Hasta La Gadget!

Oh yes. After all the unbearable teasing since we unveiled the first ever photos of the PlayStation Phone, we’ve finally managed to get hold of the real deal for an in-depth preview. Honestly, we couldn’t wait any longer with this thing floating around in China; we’d otherwise have to wait until MWC, where we expect the phone to be launched as the “Xperia Play” (and we shall refer to this name henceforth). Before you pop the cork for us, do bear in mind that what we’re seeing here is subject to changes, so don’t be alarmed by any missing features or exposed cables in our preview. When you’re ready, head right past the break to find out what Sony Ericsson’s cooking up.

Continue reading Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview

Exclusive: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (PlayStation Phone) preview originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Well, it’s about time! We knew Sony was prepping some Reader apps to go along with its physical Pocket, Daily, and Touch Edition e-readers, and while it may have missed that December release date, the Android version of the app is now available in the Market. The free app is pretty much what you’d expect — you can log in with your username and it automatically syncs previously purchased books, and like the e-readers, it also supports ePub and PDF formats. In addition, you can easily highlight text and adjust font and brightness settings right from the page you’re reading. We downloaded the app and found it to be pretty decent, however, the Store shortcut launches within the browser rather than in the app. Ready for the twisted part? Sony has confirmed for us that the app will only work with handsets that run Android 2.2 and higher, which is incredibly ironic considering most Sony Ericsson handsets are, you know, still stuck with 2.1. Of course, it looks like that PlayStation Phone will work just fine when it’s finally released, but that’s neither here nor there — hit the gallery for a pile of screenshots of the app.

Updated: Sony just let us know that the iOS version is still pending Apple’s approval, but it should be available soon.

Sony Reader app finally available for Android, only works with 2.2 and higher originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Digital Reader  | Email this | Comments

The choice of Android Gingerbread handsets just grew by one, courtesy of the Sony Ericsson MT15i and Russia’s premier mobile reviewer, Eldar Murtazin, who has put it through his rigorous preview cycle. The typically curmudgeonly gent was pleasantly surprised by SE’s latest (and entirely unofficial) handset, claiming that the company “has developed and is about to launch truly cutting edge devices and … has almost nothing to fear in the hardware department as well.” He has praise for the above-average front-facing cam, the endurance offered by the 1500mAh battery, and the 854 x 480 res on the Reality Display — though he does warn that Sony’s Bravia Engine is only used when consuming multimedia and therefore has limited impact on improving output quality.

Internally, you’re looking at 512MB of RAM and a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM7630 with Adreno 205 graphics, all of which resulted in perfectly smooth, lag-free operation. In spite of its many pluses, Eldar describes the MT15i as a phone targeting the mid-range, which invites all sorts of delicious pricing speculation, though we’re not entirely sure we agree with his postulation that this handset will be called the Vivaz 2. The Xperia branding up front and the replacement of Symbian with Android would collectively suggest it’ll bear an altogether new name when it’s unveiled — which we’ll go ahead and presume is going to happen at MWC next month.

Sony Ericsson MT15i / Vivaz 2 ensnared by Eldar Murtazin, given glowing preview originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BestBoyZ  |  mobile-review  | Email this | Comments

The Xperia Arc is one pretty slice of Gingerbread, don’t you think? We certainly did when we got the chance to handle one for ourselves at CES, but today we’re less concerned with its exterior and more interested in what lies beneath. The 1GHz processor we knew about already has been specified as a Qualcomm MSM8255 and will be joined in the good fight against sluggish performance by an Adreno 205 graphics chip. On the software front, that random sighting of an Arc with Android 2.4 has been put down as a simple “misconfiguration” by Sony Ericsson, exploding a million conspiracy theories around the web. One encouraging note here is that SE (kinda) acknowledges its inglorious record with Android updates and promises recent changes have put it in “a good position to make sure that Xperia Arc will get later versions in a timely manner.” We’ll believe it when you make it, Sony.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson names Xperia Arc CPU, dubs Android 2.4 appearance a ‘misconfiguration’

Sony Ericsson names Xperia Arc CPU, dubs Android 2.4 appearance a ‘misconfiguration’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Sony Ericsson Product Blog  | Email this | Comments

Starting to look pretty real, isn’t it? That rumored X10 Mini Pro replacement seems to be gallivanting about in China again; this time it’s not turned on, but the point is that it’s out there and certainly doesn’t seem knockoff-y to be a fake. For what it’s worth, the original X10 Mini series has been one of the few relatively bright points in Sony Ericsson’s Android lineup thus far, so we’re pretty stoked to see that they appear to be taking another shot at the diminutive form factor — let’s just hope those wild GPU results we saw last time hold up by the time it’s at retail.

Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro successor out for another casual stroll? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SEMC Blog  |  it168  | Email this | Comments