In the old days we used to see lucky ladies and gents unboxing brand new devices as soon as they got them and with great excitement. In the last few years though, as more companies push buzz through their own blogs, “official” unboxings have become much more regular. They lack a certain luster that fanboys provide when they rip open a package for the first time, but hey – an unboxing is an unboxing:

Gustaf was on vacation so Marten helped out on the official unboxing of the X10, performed by the Sony Ericsson Product Blog. The box is retail ready but what’s inside could of course be customized for each carrier and I suppose the exterior could as well. The Xperia X10 has been a LONG time coming so it’s long awaited arrival will be very welcome, if not only to move it out of the upcoming/leak/rumors associations.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and likely the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro will launch with Android 1.6 but we’ve already confirmed it will soon be upgradeable to Android 2.1. Good to know. But between now and the end of the year, they’ll also be offering an upgrade to Android 2.2. What exactly is included in Android 2.2? We’re not sure – it isn’t yet available.

Here is exactly what the spokesperson said when discussing the “upgrade” the Xperia line will get:

“it will be an Eclair variant, so it could be 2.1 or even 2.2″

We know it will get at LEAST Android 2.1 and seeing that they are thinking even further ahead is a great sign, especially considering the number of handsets stuck a little in the past. I think since the Xperia is POWERFUL enough to handle 2.x they assume it will be upgradeable. But wait – did they account for tweaking their custom UI (UXP) to work with 2.2? How about taking into consideration carrier approval/testing?

The world of upgrading Android to the latest version is always a guessing game and if you’re THAT worried/intent on it… maybe you should be exploring the options of rooting your phone.

[Via Crave Asia]

The Wall Street Journal brings us an exquisite piece of news related to the long rumoured PSP Phone and a possible tablet made by Sony. Apparently, the Japanese company wants to launch an iPad rival and a device that’ll compete with the gaming capabilities of Windows Phone 7 Series handsets.

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Tags: PSP phone, Sony Ericsson gaming phone, Sony Online service 2010, Sony tablet

According to a rumor from the Wall Street Journal, Sony may be taking aim at the Apple iPhone, the Apple iPad and Microsoft’s Zune Phone Windows Phone 7 Series with two upcoming multifunction, multimedia-centric devices. Sony is reportedly developing a portable multimedia device bundled with online services that will rival the iPad. This rumored portable device will be part netbook, part e-reader, part gaming machine and will connect to the new Sony Online Service which will offer, music, movies, television episodes, and games. The bulk of the games available through the Online Service will be recycled PlayStation games and will be made available to wide range of portable and mobile devices. Sony promises to have this iPad killer in the hands of the masses sometime in 2010. The second and the smaller of the two multifunction devices is a smartphone, developed in conjunction with Ericsson, that will download and play PlayStation games. Sound familiar? It should as this idea of a PlayStation phone has been bouncing for almost three years now without any concrete evidence that the project has been moving forward. Will 2010 be the year Sony delivers the PlayStation phone and finally puts an end to this seemingly endless rumor? We hope so at this repetitive reporting is getting a bit long in the tooth.

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Sony Ericsson has just started selling the eco-friendly Naite handset, with a $159 price tag. This standard candybar device is part of the GreenHeart lineup, meaning that its body is made from 50% recycled materials and the phone uses a low consumption charger.

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Tags: Sony Ericsson eco friendly phone, Sony Ericsson GreenHeart phone, Sony Ericsson Naite, Sony Ericsson Naite specifications

Initial details on Nokia’s planned roadmap for 2010 were leaked earlier this month and the information revealed a set of new naming conventions Nokia may be using for its mobile hardware. One series, the X series, is supposedly comprised of handsets that target a young audience with a focus on music and entertainment. Details on the first handset in this series, the Nokia X10, may have now been leaked courtesy of a video on YouTube. According to the video, the X10 will be a Symbian^3 powered QWERTY slider with a  600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, 3.2 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 16GB or 32GB internal storage, 256 MB of RAM, HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, aGPS and support for multiple homescreens with auto-rotation. The documents, though potentially fake, have an appearance similar to previously leaked Nokia documents that also appeared on YouTube in a video that was subsequently pulled by Nokia. Assuming that these details are based more upon fact than fiction, Nokia may be unleashing a nice mid-level handset with a name, X10, that’s pretty similar to what our boys and girls over at Sony Ericsson have named one of their own

[Via Unwired View]

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In a rather bizarre move, Sony Ericsson’s CEO, Bert Nordberg recently claimed in an interview with Swedish publication Sydsvenskan that his company was asked by Google to build the Nexus One. This happened before HTC was offered the shot to do it…

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Tags: Bert Nordberg, Nexus Two maker, Sony Ericsson Android phone, Sony Ericsson CEO interview, Sony Ericsson Nexus One

A Swedish interview with Sony Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg found the jolly head of SE’s floundering handset business reporting that he turned down making the Nexus One for Google because it would dilute the majestic Sony Ericsson brand.

