Pocketables

Sony buys up Ericsson shares, lets all its products come together

In August, I reviewed the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. While I thought it was a great device, there were definitely some quirks. It seems to be like that with all Sony Ericsson phones, though, and even the joint venture between the two companies itself has its issues. None of us will have to worry about that anymore, though, as today, Sony bought Ericsson's shares and will now make all of its own smartphone hardware. 

Ericsson is a Swedish telecom company. It joined up with Sony in 2001 to help both companies get into the booming cell phone industry. Unfortunately, it didn't work out too well for either company, although Ericsson made money off of it anyway, thanks to licensing deals. But, really, that was the only way; hardly anyone would buy a Sony Ericsson dumb or smartphone because generally, they were much worse than the competition. 

Ericsson, owning 50% of the Sony Ericsson joint venture's shares, also held some of Sony's best ideas up. The latter company always wanted to tie its many product lines (laptops, tablets, PlayStation platform) together, but never had an easy time doing so. Thankfully, now that Sony can make its own smartphones, it can start to tie all of its products together and hopefully make some better devices. 

Ericsson isn't going away, though; in fact, that company should be making a huge comeback. As the inventor of Bluetooth and simply being a telecom giant, Ericsson can focus on what it does best: producing mobile connectivity chipsets. 

[PCMag]

Sony announces Walkman Z Android-powered media player

The Sony Walkman line once consisted of the best in portable audio technology. Of course, this was back when the pinnacle of mobile media was the portable CD player. As times changed, the Walkman fell behind the new iPod devices offered by Apple, despite Sony releasing numerous new products. However, Sony is still making an effort to keep the Walkman name alive. At a conference today, the makers of the very interesting S2 tablet released a new Android powered music player and MID, dubbed the Walkman Z, which actually looks relatively appealing.

The device's specifications, which include a 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 4.3-inch 800 x 480 display, and WiFi connectivity put it on par with other current MIDs like the iPod Touch. Not only that, Sony also included an impressive list of extra features like DLNA media sharing, micro-HDMI out, Bluetooth, FM radio, and Android 2.3 with Sony music enhancement tweak, and even headphones that might be worth using.

Unfortunately, the Walkman X really falls short in terms of price and availability. Currently only planned for release in Japan, the device will cost you a hefty $364 for the 16GB version and $429 for 32GB. Clearly, both these factors will restrict the device to a slim market of Sony enthusiasts, at least in the US.

This is quite disappointing, as there is currently very little competition in the connected media player market in the US, as it is currently dominated by the iPod Touch. It would have been great to see another company, especially one with media player experience like Sony, try to at least make a dent in Apple's market share. However, as more and more people are turn to their smartphones for the duties once performed by mobile internet and media devices, they become less important, which may mean they are all doomed to fail. Would you still purchase a dedicated MID for music and other media if you already had a smartphone?

[Mobile Burn]

Sony S2 Tablet becomes Tablet P, gets more specs

The Sony S2 tabletclam shell is one of the most interesting devices we have covered so far. Its dual 5-inch screen folding design really makes it stand out from the plethora of other small Android tablets we have been seeing lately. 

So, much to our delight, we recently learned a few more details about the tablet, the first of which is a name change. When released in the US, the S2 will be renamed the Sony Tablet P. I think that the S2 really sounds better than the Tablet P, personally, but I suppose Sony's marketing department has some reason for the new name (consistency with the old Vaio P, perhaps?).

We also learned a little more about the Tablet P's hardware, which includes 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal memory, a Tegra 2 processor, and a .3MP camera. Both WiFi and 4G will be supported, but the information was not specific about which carriers will have the device. The tablet will also weigh only 379 grams, which is lighter than the iPad's 600.

The low amount of RAM in the tablet is a little disappointing, but it should be enough for most tasks. What I am really worried about with this device is price. So far, Sony has made no announcements relating to either price or availability, but the consensus is that it will arrive in September. Hopefully it's released soon at a reasonable price, because I really want to get my hands on this dual-screen beast. 

[Engadget] 

Playing games on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is one very unique Android device. Not only can it play PlayStation games, but it even has the PlayStation gamepad, which allows "retro" gamers who might've used the original PlayStation to relive the good old days.

I'm one of those retro gamers. I love reliving my early geek days as often as possible, so the Xperia Play has seriously helped to scratch that itch. How so, do you ask? Well, read on to find out. 

