Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), NEC, Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), Samsung, Texas Instruments and three other wireless heavyweights have all signed an agreement under the eye of the European Commission to adopt a microUSB standard on data-enabled devices. This will hopefully cut down on consumer waste when it comes to chargers, as well as make life easier when switching devices. The change to microUSB will probably be the biggest deal for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), who have shoved people into using their inconvenient proprietary iPod plug for so very, very long. Charging seems to be the main focus of the agreement, though considering data-enabled phones are specifically targeted, it will also make syncing and transferring a heck of a lot easier. A move like this follows closely in the steps of North America - CTIA has already thrown in their support to get all mobiles running on microUSB chargers by 2012.
I was just typing up another post when I saw a TV ad for the SE W995 - ’search showtime’ it said at the end of the Ad, and because I love mobile gadge(ts), I did!
Whilst we’ve talked about the W995 before, it’s interesting to see how Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) is pushing the W995 in their Ad campaigns - in this case they say:
Dive into a world of entertainment. With BBC iPlayer, YouTube™, 60 movies included and high quality video playback, the W995 is the ultimate video entertainment package. It also comes with a FREE tube speaker and has advanced multimedia features, an 8.1 Megapixel camera, clear audio experience for premium sound and Media Go™ for easy transfer of your photos, music and videos.
Erm, sorry, did you say SIXTY movies? Sha-bang! Well OK there are not 60 films on the device from the get-go (quick bitta video maths says you’d want about 60Gb, for a decent resolution across all the movies), but you can get them from the PlayNow Arena:
The W995 has 60 films included which you can download from PlayNow™ arena throughout the year. Watch each as often as you like for up to 90 days.
Still, that’s not bad - a year’s access, with up to 3 months to watch each film - nice. But that’s not all - there’s BBC iPlayer (schweet!), and also Sky Mobile TV (if you are on the 3 network in the UK). Overall though, a nice combination of premium video access I think. And remember, all this off the back of a device that is sitting under the ‘Walkman’ sub-brand…
Sony Ericsson has good brand recognition and sales rates in the UK (variably rated as number two vendor on some indices), and with this kind of service support I can see why - other vendors take note!!
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) just announced the T715, and I’m trying to stay awake reading their press release. You’re getting a 2.2 inch screen, 240 x 320 pixels, it’s small at 91.5 x 48 x 14.9 mm and weighs less than 100 grams. It has a 3.2 megapixel camera, quadband GSM/EDGE, and mysteriously comes in two versions with the T715 only having 3G on the 2100 MHz band, yet the T715a will ship with triband 850/1900/2100 3G. That’s is folks. No GPS, no WiFi, nada. On the plus side it takes microSD cards, no more M2 nonsense. The T715 will ship in Q3 of this year and in typical Sony Ericsson fashion, no price was mentioned.
High resolution photo after the jump, also view the complete photo gallery over at Sony Ericsson’s site.
Update: Live images at GSM Help Desk and a promo video with awesome club music that I’ll no doubt be jumping up and down do to while heavily intoxicated this summer:
A couple of device releases for the Canadians in the crows this fine afternoon. Word has trickled down to my inbox that the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 and C510a are both now available on the Rogers (NYSE: RCI) network.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 is a hefty device, weighing in at 158 grams. This slider features a full QWERTY keyboard with a 3″ VGA touchscreen with a resolution of 800×480. There’s a 3.5mm audio jack on-board, microSD card expansion slot (up to 16GB), 3.2MP camera with auto focus and LED flash, VGA video recording, WiFi, GPS, and the device runs on Win-Mo 6.1. The three-year contract will cost you $249.99, or if you’d prefer to buy it outright be prepared to fork over $599.99. You can check out all the details at Rogers.
The Sony Ericsson C510a is a more economical model, and is built in the classic Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) candybar style. It’s got a 3.2MP camera with digital zoom and picture editing, plus there’s GPS to help you geo-tag your pictures. 30fps video is also available on the C510a. The display is 2.2″ with a resolution of 240×320. The price? $79.99 on the three-year contract and $229.99 outright. Read more over at Rogers.
