Yesterday we learned that UK network Three had delayed the release of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. At the time we didn’t know if this was down to them finding any bugs in the software, like O2 had or if it was due to stock issues. We can now confirm that it is down to stock, or rather freight issues. Both Three and Vodafone are experiencing a delay in releasing the Xperia gaming handset. Vodafone are also having stock issues with the Xperia Arc.

While the Xperia Play launch event may have been successful, for some actually getting hold of the handset is proving to be rather difficult. First we heard that O2 had delayed the release of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play on their network, due to bugs and issues found. They’ve denied that it’s due to the O2 firmware version and bloatware, although those with unbranded handsets have found no issues with the phone, myself included. Now Three have said that they have had to delay the release of the Play. According to customer services the handset has been delayed to the 13-16th of April, while Three have confirmed via Twitter (in response to this Tweet) that it was due to circumstances out of their hands. Upon ordering on the Three website, they state that the earliest delivery date is April 15th. The exact reasons for the delay are currently unknown. Whether the delay is down to stock issues or firmware issues we’ll keep you updated. Or perhaps Three are rethinking their pricing plan, as so far it’s the most expensive pricing we’ve seen so the far. Hopefully when it is back in stock, it will be more reasonably priced as well.

A third UK carrier is set to carry the Xperia Arc and offer it to its subscribers. Vodafone has just posted on their Coming Soon section of their corporate website that the Xperia Arc will soon be available on their network. It will be available on a monthly pay plan however no exact details were released yet. No specific date was also mentioned on its release however it would probably be the same or close to the release date of O2 and Three.

The Xperia Arc will be one of the high end Xperia models to be released by Sony Ericsson this year. This model was officialy announced during the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2011 and is eagerly awaited by many people who wish to buy it.

Yesterday we heard that the Xperia Arc would be making it’s way to Three in the UK and would most likely be in stores at the end of February. At that point however, Three had not confirmed whether the handset would be coming to their network. Today is a different story though. Three have now officially announced that they will be selling the Xperia Arc when it’s launched in the UK. Unfortunately they didn’t provide a specific launch date, other than “coming soon”. Hopefully the end of February statement is also true.

We recently found out that O2 had listed the Xperia Arc on their website as one of their “coming soon” handsets. The listing also pointed to an April release. We’d previously heard that the handset was due for release sometime during Q1 or Q2, which with an April release date, would just take us into Q2. We haven’t heard any information regarding what other networks the handset might be released onto in the UK. However after some digging today, I found out that the handset may be coming to Orange but, what’s more interesting is something a Three employee divulged.