Mobile News and Mobile Info

Windows Mobile 6.5 is looming for an early October release, alongside a slew of new devices to kick off the update, but older hardware will also be able to pick up the new operating system. itje, an active member on xda-developers, has claimed that he got his hands on an official Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM for the original Xperia X1, which hosts some drivers from the X2, as well as OEM drivers, “new XIP (real x1 nk), and new netcf 3.7 (final)”. What sets this apart from the ROMs that have been cooked up in the past with available Windows Mobile 6.5 assets by third parties, is that this one is fully official and will be publicly available shortly. Apparently the 2D rendering is spectacular on the new software – if you’ve got a mind for that sort of thing, check out the benchmark results, or these ones with Spb, just keep in mind that the numbers don’t always tell the whole story.  There aren’t any new panels to be found in this particular software, but it might be made available prior to a release from Sony Ericsson – we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled.

If you thought that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 is the only big news from the Swedish-Japanese company, well you’re wrong. Surprisingly, they have unveiled another Xperia handset in London, which will come as the company’s new flagship high-style device— the Xperia Pureness, formerly known as the Kiki.

Though specs have not been announced, it is believed that it won’t have any smartphone features unlike the recently unveiled Xperia X2. Instead, this device will focus more on its sleek industrial design, which, according to the company, combines “beautiful craftsmanship and the concept of talk, text, time – a holiday from technology.” It is also said that the Xperia Pureness “approaches the mobile phone as a work of art rather than technology.”

And although there’s nothing much revealed about this phone, Sony Ericsson said that it will be officially launched in November of this year “through selected retail distribution channels in key cities around the world.”

In somewhat of an odd collaboration, Sony Ericsson and Ed Hardy have joined magnificent forces to produce the Sony Ericsson W595 ‘Ed Hardy’ Edition. There’s nothing real new here on this W595 (still packs the 3.2MP camera, QVGA display, etc.), the only difference being the Ed Hardy livery gracing the outer case.

If you’re into this kinda thing, cool. The W595 Ed Hardy is currently on pre-order at the Carphone Warehouse division of mobiles.co.uk. I’ll keep an eye out for an official launch for you… But I have a feeling it should arrive real soon.

Sony Ericsson Aino, the multimedia device that was announced alongside two other SE phones – Satio (Idou) and Yari, has been approved by the FCC. Best of all, we’re talking about the version of the handset with all the right bands to sing along AT&T’s 3G network. Needless to say, the same version will work on Rogers Wireless’ network in Canada, as well.

Aside from 3G connectivity, Aino also prides itself with a large 3-inch 240×432 pixels touchscreen, WiFi, GPS, and an 8-megapixel camera. In that sense, it’s quite a capable device and we’ve no doubts, if priced correctly, it will sell like hot cupcakes. That’s in case AT&T picks it up, of course, and we hope they will.

Hooah, looks like HTC isn’t the only one brining out the big guns in trying to blunt Nokia World hype. Sony Ericsson has outed their XPERIA X2, and though just a little expected, the 8.1 megapixel camera and refined XPERIA style certainly buys its way into the limelight.

• Screen: 3.2″, 800 x 480 pixel, 65,536 color touchscreen
• Memory: SanDisk microSD / microSDHC (up to 16GB), phone memory 110MB
• Networks: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900; UMTS/HSPA 900/1900/2100
• A-GPS, Wi-Fi
• Available colours: Elegant Black – Modern Silver
• Size: 110.0 x 54.0 x 16.0 mm
• Weight: 155.0 gr
• Battery life: 10 hours talk, 500 hours standby on GSM; 6 hours talk, 640 standby on 3G

Like the Touch2, the X2 will also be running Windows Mobile 6.5, only using a new 3D panel user interface of which we’ve seen a little bit already. Every Windows Mobile smartphone maker has picked up the habit of re-skinning the Windows Mobile homescreen with custom UIs (user interfaces). HTC’s TouchFLO 3D UI is arguably the best, but Sony Ericsson’s Panel UI isarguably the most innovative – it gives you multiple independently configurable homescreens from which to choose. The idea is to tailor your homescreen to the specific task at hand (work, home, gym, car, video playback, etc.).

Can’t wait to get the X2 in your grubby mitts? It’ll be available in “select markets” in early fourth quarter. This holiday shopping season will be fun times!

Sony Ericsson has a secret weapon waiting in the wings. Our favorite Swedish-Japanese mobile phone maker has been working hard on their upcoming Sony Ericsson Satio 12-megapixel touchscreen smartphone, and it’s looking almost ready for primetime. The Sony Ericsson Satio has just been given the greenlight to connect with wireless networks in the US – possibly en route to US soil in the near future!

The Sony Ericsson Satio was initially unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, where we had a brief chance to ogle the handset. At the time, the high-end mobile phone was known as the Sony Ericsson “Idou.” The “Satio” moniker has proven much more appealing. The Idou was announced as a new all-touchscreen smartphone powered by the Symbian Foundation OS. As Sony Ericsson’s “next big thing,” the Idou/Satio was packed to the brim with goodies – 12-megapixel camera (no CyberShot) with Xenon flash, 3.5-inch widescreen touchscreen display, and DLNA-compatible WiFi and GPS receivers.

Of course, we have no idea what the FCC has cleared the Sony Ericsson Satio for US duty. With a little luck, we’ll see the Satio coming Stateside with some sort of US 3G frequency support. We’re going to keep our fingers crossed!

Want to get hands-on with the Sony Ericsson Satio? The below videos and photo gallerywere taken at Mobile World Congress 2009, and should give you a pretty good idea for what the Sony Ericsson Satio/Idou will look like at launch.

Sony Ericsson has teamed up with Bob Sinclar to release a special edition of its mid-range Walkman phone – W508. As a result, the Sony Ericsson W508 Bob Sinclar Edition was created, boasting identical specs as the original device, which BTW wasannounced back in January alongside two other phones – W715 and C510.

The difference is in a specially designed style-up cover, as well as pre-loaded content that includes pictures, themes, ringtones and so on. In addition, a new Bob Sinclair album “Born In 69″ is coming with the device, too. Price is unknown, but we know the release date – it’s set for the third quarter, and that’s in selected European markets, only.