Nothing new in this video that you haven’t seen before at some at some loud annoying club with terrible music playing in the background, drowning out the marketing drivel being spat out by hired public relations professionals flirting with journalists and bloggers alike:
We do get is some pricing info and a launch window: €600, October. That’s a lot cheaper than I was expecting, and a lot sooner. I’ll believe it when I see it, for now it’s just a rumor.
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has recently unveiled a new accessory - Portable Handsfree MH700. We haven’t caught the press release, but when it comes to Sony Ericsson matters, we look at the SEMC blog, which does a great job in covering the Swedish-Japanese company. From there we found out the MH700 comes with two 3.5mm audio jacks along with a fast-port connector. According to SEMC, the stylish handsfree will best sing along some high-end device such as the Xperia X1 or W995 Walkman.
As of the time of this writing, we’ve no information when will the Sony Ericsson Portable Handsfree MH700 start selling, nor how much it will cost. As soon as we hear something new, we’ll let you know. Stay tuned in the meantime…
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 hasn’t even been officially outed by Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), yet we already know that the XPERIA successor will be one-upping the X1 with upgraded (faster, better, stronger) specs. The X2 rocks a faster processor, an 8.1-megapixel camera (with auto-focus and 30fps video recording), the new Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, a refreshed Panel UI and that sweet 3.5-inch AMOLED WVGA touchscreen. Suffice it to say that Sony Ericsson is making good on their promise to bring the best of the best to the XPERIA flagship lineup.
This is the invite to the event.
And, it looks like the Swedish-Japanese pair is getting ready to officially unveil the XPERIA X2 at some sort of press event in Singapore. The leaked invitation, set for June 17, seems to center around Sony Ericsson’s entertainment services, but also mentions “cutting edge technology.” For the uninitiated, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA lineup of smartphone is supposed to offer the most high-end, cutting-edge features of any Sony Ericssson handset. We wouldn’t be surprised to see SE going public with the XPERIA X2 in Singapore in a couple days.
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has/will be releasing its low-end W302 Walkman phone in a new color - Indigo Blue. We’re not sure in which markets users will be able to grab the newly colored version of the device, but we know that aside from the color change, the device remains identical, sporting the same 1.3 megapixel camera, music player, 176×220 pixels screen, Bluetooth, TrackID, and so on. Again, it would be helpful if the Swedish-Japanese company actually announces these phone updates more public by issuing a press release or something…
We’ve seen the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) “Vulcan” dressed up in black and even got a decent look at the specs, but now we’ve got a few more shots of the X2 in a silver colour scheme. Nothing in the way of new info, but a new paint job and fresh eye candy is always welcome. For those unfamiliar, here’s the low-down:
8.1-megapixel camera with auto focus, video recording in VGA resolution @ 30fps (MP4 HQ)
3.5-inch WVGA OLED (increased from 3.0-inches on the X1)
GPS, aGPS
3.5 mm headphone jack
Accelerometer
Faster processor
512MB RAM
Custom Windows Mobile 6.5 (SE engineers customized Win6.5 which runs very. very speedy. on par with iPhone and better in some cases)
XPERIA Panels are modified with plenty of innovative features (PS3 remote play being one of them)
Upgrading to Windows Mobile 7 is supported by Xperia panels
T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA will be adding a new Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) device in its portfolio in the near future. Or at least it seems that the Swedish-Japanese handset maker hopes so, as I don’t see any other reason to go through the FCC approval hassle for the device that sings along T-Mobile’s AWS 3G — not that they could sell that on many other places in the world.
Anyway, from what we’re hearing, the TM717 is pretty similar (same?) to the Maria Sharapova-approved T707 model sporting the same 3.2 megapixel camera and clamshell form factor. Release date is unknown at this stage and the same goes for pricing…
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), NEC, Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), Samsung, Texas Instruments and three other wireless heavyweights have all signed an agreement under the eye of the European Commission to adopt a microUSB standard on data-enabled devices. This will hopefully cut down on consumer waste when it comes to chargers, as well as make life easier when switching devices. The change to microUSB will probably be the biggest deal for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), who have shoved people into using their inconvenient proprietary iPod plug for so very, very long. Charging seems to be the main focus of the agreement, though considering data-enabled phones are specifically targeted, it will also make syncing and transferring a heck of a lot easier. A move like this follows closely in the steps of North America - CTIA has already thrown in their support to get all mobiles running on microUSB chargers by 2012.