Here’s the weirdly translated money shot:

But Google got turned down. Brand [Recital... awareness? "Varumärkesskäl vägde tyngre."] weighed heavier. Sony Ericsson will only produce phones under its own brand and not be subcontracted to others.

HTC made a huge name for itself by subcontracting for others and their work has won accolades, giving them a great stepping stone towards manufacturing their own goodies. SE could do well to take a page from their playbook but I fear it’s already too late.

via Eng

Twenty four of the world’s largest  mobile operators along with LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and the GSMA have come together to create the Wholesale Applications Community, an open, international applications platform. The motley group will create an application store that could potentially reach 3 billion customers worldwide by using an open standard which would allow developers to publish applications across multiple device platforms and operators. The group is working closely with WC3 standard bodies to create one standard application development solution based upon JIL (Join Innovations Lab) spearheaded by Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, China Mobile and Softbank and OMTP’s BONDI framework. If this group can bring all these disparate platforms and distribution methods together under one umbrella, they could introduce applications to a enormous amount of mass market and smartphones and could potentially create an app store that could rival Apple’s app store in sheer volume alone. Though the issues of supporting such a wide range of networks, form factors, OS versions and more might be its limiting factor.

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We’ve seen some really interesting Android phones discovered this week at the Mobile world Congress (MWC 2010) in Barcelona – oh how I wish I could be there…..  Well to pile on the good news, some ‘Top picks from this years event’ are already available for pre-order from none other than popular online UK e-retailer eXpansys!

Yes, you can soon get your hands on some of the hottest and newest Android handsets out their including…..

A real good selection! Personally my favourites are the HTC Desire , the HTC Legend and Samsungs Beam 8520 with it’s Super AMOLED screen and projector!  Summary of prices and status below:

HTC Legend / £399.99  / Due 12th April

HTC Desire / £449.99  / Due 12th April

Acer beTouch E110 / £ 159.99 / Due 17th May

Acer beTouch E400 / £ – TBA / Pre-order available

Samsung Beam i8520 / £ – TBA / Pre-order available

Sony Ericsson X10 mini / £ -TBA / Pre-order available

Sony Ericsson X10 mini Pro / £-TBA / Pre-order available

Motorola Quench / £ – TBA / Pre-order available

£-TBA = Price to be announced

As you can see some have not been given an price or release date yet so keep an eye out!  You’ll be glad to hear their all sim-free and unlocked to any network! oh yeah – did I mention they ship internationally as well? Yep, that means anyone outside the UK can enjoy this treat too!

[Via eXpansys]

When the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 was announced in November, my major concern was whether it was coming to the U.S., when it was coming and if it would be subsidized by a carrier. The good news is that it looks like the X10 will be hitting AT&T’s shores this Spring.

The Boy Genius, whom I trust, has it on very good authority that the device will definitely be carried by AT&T, and that it will arrive some time in April or May. As far as pricing, it looks like $199 or less is what BGR is hearing and that sounds reasonable if Sony Ericsson wants a fighting chance against devices like the iPhone.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 was announced a LONG time ago but still hasn’t been released. At Mobile World Congress the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro were also announced, so now we’ve got THREE unreleased Xperia phones. Not for long, because BGR is saying that the X10 is 100% heading to AT&T in the April to May timeframe.

I’m not down with putting a 100% on anything so I’d pull back slightly on your expectations. But that $199 with a 2-year agreement sounds like a good deal considering some of the numbers we heard when the phone was first rumored.

I’m wondering if the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro might launch alongside the larger Xperia X10 in an AT&T Android “coming out” party launch. It’s unlikely, but possible, and if you ask me I think it’d be a great idea for the carrier to try and make a big splash with their first Android offering(s).

When Sony Ericsson announced the Xperia X10 Mini and the Xperia X10 Mini Pro there wasn’t any word of price or carrier. Even today, no announcements have been made. But browsing the MWC showroom floor, the folks at Fonehome spotted the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini at the Vodafone booth!

With that tidbit of evidence it’s pretty impossible to deny that Vodafone will be getting the Xperia X10 Mini. Logic would also say they’ll get the X10 Mini Pro but you never know in this crazy little place they call planet earth. We’re also not sure what other carriers might get the phone but if you’re a Vodafone customer hoping from the Mini, your hoping must have done some good. You read The Secret, didn’t you?

We’ve just been told from an AT&T source of ours that the Sony Ericsson X10 is 100% coming to AT&T, and pretty soon.

Our connect has heard an April-May time frame. What about pricing? Well, it looks like the X10 will be priced at $199 or lower, with a two year agreement, of course.

Sony Ericsson has just added two new members to its Xperia family, the Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro models, that get detailed and pictured below. Announced during the MWC 2010 debut events, these devices come with similar specs, aside from bigger size and sliding QWERTY keyboard of the X10 mini pro handset.

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Tags: MWC 2010, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro, Xperia X10 mini pro specifications, Xperia X10 mini specifications