ericsson

After two years of lightly treading in the Android waters, AT&T is finally ready to start swimming for the deep end of the pool. And almost as if it were pure coincidence, the carrier's broader ambitions come into light as it prepares to lose exclusivity of the iPhone.

Looking ahead, AT&T has plenty of Android on the roadmap for 2011, confirmed by a recently leaked internal document. The details uncovered by Phandroid indicate that the carrier plans to offer at least 12 new devices in the coming year, including a pair of exclusive smartphones.

Looking at AT&T's current lineup of Android phones, it's hard to get very excited. Sure, the Captivate is a great device, but it doesn't stand out from the other Galaxy S models of its time. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is fantastic hardware, but it's hindered by the outdated software. The rest of the roster is a lesson in smartphone mediocrity with assorted handsets from HTC and Motorola.

The near future looks to take sharp turn for the positive, however, with three new phones deserving of your attention.… Read more

Though still among the top five mobile phone vendors worldwide, Apple has conceded fourth place to China's ZTE, according to the "Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker" report released today by IDC.

Looking at the global market share of the top mobile phone vendors in the fourth quarter, Apple dipped from fourth to fifth place despite a record quarter for phone shipments, the report said.

The iPhone maker shipped 16.2 million units, a healthy boost from the 14.1 million units shipped in the third quarter and the 8.7 million shipped in 2009's final quarter. Apple's flagship phone sold especially well in developed countries, including North America and Western Europe.

Apple's global market share for the quarter slipped only slightly to 4 percent from 4.1 percent the prior quarter. But that combined with a surge in shipments for ZTE, which has sold mostly lower-cost feature phones, allowed the Chinese mobile phone maker to steal fourth place away from Apple.

Hitting the top five for the very first time, ZTE shipped 16.8 million units for the quarter, helping it win a 4.2 percent slice of the market.… Read more

The DOJ is sniffing around again on the topic of mandatory data retention for ISPs: our advice? If this is their canary in the coal mine, kill the canary. Not cool. Also, will the Facebook phone be huge? I say yes, Tong is skeptical. Android developer interest is nearly equal to their interest in iOS, plenty of Android tablet news, and I give the Sony Dash the full Touch My Body. --Molly

Now that we're done speculating about the Verizon iPhone, the next biggest rumor to grip the wireless world is the expected Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone. Due next month at Mobile World Congress, the device made another Internet appearance today in a full hands-on post by Engadget.

Though Engadget's screen time isn't the first we've seen of the Android-powered PlayStation phone--over the past few months it's been sighted everywhere, from Greece to China--the photos and videos are the clearest so far. Indeed, previous shots look like they were taken by someone who had enjoyed too … Read more

Sales of its Android phones and internal cost-cutting helped Sony Ericsson returned to profitability in its fourth quarter. But overall sales were down, and results missed analysts' expectations.

For the quarter ended December 31, the Swedish mobile phone maker saw its net income hit 8 million euros ($10.8 million), a healthy swing from 2009's final quarter, which was hit by a loss of 167 million euros. Results were similar for all of 2010 as net earnings reached 90 million euros following a loss of 836 million euros in fiscal 2009.

Seeing 2010 as a turnaround year, the company … Read more

Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson is suing wireless broadband provider Clearwire for trademark infringement.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. district court in Virginia on Friday, Sony Ericsson said that Clearwire's green and white swirl logo is confusingly similar to its own green and white swirl logo.

Sony Ericsson said that it became aware of Clearwire's plans to use a similar logo in late 2009. And in January 2010 it contacted Clearwire to express its protest. Clearwire is building a nationwide wireless broadband network using the technology called WiMax. It sells fixed and mobile broadband services and … Read more

Like many of you, I've watched the rumors of a PlayStation Phone spread across the Internet over the last few weeks. After a so-so 2010 for Sony Ericsson, this is exactly the type of device that could cement Sony Ericsson as a top Android contender. That is, if they get it right. Ask any Android enthusiast about last year's Xperia X10 and you'll likely hear gripes about how badly the company missed the boat.

Once expected to be one of the premier Android phones on the market, the Xperia X10 arrived with muted fanfare. Though eventually it was successful at a couple of carriers around the world, it never took off in the United States, even though it landed at AT&T.

What was the primary reason for this missed opportunity? Outdated software, of course. Even with its 1GHz processor, 4-inch screen, and 8.1-megapixel camera, the phone was hampered by Android 1.6. That inability to run many of today's better applications turned many potential consumers away. And even now, as some Android handsets are getting 2.2 or even 2.3, Sony Ericsson is just pushing Android 2.1 out to various regions. Thankfully, however, the future looks much brighter.

As of right now, the PlayStation should come branded under the Xperia umbrella, possibly carrying the Xperia Play moniker. Although branding it specifically as the PlayStation Phone could be a better move, it will be easier for the company to fold it into the Sony Ericsson portfolio. What's more, listing it with the Xperia name ties it to its other efforts, notably the new Xperia Arc. … Read more

After taking a few days to decompress and wrap my head around the Android news from CES 2011, I started to notice a couple of trends with the new devices. Not only are these phones getting substantially faster with bigger screens, but they are growing thinner and lighter at the same time.

As expected, the next Android phones are going to be much faster than today's handsets. We have dual-core smartphones like LG's Optimus 2X and the Motorola Atrix 4G on the horizon, and companies such as Samsung are pushing out single-core processor handsets with impressive 1.2GHz speeds.

And when you factor in 1GB memory capacities, you have two ingredients for 2011's "superphone." Well, at least for the first half of the year. At the rate things are moving, it's pretty difficult to forecast beyond six months.

Displays With screen size, big is in. What started with HTC's Evo 4G continues this year in force. In fact, it appears that the minimum display size for touch-screen phones now hovers around 4 inches or higher. Not only does a quick look show that some of the key handsets announced at CES have screens of 4.3 inches or larger, but Samsung's Infuse 4G is headed for AT&T with a 4.5-inch screen. Anything larger and we'll be into Dell Streak and tablet territory.

It's really funny considering that last summer, plenty of people balked at the Evo because it was considered too big. Was the success of the Sprint phone a driving factor in the new designs, or are handset makers simply moving the needle whether we like it or not? … Read more

Sony Ericsson released just one phone at CES, but the Xperia Arc is nothing to ignore. The hardware, to be frank, is stunning. The handset has a great feeling in the hand; we love the sleek profile; and the display is a looker.

The features are also impressive. We're particularly glad to see the device running Gingerbread--remember that the Xperia X10 ran OS 1.6 when it debuted--and the idea of the Bravia engine powering the media player is something we hadn't expected. We're still ambivalent about Timescape, and we hope it won't interfere with future … Read more