Steve O’Hear is in London this week for the 2009 Symbian Exchange and Exposition and had a brief sit down with Anders Westin, Head of Software Relations, Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE). Several questions were asked, mainly concerning Sony Ericsson’s current portfolio which spans every single smartphone operating system under the sun, including, hopefully, Android 2.0 on the XPERIA X3, but the kicker was Steve asking Anders why the Sony Ericsson Satio had such a piss poor battery. The Satio, for those unfamiliar with the device, has a 3.5 inch touch screen, runs Symbian S60 5th Edition and has a 12 megapixel camera. It eats batteries for breakfast. Sony Ericsson has been shipping the Satio with a 1000 mAh battery, and when Steve brought this up to up with Anders, he seemed a bit shocked. “Don’t you mean 1350mAh?” he said, lifting the battery cover off his device to reveal a 35% larger 1350 mAh battery, to which Steve, and many customers around the world, replied “ummm no. what the fuck?”

What gives Sony Ericsson?

Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) is preparing to unveil new phones on November 3rd. The special “What’s next?” mini-site has been prepared for the occasion, hinting us we could finally see the Swedish-Japanese handset maker releasing something official on their Android plans. Yap, we hope to see the Xperia X3 announced, now that we’ve seen it in in-the-wild photos.

I’ll only remind of you of the X3’s specs – this baby should pack a 4-inch WVGA screen, 8-megapixel camera, and a 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU. In that sense “I want it” is an understatement.

[Via: Unwired View]

T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) is Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE)’s main partner in the U.S. and now we have the two companies launching the mid-range clamshell, Equinox, on October 28th. Specs wise, there’s GPS on board, quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM and dual-band (2100/1700 MHz) HSDPA radio, 3.2-megapixel camera, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, Bluetooth, FM radio, YouTube client, and so on. The key differentiating point of the Equinox is its “eye-catching night effects” feature that allow users to set different “pulsating light effects” for their favorite contacts. Kinda nerdy, don’t you think?

Anyway, to celebrate the launch, Sony Ericsson engaged its sexy ambassador, Maria Sharapova, who will make an appearance at the grand opening of a new T-Mobile store in Los Angeles on October 31st. At the event, the Swedish-Japanese company will hold a Maria Sharapova look-a-like contest, with prizes including Maria-style VIP treatment for a day, Sony Ericsson Equinox phones and Sony’s VAIO computers.

In addition, Sony Ericsson is organizing “Get Your Glam On” sweepstakes beginning November 9th. The winner of the contest will get a trip to Los Angeles to meet Kim Kardashian and receive the makeover from her personal glam squad…

[Image from UnwiredView]

The Android revolution has begun, and you know what that means – loads of Android smartphone spy pics! We’ve already seen the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) XPERIA X3 (Rachel) doing its thing in the wild, and we even have video demonstrating the Rachel’s customized Android UI concept. But, we still can’t get us enough of the Rachel. So, we’re happy to see another round of Rachel spy pics coming to light. This go ’round, Mobile Crunch is calling it the Sony Ericsson “X10.” What happened to all those other “X’s” is beyond us.

The X10 you see in these pictures is reportedly running the vanilla Android UI, and not the “Rachel” UI that we’ve seen before. The lighting here is way better than we’ve previously seen in X3/X10 spy photos, but it’s as blur-tastic as most other spy pics. Maybe whoever took these pics thought it would be funny to use a Motorola (NYSE: MOT) RAZR as a camera.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X3/X10 (Rachel) is still expected to launch in the first quarter of 2010 with its 4-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 8.1-megapixel camera, 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, GPS, WiFi, 3G data and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Android 2.0 OS (Eclair) will likely be on tap to battle the well-endowed HTC Dragon.

Enjoy the pics, it’s going to be a long winter!

[Via: MobileCrunch and PhoneDog]

Remember the arguably stylish Sony Ericsson Jalou? One of the device versions was co-signed by Dolce&Gabbana and that specific device got a new commercial. Here’s what’s it all about right from the horse’s mouth (that’s Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana):

The campaign theme plays with the concept of jealousy and desire for a must have object, the protagonists are willing to do whatever is necessary to get it before everyone else, the link with the Dolce&Gabbana brand is the strong femininity, the exclusivity and luxury of the women that wear the Dolce&Gabbana clothing, use the Jalou by Dolce&Gabbana phone and embrace our world in general.

The two companies are also running print campaign, which is reportedly totally created by Dolce&Gabbana. And now the mentioned clip. Enjoy!

[Via: SEMC blog]

Mobile barcode solutions provider Scanbuy announced a deal with Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), which will pre-load the ScanLife mobile barcode application on its handsets. Such phones [with pre-installed software] are already being sold in Spain, Italy, and Mexico; with more countries to follow in the coming months.

For those unfamiliar with ScanLife’s offering, here’s an excerpt from the press release:

The ScanLife mobile application uses the camera phone to read all major 1D and 2D barcode formats including Datamatrix, EZcode, QR, UPC, and EAN. The application scans a code to immediately launch a specific action like displaying a website, loading a video, dialing a phone number and more. This makes all physical objects interactive and removes the need for a user to type long URL’s or search for information using keywords.

