Hasta La Gadget!

We think this is a veiled way of passing the buck to AT&T — but whatever it is, Sony Ericsson USA has extended an old, crusty, TimeScape-enabled olive branch to Xperia X10 owners in the States by attempting to explain what’s going on with the Eclair update ’round these parts. Basically, the company says that getting an update out in the US is way harder than it is elsewhere because of “the technical requirements that must be met” over which Sony Ericsson has “no control.” The blame is levied on an “especially rigorous” testing cycle that can (and presumably, often does) take several months, which is why they’ve thus far refused to offer guidance on when the update will be released. Honestly, is there any way we can trade in our warranty card to get on the fast track with this stuff? And more importantly, would us bleeding-edge types be willing to take that risk on a wide scale?

Sony Ericsson faults ‘especially rigorous’ firmware testing in US for X10’s Eclair update delay on AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Still have your hopes up about a Windows Phone 7 slider from Sony Ericsson? Then you might want to dial back those expectations, at least according to Sony Ericsson France CEO Pierre Perron. He recently told French newspaper Les Echos that while Sony Ericsson has indeed been in talks with Microsoft about Windows Phone 7, the company is not likely to pursue it because it would “run the risk of standardizing our smartphones,” adding that (roughly translated), “we would be obliged to fight only on design and price, which we want to avoid.” Perron also seemed to outright dismiss the idea of a tablet from Sony Ericsson (be it Android or otherwise), flatly stating that the company doesn’t want to be the “24th” tablet on the market. Of course, it could well be a different story a few months or a year down the line, but it certainly doesn’t sound like Sony Ericsson will be straying far from its current strategy at the moment.

Sony Ericsson France CEO says Windows Phone 7 handsets aren’t likely, neither is a tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our hope for the recently leaked Anzu (likely to be known as the Xperia X12 at retail) handset from Sony Ericsson was that it’d be the company’s Android Gingerbread flagship, but here comes international super-reviewer Eldar Murtazin popping that bubble for us. The good man from Russia has a preview unit in his secret lab and reports that it currently only runs Android 2.1, with the intention being that launch devices in early 2011 will start off with Android 2.2 before getting their Gingerbread (2.3) fix in a later update. He also notes a 4.3-inch display with 854 x 480 resolution (just an LCD, nothing exciting), an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 (same as in the T-Mobile G2 / Desire Z) powering things inside, and a 12 megapixel imager mounted on the back. The latter is naturally capable of recording 720p video, while early performance impressions are that the stock Android interface flies. Alas, Eldar expects SE to layer its own customizations on top, which adds to his disappointment with the general build quality of this device — it’s thinner and lighter than the X10, but apparently feels cheaper to the touch. Hit the source link for his comprehensive preview.

Let’s also not forget Eldar’s tweet from the weekend when he said he was playing with the Anzu and the Galaxy 2 (aka Samsung i9100, according to him). Given that the first of those devices has now indeed made its way onto Mobile-review, the veracity of his second claim — that the upcoming Samsung handset would be a dual-core beastie — now seems a lot less questionable.

[Thanks, Momchil]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson’s 4.3-inch Anzu previewed: ain’t got no Gingerbread, but still looking tasty

Sony Ericsson’s 4.3-inch Anzu previewed: ain’t got no Gingerbread, but still looking tasty originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Along with a Sony Ericsson Anzu, the James Bond of cellphones — alias Eldar Murtazin — claims to be playing with a Samsung GT-i9100 right now, calling it the “Galaxy 2” and saying it’s “so technically advanced” thanks in part to a dual-core processor. It seems like a long shot that this would be the Cortex-A9-based Orion since chips and development boards are just now being sampled — but considering how far in advance Murtazin tends to score phones, we can’t rule anything out.

One possible scenario is that the i9100 could be something akin to a TouchWiz-skinned version of the upcoming Nexus S, much as HTC’s Desire was essentially a Sense-skinned version of the Nexus One. Samsung, of course, has been pushing TouchWiz very hard across its Galaxy S line this year, and if the Nexus S is as beastly as the rumors are claiming it to be, there’s little doubt that Samsung would love to repurpose the hardware for something with a little more of its flavor thrown in. Speaking of the Galaxy S, keep in mind that the original European GSM model goes by the code GT-i9000, so it would stand to reason that the i9100 could be the proper successor — and with Gingerbread-based TouchWiz and a dual-core processor on board, we’d say they’re off to a strong start.

[Thanks, Peter]

Samsung i9100 is the dual-core Galaxy 2, sequel to the Galaxy S? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earnings calls aren’t usually that interesting, and that’s doubly true when trying to listen via official translators. Still, we couldn’t help but give an ear to Sony’s fiscals, and sure enough, someone asked about our (still real) PlayStation Phone leak. We’re not sure who answered since it’s through interpreter, either Executive VP / CFO Masaru Kato or Senior General Manager of Investor Relations Division Gen Tsuchikawa (we’re assuming the former).

Citing the aforementioned device, the curious party asked if such a product would come out of Sony or of Sony Ericsson, and no, it wasn’t a complete denial. Instead, we’re told just how such a device would happen, that a gaming phone would be planned and prototyped under the (recently restructured) Network Services umbrella. We’re also told how SCE’s move to Sony City headquarters now puts them closer to the planning and engineering group, meaning the company “can better incorporate all these capabilities better… so when the timing is right we can probably announce to you the new product we have.” Ericsson is later cited as a resource “on smartphone and for the games devices,” although this might be something peculiar with translation. Again, that’s far from a confirmation, but they’re certainly entertaining the notion in a very, very detailed response.

But that’s not all; there’s also apparently a tablet brewing in the background, one that would obviously fall somewhere in between PC and Sony Ericsson’s efforts. There isn’t much else said, but if you’re up for psychoanalyzing executive commentary, we’ve transcribed and placed the full quote after the break.

Continue reading Sony earnings call entertains PlayStation Phone, reveals tablets are on the radar

Sony earnings call entertains PlayStation Phone, reveals tablets are on the radar originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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