Dec 30, 2010

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini pro successor

The ultra compact smartphone niche has obviously brought enough cash to Sony Ericsson as it is just about to release a successor to their X10 mini pro. The new device is yet unnamed (though X12 mini pro seems like a reasonable guess), but seems to fix all there was to fix about its predecessor. With a slightly larger 3" screen of higher resolution and far more computing power, the new tiny QWERTY-equipped device seems to be to the rumored X12, exactly what the X10 mini pro was to the X10. The keyboard is not actually visible on the leaked shots, but the Chinese source assures us that it's there.

Dec 27, 2010

Sony Ericsson MT15 Hallon and LT15 Anzu leak

We just spotted some new info, pictures and camera samples from a brand new Sony Ericsson smartphone - the MT15 codenamed Hallon plus the previously leaked LT15 Anzu a.k.a. XPERIA X12. Sony Ericsson MT15 Hallon looks much like the XPERIA X12 Anzu, but has a beefier front-facing camera.

The Hallon leaked via a Picasa album and is shot with a device called Sony Ericsson LT15. Rumor has it that the LT15 is the previously leaked XPERIA X12 Anzu and it's supposed to pack a 12 megapixel camera. The samples in the Picasa album are only 8 megapixel so it's not the full resolution of the camera or the LT15 could be a new unannounced device and not the 12 megapixel Anzu we are waiting for.

New XPERIA phones at MWC 2011, possibly the XPERIA Play too

Sony Ericsson has sent out the invites for ther Mobile World Congress event and they promise to introduce us to new members of the XPERIA family. While they don’t mention any names, the rumored PS Phone is a likely attendee. The Mobile World Congress 2011 starts on 14 February but Sony Ericsson as usual will hold their event a day earlier to steal the spotlight.

Dec 22, 2010

The PlayStation Phone goes by XPERIA Play, launches in April

The long rumored Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone won't be announced on CES next month, but on the MWC 11 in February. It will hit the stores in April under the name of XPERIA Play. Quite some news, right? According to trust-worthy Pocket-Lint sources, the Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone will premiere on the Sunday's Sony Ericsson press conference during the MWC in February. It won't be released immediately, but will hit the shelves sometime in April.

Dec 21, 2010

Sony Ericsson Yendo review: A touch of Walkman

The Sony Ericsson Yendo is still a couple of months away from launch and we hope the time is used wisely. There’s quite a few software-related things to polish. The sluggish user interface for one ruins the fun of having such a neat and good looking touch phone.  There’re too many unknowns with the Yendo and perhaps the slow processor should not take all the blame. After all, this is a feature phone with a small low-res screen and few power-hungry apps. The software package is far from final, so we shouldn’t be too tough on the phone. But at this point it’s obvious there’s a lot of tweaking to do before launch.

Then, the Walkman branding is raising more questions than answers. Ease of use and good looks are key in a low-end touch phone but you can’t help but notice the media package here is just a bit too basic. The Yendo has no accelerometer, hence no fancy features such as Shake Control. There’s no integrated Media Menu to begin with. The poor file management is a letdown too.

Having repeatedly praised the interface of Sony Ericsson feature phones, we’re afraid we can’t hide our disappointment with the Yendo. What we miss the most is the Activity Menu – a quick way to access favorites and the event log – not to mention the Running Apps tab. In fact – smart dial and the multitasking ability were the great Sony Ericsson advantages in feature phones. None of them is enabled on the Yendo. And there’re no homescreen widgets either.

We’ll skip the unimpressive camera and the basic web browser - after all imaging and web aren’t meant to be Yendo’s full-time jobs.

We’ve been painting a rather bleak picture but these are all things users will be right to expect in a Walkman - albeit an entry-level phone. Not least, the Yendo isn’t exactly short of rivals in the basic touch phone segment.

The Sony Ericsson LiveView micro display picking up speed

The Sony Ericsson LiveView micro display has been selling for a few weeks only, but the number of compatible plug-ins is higher than you might suspect.

So there's no reason to feel sorry for buying it - the full touch accessory is getting more and more useful with each passing day. The list of apps compatible with the little thing is way larger than expected and new plug-ins show up over at the Android Market all the time.

Dec 7, 2010

Sony Ericsson working on Froyo for XPERIA X10, coming in Q2

How about that, Sony Ericsson is secretively working on a Froyo update for their XPERIA X10. Unfortunately, this update won't come before Q2 2011. But you know what - it's actually sad cause at that time Google will probably be outing Android 3.0.