In a preemptive strike intended to avoid a shock during their upcoming mid-July earnings report, Sony Ericsson warned investors that their results for this quarter might be less than stellar. The company is expecting to break-even, which is a far cry from a highly profitable 2007. SE expects to report that it has shipped fewer than the 24 million handsets they moved during the same time last year. Additionally, they expect to report an average selling price of $181/handset, down from the $192 they were pulling in at the beginning of the year. So sad. While it might be easy to blame the general state of the economy, we’re more inclined to target the success of SE’s competitors with responsibility for its current woes. Handset delays, coupled with misplaced attention to mid-range phones and questionable designs are all contributing factors. That said, if they can actually get their act together and release the Xperia on time, the next earnings report might look a little different.

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Now that we’ve had some time to spend with the XPERIA X1, we’re going to break down the various features and give you our in-depth review. We’ll continue to update this post as we use the device more, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand what’s at hand — a brand new Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1! Full review is after the jump. Pictures will be added shortly.

Screen:

With a 800×480 VGA screen, you can’t really go wrong right? Right. We’ve got to say off the top that this is the best-looking screen we’ve ever seen on a Windows Mobile device. It puts all the others to shame. It’s not just that the screen has an amazing resolution, it’s that the screen is vibrant and clear as day. If your vision isn’t top notch you might have to increase the font size in settings because it gets a little small with that super high-res. Sunlight couldn’t phase it either as we had no problem using it on the go outside.

Audio quality

We didn’t put the speakers through our normal tests just yet to be honest. We tried a couple MP3s and they sounded good, not great. The speaker volume in general could have been a little louder and the sound could have sounded a little fuller. Speakerphone was the same. We’ll report back with more detailed findings.

Notification lights

If you’ve seen the Sidekick LX, you’ll know what we’re talking about. There are 4 independant notification lights on the four corners of the X1. These are LED lights that change through various colors. Unlike the Sidekick, you have complete control over the notification settings. Only want people to think you’ve got a UFO in your pocket when you’re getting a text message? No problem. There’s a lot to choose from to suit your own needs. The lights offer a nice touch and weren’t too over-powering and bright which we were afraid of. The kids will love it.

Call quality

Calls came in and out with crystal clear quality. The ear speaker was plently loud and the party on the other end said we sounded like we were on a land line.

Data Connectivity

Name something you’d like to see in a mobile device… HSDPA? Wi-Fi? GPS? The X1 has all of it. T-Mobile USA lovers will also be overjoyed at the fact that an AWS 1700MHz version is coming. Our unit had the 850MHz/1900MHz US 3G bands so we were rockin’ over HSDPA just fine. In fact, web browsing was abnormally fast. We didn’t find much of a difference between browsing over Wi-Fi or HSDPA. That’s probably due to the bottleneck of the phone in general, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Build quality

Another winner for Sony Ericsson. While the device isn’t the lightest phone on the market, we think it’s build quality is almost second-to-none. Maybe even iPhone status. It’s just so sturdy and well put together. We have to give HTC some mad props on this one. Could you please try and incorporate some of this newfound metal addition into some of your devices HTC? Please. The sliding mechanism was fantastic even though the device isn’t a normal “flat” slider. Major points for build quality.

Usability factor

This could be subjective depending on your view of Windows Mobile, but we found the X1 to be on par or better than any Windows Mobile device we’ve used. Baring the keyboard issue, (see below) there wasn’t anything that hindered us from taking full advantage of the device. When closed, the device gives you access to all necessary shortcuts on the bottom front of the unit. Slide it open and you’ve got access to everything you could want. People have wrote us and asked about how it is to use the phone when the QWERTY keyboard doesn’t have directional keys, but they’ve overlooked something — the optical joystick. This works wonderfully well and doesn’t have a learning curve. It’s a natural extension of what we’ve been forced to use in the past. There was a “cursor” menu in settings but no cursor showed up on the screen. You also have full control over the sensitivity of the optical joystick. Making phone calls was comfortable and we didn’t have any issues with people hearing us or us hearing them.

Keyboard

The keyboard is a sensitive area for many people. Anyone who follows us know we take it very seriously — we put them all through the ringer! So, it pains us to report, that at least with our particular unit, the keyboard wasn’t great. It didn’t take time to get used to it, it just didnt perform like the way we had hoped. The reason is because the keys almost are completely flush with the case and don’t give good tactile feedback when pressed. Odly enough, the spacebar was actually ok. It faired the best out of all of them. We understand why there really is no travel in the keys — there is a huge sliding mechanism right over them — but we would have liked to see a little more feedback when typing. They have this triangular pattern on top which does make it easy to feel them, but you don’t get a good response when actually pressing them down. The backlight on the QWERTY ‘board successfully helped us find the keys when it was nightime, but that still didn’t help when typing. We said this before, but if we had to compare the keyboard to anything, it would be Sony’s UX-series computers. It’s the same exact thing.

