May 05

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro hands-on (update: video!)

Posted in: Android, breaking news, gingerbread, Mini, qwerty, QwertySlider, slider, smartphone, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, video, xperia

We’ve just gotten to grips with Sony Ericsson’s new compact smartphones, the Xperia Mini and its keyboard-equipped sibling the Xperia Mini Pro, and have a gallery of shots for you below. Hit them up now and we’ll have hands-on impressions and video coming shortly.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro hands-on (part deux)

The Xperia Mini has wonderful size when it comes to width and height, but we have to ask: why so thick? The Mini Pro is only slightly thicker despite having a fully-fledged slideout keyboard, so it would have been nice if the keyboard-less Mini was more svelte. Sony Ericsson is clearly going after the pocket- and handbag-conscious demographic here, who might not be all that receptive to the Mini’s girth. SE also made some bold claims about the finger-friendliness of the Mini Pro’s keyboard, which we were told were backed by usability tests against rival phones. Those trials were isolated to devices “in its size class” (of which there aren’t many), but our first response was still very positive, at least once we turned on auto-correct. This will be a matter of personal preference, but we found ourselves enjoying not having to take care of every little slip of the finger. Anyway, settings adjusted appropriately, we bashed away on the Mini Pro rather speedily and would rate it right up there with the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in terms of our typing rapidity. Browser rendering has its flaws, there’s a stuttery quality to zooming in and out of a page, but at least it’s done quickly and Flash playback seems to work without a hitch.

Update: Hands-on video now embedded after the break!

Additional reporting by Sharif Sakr

Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro hands-on

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro hands-on (update: video!)

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 05

Sony Ericsson announces new generation of Xperia Mini and Mini Pro smartphones

Posted in: Android, breaking news, gingerbread, Mini, official, qwerty, QwertySlider, slider, smartphone, Smartphones, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, xperia

Sony Ericsson has just outed a brand new pair of compact Xperia smartphones. The new Xperia Mini will run Android Gingerbread (2.3) on a 3-inch, multitouch, scratch-resistant display, which comes with Sony’s proprietary Bravia Engine with Reality Display. There’s a 1GHz processor inside, access to Android Market, and home screen customization with custom shortcuts available in the four corners of the screen. A 30 percent improvement in battery life is also touted, courtesy of a larger cell. SE is also pretty jolly about having the world’s smallest smartphone capable of recording video in 720p HD. You’ll be able to grab yours in one of four different colors this August.

The new Xperia Mini Pro features the same 1GHz processor, 3-inch display, and 1200mAh battery, but it also adds a front-facing camera and that sliding QWERTY keyboard that made the original X10 Mini Pro such a favorite. The new model is coming at some point in the third quarter of this year. Sony Ericsson’s launch presentation is still ongoing, but we’ll have more details and hands-on pics as soon as we can.

Update: Hands-on pics and impressions can be found right here!

Gallery: Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro

Continue reading Sony Ericsson announces new generation of Xperia Mini and Mini Pro smartphones

Sony Ericsson announces new generation of Xperia Mini and Mini Pro smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 18

Xperia Play Goes Up On Best Buy’s Canada Site

Posted in: Today's Chili, video games, xperia

xplaybby.jpg

Best Buy has pegged a release date for the Xperia Play…in Canada…leaving the rest of us wondering when it will actually start showing up in America.

The Play, known unofficially as the “PlayStation Phone,” has already been released in Europe, but Sony Ericsson has not yet said anything solid about its availability in the US.

According to the Canadian version of BestBuy.com, the device will be available on April 28 from carrier Rogers. We know it’s coming to Verizon in the US, which may have something to do with the delay (Sony Ericsson usually released phones on AT&T or T-Mobile, which use a different network standard than Verizon).

Via Into Mobile

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Apr 13

Sony Ericsson’s Android bootloader unlocking site goes live, modders rejoice

Posted in: Android, cellphone, hack, mobile phone, MobilePhone, mod, phone, smartphone, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, xperia

As promised, Sony Ericsson has just flipped the switch for its Android bootloader unlocking service, meaning those with an unbranded Xperia device from 2011 and onwards — Play, Arc, Neo, and Pro so far — will be able to try out custom ROMs and other dirty mods with ease. All that’s required here is your phone’s IMEI number, which in return gives you the unlocking key to go with the Android SDK’s fastboot program — all will be clear once you’ve read the instructions at the source link. But remember: SE does warn that this service may void your warranty if all goes pear-shaped, so just be careful, won’t ya?

Sony Ericsson’s Android bootloader unlocking site goes live, modders rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 13

Sony Ericsson sets up its own channel in Android Market, relegates ‘My apps’ link to a menu item

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, apps, content, Games, market, Software, Today's Chili, xperia

Open up Android Market on your Android device today and (most of) you will see a familiar set of three headings — Apps, Games and My apps — bidding you welcome. Do the same on your Sony Ericsson Android phone, however, and the last item in that list might no longer be there. That’s because SE has decided to introduce its own “channel” to the Market, wherein you’ll find a load of Xperia handset-specific junk software and other specially curated bits that your smartphone is adjudged to be in need of. The change means you’ll need to open up your menu to get at your own apps, but that shouldn’t be an entirely unfamiliar activity for Android users. Sony Ericsson may be the first manufacturer to pull this switcheroo, but it’s following in the well-worn footsteps of Verizon and T-Mobile in the US. And speaking of carriers, Sony Ericsson says this change is operator-dependent, so if you’re nice and lucky, your operator won’t bother to roll this out. Sadly, our Xperia Arc has already been infected.