Finally, it’s worth pointing out that Sony Ericsson is just a tip of the iceberg. ScanLife app works across multiple platforms — including Android, BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM), BREW, iPhone OS, Java, Symbian and Windows Mobile. It is available as a free download from this page.

Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE)’s Xperia X2 has been cleared by the FCC. Unfortunately for those in the U.S. who look forward to grab one, this is not the U.S.-centric device. It lacks a 3G radio that sings on either AT&T (NYSE: T)’s or T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA’s 3G network. So we’re wondering why the Swedish-Japanese handset maker went through the hassle of approving the device which no one will buy. Maybe they’re counting on Europeans/Asians visiting America. Though there are quite a few people doing so, it’s not the market to count on.

Anyway, I assume the “ready for U.S. soil” version will also find its way to the FCC in no time, when hopefully, a carrier partner will also be announced…

[Via: Unwired View]

Thirteen impressive new phones are coming down the pipe for Japanese service provider KDDI. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Casio Exilim Keitei CA003: 12 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom, autofocus, image stablizer, and 20 images/second rapid shot
2. Sharp Aquos Shot SH003: 12 megapixel camera, FM transmitter, transfer and view Blu-Ray movies
3. Sharp Aquos Shot SH006:  12 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, transfer and view Blu-Ray movies
4. Casio Exilim Keitei CA004: 8 megapixel camera with face detection, autofocus, and VGA video recording
5. Sharp SH004: 8 megapixel camera with noise reduction and low-light filter; low-power mode and call noise-cancellation
6. Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Bravia U1: 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and image stabilization; transfer and view Blu-Ray movies; waterproof
7. Kyocera (NYSE: KYO) SA001: 3.2 megapixel camera with image stabilization; 14.7mm thin closed
8. Toshiba (OTCPK: TOSBF) T003: 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, face detection, and image stabilization; waterproof
9. Sharp SH005: 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and image stabilization; transfer and view Blu-Ray movies; waterproof
10. Sony Ericsson S002: 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus; GSM support
11. Sony Ericsson Urbano Barone: 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and image stabilization; large keys for the elderly; transfer and view Blu-Ray movies
12. Kyocera Mobile Easy K004: 2 megapixel camera with autofocus; easy-to-use UI
13. Kyocera Mamorino: Security-centric, helps parents keep tabs on kids; waterproof

Oh yeah, and the vast majority have WVGA displays and infrared support. Man, it’s a whole other universe over in Japan. The Bravia-branded phone is pretty slick, and the only other time we’ve seen optical zoom on a 12 megapixel cameraphone was on the Samsung W880. Overall, a solid winter lineup from KDDI – I just wish we had something comparable over here.

[KDDI via MobileCrunch]

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 isn’t yet officially official in the US and we’re already hearing of the first Android-powered XPERIA coming to market. SEMCblog is saying that the Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) (NYSE: SNE) XPERIA X3 (codename: Rachel) is due to be announced in early November, bearing the kind of spec-sheet befitting an XPERIA smartphone – 4-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 8.1-megapixel camera, 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, GPS, WiFi, 3G data and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It’ll likely run the Android 2.0 OS (Eclair) that is expected to be released by Google (NSDQ: GOOG) (NSDQ: GOOG) any day now.

What you see here is the first live shot of the XPERIA X3 hanging out in the wild. It’s something of a milestones for uber-geeks like us.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X3 will launch as the company’s first Android phone in Sensuous Black and Luster White, otherwise known as “Black” and “White.” We’re expecting to see the “Rachel UI” giving the traditional Android homescreen a bit of a makeover when it goes live on the XPERIA X3.

As far as we know, the speculated January launch window is still on track. The XPERIA X3’s Snapdragon proccesor, Android OS and 8.1-megapixel camera should make for one truly amazing smartphone when it launches. We can’t wait.

[Via: SEMCblog, 4pda.info]

Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) continues a downward spiral in the third financial quarter of 2009, although this go-around is not quite as bad as Q2. President Dick Komiyama is leaving the company at the end of the year, and he’s feeling optimistic about the SE’s future, even though it had to take in a Euro 455 million loan from its parent companies to keep running. Here’s a quick breakdown of the numbers.

• 14.1 million units shipped (up 2% from 13.8 last quarter, down 45% from 25.7 last year)
• Euro 198 million in lost income (up from 283 lost last quarter)
• Euro 1,619 million in sales (down 4% from 1,684 last quarter, down 42% from 2,808 last year)
• Forecast: 10% retraction in global handset market

We’re still waiting on the Aino and X3, so we’ll have to see if they affect SE’s Q4, but the X2 and Satio should at least be making a moderate splash in the next results. How do the analysts feel about Sony Ericsson’s Q3?

“Expectations that they will make big losses next year have to be revised to show that they maybe won’t make any money, but that at least they will break even.” – Martin Nilsson, Handelsbanken Capital Markets

“On the funding side I think that was more or less expected that the parents will have to commit something with a guarantee or capital.” – Thomas Langer, WestLB

“This [loan] will give them some working peace for the next year.” – Greger Johansson, Redeye

It’s been a long, bumpy ride for Sony Ericsson, but hopefully this loan will, in fact, carry them through the rough patch. Take a closer look at Sony Ericssons Q3 numbers here, or peruse our Finance section to keep tabs on all of the big players in mobility.