'sony ericsson'

Android in 2011: Bigger, faster, thinner, lighter

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

A closer look at the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

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

Sony Ericsson unveils Xperia Arc

LAS VEGAS--Sony Ericsson kicked off its CES experience today by announcing a new Android smartphone, the Xperia Arc. Though it's not the long-rumored PlayStation phone, the Android-powered handset offers an impressive load of features and a sleek candy bar design in midnight blue or misty silver.

Front and center on the Arc is the 4.2-inch, 16.7 million-color touch screen (854x480 pixels). Sony Ericsson is no slouch when it comes to displays so we're expecting a stunner here. The capacitive display also has an accelerometer, a multitouch interface, and a Sony Bravia engine.

Exterior features include three physical controls (back, home, and menu), a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headset jack. The Arc has a trim profile at 0.342 inch, but we're glad to see Sony Ericsson isn't trying to push it as "the world's thinnest smartphone." And even if it did, that race changes almost every day. … Read more

PlayStation phone may carry Xperia branding

A handful of new PlayStation phone rumors surfaced this week, adding to a long list of unconfirmed reports surrounding the device.

The latest gossip concerns the smartphone's eventual name. According to information uncovered by Pocket-Now, Sony Ericsson has registered for trademarks on Xperia Play, Xperia Neo, Xperia Duo, and Xperia Arc. It's possible that the Xperia Play could refer to the device itself or an umbrella of services related to the phone.

The Unofficial Xperia X10 blog also discovered that a Sony Ericsson PR firm had registered the XperiaPlay.com, XperiaPlay.net, and XperiaPlay.org domain names. Again, … Read more

PlayStation phone gets time on video

The rumored Sony PlayStation phone has been spotted again, this time getting captured in video form.

A Greek gadget blog has roughly 2 minutes of blurry footage of someone reportedly playing with the device. Although we never see the phone opened up to reveal the gaming controls, it appears to be a real working model. According to Techblog.gr, the handset is codenamed Zeus and will bear the name of Sony Ericsson Z1 when it arrives.

Specifications for the PSP phone include a 1GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM, and 1GB of ROM. It's suggested that the … Read more

AT&T spins post-Thanksgiving deals

We've already told you about Amazon Wireless' cell phone deals for the holiday shopping brouhaha, but now AT&T is getting in on the act as well. From Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the carrier will be offering a deal a day for many if its phones. Here's what you'll see.

November 26: AT&T says it will offer "some of the best prices ever" on its "most popular" touch-screen devices. At this point, we don't exactly know which handsets that includes, so we'll have to wait and see.… Read more

First Look at presumed Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 successor

The first images and preliminary details for Sony Ericsson's presumed Xperia X10 successor have made their way online. And according to the source that passed on the tips to the Unofficial Xperia X10 blog, the device is "very, very slim."

Codenamed Anzu, or X12, the handset should feature a 4.3-inch screen and HDMI output, two increasingly common smartphone characteristics. Given the "HD" markings on the back of the phone, the video camera should record in 1080p resolution. The X10 has an 8.1-megapixel camera, so I would assume this phone has at least that … Read more

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 finally gets Android 2.1

Starting this Sunday, October 31, Sony Ericsson will make good on a promise made earlier this year. The Xperia X10 will finally get its long-awaited Android 2.1 update.

The official Sony Ericsson product blog posted an article today advising that X10, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro handsets will begin receiving the Eclair update on Sunday evening. Initially, only phones in the Nordic countries will see the update, with other European countries getting 2.1 starting Monday, November 1. All other X10 phones, including those used in North America, will get their update by the end of November.

I'… Read more

Apple hits ranks of top five mobile phone vendors

It sells just a single smartphone, but Apple is now the world's fourth largest mobile phone supplier, according to the "Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker" report released yesterday by IDC.

Thanks to record shipments of the iPhone 4, which arrived on the U.S. market at the start of the summer, Apple shot past several other mobile phone vendors, landing in fourth place ahead of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. For the third quarter, Apple shipped 14.1 million phones, 1.7 million more than RIM and 3.7 million more than Sony Ericsson, which fell out of the top five list for the first time since 2004. This was also the quarter in which the iPhone 4 reached 17 additional countries to establish its beachhead worldwide. With heavy demand for smartphones, Apple also joined RIM as the second smartphone-only vendor among the top five.… Read more

PSP Phone: 6 things we still don't know

We expected it for months, we heard rumors of its existence, and now photos have appeared seeming to confirm that a PlayStation phone is real. Such a device could simultaneously revive the flailing PSP platform and inject a truly gaming-ready smartphone into the Android ecosystem capable of competing with Apple.

We have our wish list of features we'd like to see, but based on what we've seen thus far, details are scarce. Some tech specs have been reported, but beyond that, there's a lot we still don't know. Among the many uncertainties, several unanswered questions come … Read more