xperia

The Sony Ericsson Xperia family grew by two today with the introduction of the Xperia Ray and Xperia Active.

The two Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphones, which were announced at CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore, are expected to ship in Q3 to select markets worldwide--specifics, such as pricing and U.S. availability, were not revealed at this time--and offer two different areas of focus.

If you couldn't tell by the name, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active is a handset aimed at those with an active lifestyle. It features a dust-proof and water-resistant design with a 3-inch, 320x480-pixel Reality Display that … Read more

Sony Ericsson has just taken the wraps off its new Experience Pack, a hardware and software bundle designed specifically for the Xperia Play. The kit features the DK300 multimedia dock; a pair of cables (pocket USB, audio); and up to three games from Gameloft. In addition to charging the Xperia Play, the dock turns the phone into a desktop radio, alarm clock, and more.

The list of Gameloft titles isn't necessarily long, but some of the titles are impressive nonetheless. Each has been optimized to take advantage of the added hardware buttons found on the "PlayStation Phone" and will undoubtedly provide users with some of Android's best gaming controls. I've had a chance to play a couple of the games on other Android phones, so I can imagine that the Xperia Play will offer an even richer, more immersive experience.

Sony Ericsson hasn't listed a price for the Experience Pack, but I wouldn't put it much higher than $44.99 (if not less). Considering the dock retails for 19.99 British pounds, or approximately $32.88, and the games are typically $4.99 a piece, there wouldn't be much value in bundling things together otherwise. … Read more

Sony Ericsson is launching the Android 2.1 "Eclair" upgrade to Xperia X10 devices running on the AT&T network in the U.S., the handset maker announced today.

Owners of the device, which boasts a 4-inch touch screen, a 1GHz processor, and an 8-megapixel camera, will be able to access the upgrade today. With the upgrade, the phone records video in 720p, offers multitouch support, gets facial detection in video capture, and increases the number of available home screens from three to five.

In order to update the Xperia X10, users will need to download a PC Companion application to get the process started. From there, they'll need to plug their devices into their computers and start the update. According to the company's Web site, the update will take about 30 minutes to complete.

The addition of Android 2.1 to the Xperia X10 comes rather late. Many other devices are already running the newer Android 2.2 (Froyo). There are even some running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).… Read more

We've seen the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play before at Mobile World Congress and have managed to play a game or two on it ourselves during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Now, we finally have our hands on the Verizon version of the phone that will be making it to stores on May 26--preorders started on May 19.

There are few differences between the Xperia Play headed for Verizon and the one that's currently for sale internationally. The main difference is that the Verizon version comes with a few Verizon apps like VZ Navigator and My Verizon … Read more

Already available in markets around the world, the highly anticipated Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is finally hitting the States, courtesy of Verizon Wireless, starting on May 26 for $199.99 with a two-year contract (requires voice and data plan). Preorders will begin on May 19 through the carrier's Web site.

Introduced back in February at Mobile World Congress, the Xperia Play will come preloaded with seven games: Madden NFL 11, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, Asphalt 6: Adrenalin, The Sims 3, Star Battalion, Crash Bandicoot, and Tetris. Customers can expand on that selection using the onboard V Cast Apps store, … Read more

The 404 co-host and known iPhone user Wilson Tang joins us this week and gives us Android guys a fresh perspective on this week's Android news. Speaking of the news, getting around your carrier's tethering restrictions just got a bit harder with carriers blocking tethering apps in the Android Market; Amazon and Barnes & Noble prepare to go head-to-head in the next round of the tablet/e-reader war; and we get news of a whole slew of upcoming Android phones, including a massive 4.5-inch model and the first Android phone targeted specifically at women. All of that, plus the answers to your emails, on this week's episode of Android Atlas Weekly with Antuan Goodwin and Justin Eckhouse. … Read more

Sony Ericsson unveiled the follow-up models to last year's Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro today, refreshing the pair with Gingerbread and improved specifications.

Due later this year, both handsets feature a 3-inch touch display, 5-megapixel camera, and 1GHz Snapdragon processor. As was the case with the first generation of these Xperia phones, the primary difference between the two is that the Mini Pro features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, whereas the Mini is touch only. Additionally, the Mini Pro adds a front-facing VGA camera and a pair of business-minded apps: Office Suite and McAfee Antivirus.

At first … Read more

A little red birdie has passed on possible release dates for some of Verizon Wireless's most-anticipated smartphones. And since that birdie gave us reliable information before (mainly, the HTC Incredible 2's April 28 debut), we're inclined to believe that the following dates will hold up. So here's what we know.

The HTC Trophy is scheduled to arrive May 12. Verizon promised late least year that it was bringing Windows Phone 7 to its handset stable, but the carrier has yet to show us the goods despite earlier false alarms. Bonnie Cha has reviewed the unlocked GSM version … Read more

Canadian carrier Rogers might be a week from delivering the one-two punch that is the Xperia Play and Xperia Arc, but that doesn't mean the tech press will stop digging up details.

As we learned last week, the carrier is accepting preorders for both handsets with as little as $50 down at local Best Buy stores. At the time, pricing was rumored, but not confirmed, to be 99 Canadian dollars ($103) with a three-year commitment. Tech blog MobileSyrup has obtained a couple of internal Rogers documents, verifying the three-year pricing as well providing other options.

As previously reported, the $… Read more