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play unboxing

Sony Ericsson has definitely been ramping up its game recently. Although a few of its "announcements" have proven to be totally false, at least the company has committed to it and is getting better at releasing its devices, too.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play has been out for a little while now, but it's still one of the most intriguing devices to come from the manufacturer. As a proud owner of a PSP, I must say that this device really hits my sweet spot, so I just had to give it a look. Running Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a 1GHz second-gen Snapdragon and 512MB of RAM, the Play certainly has the specs to play some hardcore games. You can view those games on a relatively small 4-inch display that comes in at a resolution of 480 x 854. 

With the specs out of the way, how about we unbox this bad boy?

Leaked Sony S2 tablet screenshots are here for your enjoyment

Oh, boy! Looks like we've got some more information to pass along to you about the most incredible Sony S2 tablet. We talk about it a lot here at Pocketables, and that's because it's a dual-screened tablet, with each screen boasting the beautiful measurement of 5.5 inches.

Things have started taking shape for the S2 in the past few months, what with being handled and all that. And now, according to a new leak, we have found out even more about the elusive tablet. You'll find a gallery below, as well as explanations about each picture, but basically the S2 is bringing quite a bit to the table. 

More Sony S2 tablet details revealed

In case you haven't caught on yet, the editors here at Pocketables are absolutely ecstatic about the Sony S2 Android tablet. We've covered everything about it quite extensively: its announcement, possible preorder date, and some downright sexy photos. 

Now, it seems that we've found out a little more about this baby's features. It's going to have two models: a 16GB model, and a 32GB model, both of which are WiFi- and 3G-enabled. We also learned that the dual-screen setup might be a battery sucker, but that's something that was expected. 

On top of those things, there are the already known, completely awesome things from this tablet. It's PlayStation certified, of course, and also has two 7-inch displays. So awesome! Expect to be able to (pre)order this sometime next month. 

[CNET]

Sony Ericsson may be planning 3D smartphone

Remember Hitachi's new display technology we reported on a couple weeks ago? Well, rumor has it that Sony has decided to make use of similar technology to release an Ericsson branded smartphone with an HD 3D display.

For now, details are still few and far between. All we really know is that an informant heard word that Sony will release a new device with a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 display with glasses-free 3D. Of course, this should be a high end device, so the rest of the spec sheet should match up with the current standard for smartphones. 

We also do not have any information on software, but since Sony has been releasing more and more devices with Android, it is likely that this phone will ship with Android as well. If it is an Android device, it will be a strong competitor to other 3D devices like the EVO 3D and Optimus 3D, if only because of its higher resolution display.

Unfortunately, the image you see above is not official. It is instead a Sony fan's idea of what the 3D device may look like. Personally, I think Sony should take a cue from this guy, because if the actual device ends up looking like that, I may have to jump on the 3D phone bandwagon after all. 

[Phone Arena]

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc available to US for $600 unlocked, no contract next month

Unlike yesterday's flub-up of information, Sony Ericsson means this one. The Xperia Arc, which was announced way back at CES and has been available in other countries already, is finally arriving here in the United States next month.

A whole six months ago, this was the pretty impressive piece of hardware from Sony Ericsson, who hasn't exactly been on the cutting edge of hardware or software. It features a 1GHz single-core processor, an 8.1MP camera, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and even an unlocked bootloader.

You want one because of that last feature, don't you? I know I do, but unfortunately, we're going to have to wait until next month before we can order it. 

[Talk Android]

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 eats Gingerbread today (Update: He didn't eat any)

Some things are just too good to be true. Way too good. Thankfully, at other times, things are completely true and fantastic, to boot. Today is one of those other times. Today is one of those "too good to be true" days (as pointed out in the comments), especially if you're an owner of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 smartphone. 

I reviewed it about a year ago, and was completely disappointed at the fact that it was still running Android 1.6 (Donut.) It made the entire Xperience of the Xperia completely dreadful. There was some pretty good stuff there, but the age of the OS showed through greatly. 

Now, Sony Ericsson is finally releasing Gingerbread onto the device sometime in the future. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal; different Android devices seemingly get Gingerbread every other week nowadays. But, remember: the Xperia X10 is a year old. I just think that the company did a great job dedicating to putting Gingerbread on here. It's a great device. . . now. 

[Sony Ericsson Product Blog]