Details for X10 on Rogers

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No multi-touch for X10

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Sony Ericsson X10 entirely subsidized by T-Mobile UK

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Sony Ericsson X10: unboxing and hands on

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X10 turns up on T-Mo UK site as coming soon

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Xperia X10 Mini

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X10 product demos

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Galaxy Lite and X10 headed for T-Mo UK

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More X10 videos

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