Sony Ericsson sets up its own channel in Android Market, relegates ‘My apps’ link to a menu item originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 08

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo delayed to Q3, Arc and Play facing limited supply due to Japanese quake

Posted in: Android, delay, gingerbread, Japan, launch, release, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, xperia

There hasn’t been much good news coming out of Japan lately and this sadly keeps up with the unhappy trend. Sony Ericsson has officially bumped the broad launch (it’s already available in limited quantities) of its Xperia Neo handset to at least July, explaining the delay as the result of “supply chain disruptions.” Additionally, the Xperia Arc and Play devices, two other members of the company’s new Android Gingerbread family, will be available in smaller volume than expected, at least for the near term. We guess that might go some way to explaining why the Xperia Play failed to reach some UK carriers in time for its April 1st launch date. Skip past the break for a statement from Sony Ericsson, who promises to be more explicit about the situation when it delivers its latest quarterly results on April 19th.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo delayed to Q3, Arc and Play facing limited supply due to Japanese quake

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo delayed to Q3, Arc and Play facing limited supply due to Japanese quake originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 03

Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro successor spotted as SK17i, sports Gingerbread

Posted in: Android, cellphone, gingerbread, in the wild, InTheWild, leak, mango, mobile phone, MobilePhone, phone, qwerty, slider, smartphone, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, xperia

Looking for your fibrous dose of gadget leak? Look no further than China which has, again and again, outed several spy shots of what appears to be the Xperia X10 Mini Pro’s successor. Dubbed the SK17i and codenamed “Mango,” this time we’re looking at some proof of Android 2.3 on this little Sony Ericsson slider, along with a homescreen UI not dissimilar to that of the X10 Mini and X8 series. Other than that, we’re not seeing anything new here, though we can’t help but wonder if the unused Xperia Duo trademark has finally found its rightful owner — you know, maybe Duo as in a two-part slider phone? As always, only time will tell.

[Thanks, @Tehpriest]

Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro successor spotted as SK17i, sports Gingerbread originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 03

Xperia X10 goes on sale for just a dollar on contract, Gingerbread-flavored future makes it appealing

Posted in: Android, att, BestBuy, sale, smartphone, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, xperia

Okay, so a couple of weeks back, we wouldn’t have cared if Best Buy was willing to give us money to carry the Xperia X10, we still would have steered clear of its flawed UI and outdated software. But Sony Ericsson did a funny thing last Friday by promising to slap Gingerbread on this 4-inch sucker, which makes its current $1 contract price an eminently more intriguing proposition. We scouted out Best Buy’s web outlet and couldn’t find the X10 listed at all, so this could very well be a final stock clearance of the handset available on a store-by-store basis. If you’re tempted to jump on what’s looking like one of the cheapest Gingerbread devices for a while, you should be aware that the Android 2.3 update won’t be dropping until the end of Q2 at the earliest, so there will be a modicum of patience required.

[Thanks, Adam]

Xperia X10 goes on sale for just a dollar on contract, Gingerbread-flavored future makes it appealing originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 02

CDMA Xperia Play visits FCC, promptly gets dissected

Posted in: cdma, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, xperia
There are few things we enjoy more than seeing the glittery innards of a device splayed before us in the name of science — especially when it happens to be the CDMA version of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play. The Verizon bound phone made a cameo at the FCC today where it was subjected to — and passed — the usual battery of SAR tests before getting dissected. What’s intriguing about the pictures in the FCC report is that the CDMA model features the same combination SIM / microSD card slot as its GSM sibling. While some are theorizing that Verizon’s gaming handset might support LTE, we think it’s more likely that the Xperia Play uses a dual-mode CDMA / GSM radio and that the SIM slot will either remain empty and disabled in firmware or that the Xperia Play will be one of Verizon’s global offerings. Take a look at the gallery below and judge for yourself.

Gallery: CDMA Xperia Play visits FCC, promptly gets dissected

CDMA Xperia Play visits FCC, promptly gets dissected originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 07:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 01

Five PS One Classics Hit Xperia Play

Posted in: Today's Chili, video games, xperia

medievil.jpg

This isn’t an April Fool’s joke. The Xperia Play, better known unofficially as the PlayStation Phone, is now available for sale in Europe, and launching right alongisde it are five PlayStation One titles:

* Syphon Filter
* Destruction Derby
* MediEvil
* Jumping Fish
* Cool Boarders 2

The games cost about $6.38 each. Crash Bandicoot, incidentally, comes pre-loaded on the Play for free.

Via Tech Tree

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