In partnership with China Mobile, Sony Ericsson chief executive Bert Nordberg has announced that they will be releasing the A8i smartphone in the country, its first TD-SCDMA smartphone.
“China is a hugely important market for Sony Ericsson and we are committed to maintaining our strong position and driving growth by continually introducing new and exciting products into this market”
Looking a lot like an Xperia X8, the A8i will use the Android based China Mobile’s Open Mobile System 2.0 and has the following feature list:
3.5 inch (854×480) display
5MP camera (LED flash, auto focus)
WLAN, Bluetooth
200MB internal memory and supports Micro SD cards
3.5mm headphone socket
CNMB mobile TV, A-GPS, eCompass
Tha A8i will also feature TrackID which will be linked to the entertainment download service already provided by China Mobile.
Sony Ericsson have released another firmware update for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, bringing the build number up to R2BA026. It’s recommended however that you don’t install the update if prompted as it brings back a mysterious WiFi problem which we haven’t seen since R2BA016. The issue occurs when you lose the network signal on the phone. Upon losing (and regaining) signal, the Wifi turns itself off, so you lose all connections to the internet, making the phone brick like for a few minutes until the signal returns completely. As well as bringing the Wifi issue back, the update sees the Wise Pilot app taken off. The only improvement in the firmware, is that Timescape and Mediascape are more responsive.
Se-first have managed to get a hold of one of the newest additions to the Sony Ericsson Xperia range – the newly announced Xperia X8 and have posted up images and a hands-on video, which is shown below, for us all to enjoy.They have also compared the X8 to the Vivaz, Xperia X10 and X10 Mini Pro which gives us a more accurate idea of the sizing of the X8 in comparison to the other Sony Ericsson handsets.
It is noted that the low camera resolution at just 3.2MP with no autofocus option is disappointing for what se-first describe as an ‘entry level’ Xperia handset and this is an understandable disappointment as it seems like a step backwards for the range, especially when even the X10 Mini has a 5MP camera to it’s name.
Here are more images from the comparison and hands-on:
Over on the se-nse blog a handful of what are being dubbed as ‘official’ photographs of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 handset have been posted.
We also know the Xperia X8 as the ‘Shakira’ handset which is Sony Ericssons latest smartphone, expected to be released in the fall. The photos show that it is, as predicted, a mid size handset, a mix between the full sized Xperia X10 and Xperia X10 mini in size. Technical details arent confirmed yet, nor is pricing or exact release date information although, specifications are expected to be similar to those of the Xperia X10 Mini.
UK release news for the Xperia X10 Android smartphone has been announced by Vodafone today. The UK carrier have taken their pre order page live on their website and have dated release as the 6th of April.
The handset is available on one of two price plans, both of which include a free X10 handset:
£35 a month – 900 minutes, unlimited texts, 500mb data + 300 minutes and unlimited landline calls if bought online
£40 a month – 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, 500mb data + 300 minutes and unlimited landline calls if bought online
Interested UK buyers can take a look at the deals in more detail here on the pre order page.
A handset which looks surprisingly like the Xperia X10 has surfaced through several images. The handset is codenamed Robyn. The handset resembles the X10 in design and features. It also runs on Android and features a touch screen, albeit smaller because it is a mini X10. Robyn also has an impressive camera but, not quite as good as the X10 at 5 megapixels. The handset is currently unannounced by Sony Ericsson. One image shows that Robyn will be available in a variety colors, consisting of white or black, like the X10, as well as being available in yellow and pink. Hopefully an announcement will emerge at the Mobile World Congress event on February 14th.
Play.com have sent out an email to those who registered their interest in the Xperia X2. You can now pre-order the Xperia X2 for £499.99. The handset will be released on the 29th January. The Sony Ericsson store still have a due January notice, while Vodafone, interestingly has a page not found error. Following the link from before, a page not found error is shown. You can now also “view” the X2 from the select a handset option but, this also takes you to a page not found error. Perhaps later on we’ll see an updated page by Vodafone.
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