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If you asked the general public what the #1 Windows Mobile device they’re waiting for, you’d probably lose count of how many times people said XPERIA. Sony Ericcson, for the first time, has entered into the Windows Mobile market, and our first impressions? Wow. You really couldn’t throw better specs on this thing if you tried. From your local flavor of UMTS/HSDPA, to an optical joystick (fire!), to a whopping 800×480 VGA screen, and even cool funky notification lights, this thing is packed! Let’s not forget the physical design of the device as it’s one of the coolest and hippest-looking phones we’ve seen in a very long time. Since our unit isn’t a production version, the software runs a little slow. Even so, in most tasks, it performs very well. We can’t wait to play with a final production unit. It has us that impressed! One major flaw, though… Do you really want to know? The keyboard! Listen guys, if you’re going to throw on a QWERTY, at least make sure it’s worth having, ok? Not to say that this keyboardis absolutely terrible, but it’s one of the worst. Think Sony UX computer, for those of you that have one or have used one. The sliding mechanism comes right ontop of the keys, and thus, the keys don’t travel a lot when pressed. They give little to no feedback despite having a cool triangular design. We’re putting together our review, but in the meantime, you know where the goodies are!

Click on over to our Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 gallery!

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Yeah, and you thought the current bumper crop of 5-megapixel camera phones was impressive. According to the Unoffical Sony Ericsson Blog, SE is getting ready to unleash this 8.1 megapixel beast on an unsuspecting public. The C905 is a Cybershot camera phone with a pretty impressive “trick” up its sleeve. In addition to the Herculean megapixel count, the new flagship SE Cybershot phone sports GPS, HSDPA, ActiveSync Exchange support, Wi-Fi, an accelerometer, 2.4″ QVGA screen, and much more. No word on pricing, but expect this bad boy to be announced on the 17th of June, alongside a host of other upcoming SE phones.

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Scoring a 9.5 out of 10 on the BGR WTF-o-meter, Sony Ericsson has apparently teamed up with MTV to concoct a handset with hideousness that will haunt our dreams forever. The W760 MTV Edition mobile phone, beyond being a design monstrosity, is identical to the standard W760 specs-wise. The phone that hides beneath the colorful exterior touts a 3.2 megapixel camera, Walkman 3.0, FM radio, internal GPS and 3G, making it a pretty solid offering. Essentially there are two things that separate the MTV Edition from the regular W760 though: The Andy Warhol meets Sponge Bob case design and a free service that will allow owners to stream MTV music and videos. As cool as that sounds, the ends hardly justify the means. The MTV treatment adds €40 to the W760’s price tag bringing it up to… wait for it… €300 or $470 as of today’s exchange rate. Pass.

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As we continue to continue to continue to wait for the XPERIA X1 that we’ve all seen and read so much about, a new whitepaper has just been issued. It basically just does a good job of telling us what we’ve already known for a while, but there is some new juice to be drunk. Namely, the X1 will be issued in two servings; one for America and one for the rest of the world of course. This people, is pretty solid news. Sony Ericsson hasn’t been known to show the US much love when it comes to its higher-end models. They know they’ve got a winner with the X1 though, or at least we’d like to think they do.

• X1a - Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900Mhz), tri-band (850/1900/2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA
• X1c - Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900Mhz), tri-band (900/1900/2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA

Solid. We can’t wait to get our grubby mits on one of these puppies. Assuming, that is, Sony Ericsson actually releases it some day. Also of note in the whitepaper is a claimed 10 hours of GSM talk time or 6.5 hours of talk time over 3G. Impressive indeed.

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This one is a long shot but crazier things have surely happened. A new promo video from Sony Ericsson is now making its way across the internet. Many people who have seen the video are jumping to the conclusion that the handset featured in it is none other than the XPERIA X2. Sure, it is possible that the second model from the XPERIA line is leaked before the first model is even released. It’s happened before. What people have failed to mention so far however, is that the video actually depicts two entirely different handsets. The device being used by the girl in this video (pictured center above) clearly omits the three buttons along the bottom of the “X2″ being used by the guy. Also, it looks like the handset is sporting a front-facing camera and a light sensor above the ear speaker; both missing from the guy’s phone. Can we assume that the girl’s handset in the video is the X3? Then again, these could just be mock-ups built by the producers of the video. If that’s the case, Sony Ericsson should think about bringing this producer on board because those phones look pretty sweet. Hit the read link for the full video.

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Time to drool-guard your keyboard. Two of the most highly-anticipated handsets of 2008 were found mingling side by side and CNMO scored some shots. Granted, they’re not the best quality or lighting, but you get the idea. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 pictured above to the left, is Sony’s eventual first entry into its high-end XPERIA line. We hear that at some point, Sony Ericsson is actually going to make it available to consumers. To the right is the HTC Diamond, the ultra-sleek touch-only gem that was announced recently. If we had to chose only one… Well, luckily we don’t. More pics after the jump.

UPDATE: It turns out some nefarious site watermarked WMExperts’ pictures. We’ve updated the links to their site.

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This could be one of the hottest UIQ devices… Ever! Spy shots of the Sony Ericsson Paris (P5i) made the rounds a while back but this is the first time we’re seeing crystal clear live pictures of this hotty, and we’re in love. Slim form, sleek styling, finger and stylus-operated 2.8" touchscreen; it’s all good. The Paris will run UIQ 3.2 supported by a 360 MHz CPU. Integrated GPS, WiFi, UMTS and an M600-style keypad are just a few of the highlights that we’re really loving. And let’s not forget the 5 megapixel camera that we know will be solid Sony Ericsson quality. Still no word on a firm release date for the Paris but we’ll keep an eye peeled as we’re definitely looking forward to getting our hands on one.

[Via Unwired View]

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Handango apparently decided to take a break from its busy schedule of screwing developers over… to screw Sony Ericsson over. In it’s latest pertner newsletter, Handango apparently decided that drumming up business was more important than handset embargos. And why wouldn’t it be? In an open call seeking "the best products" to include with Handango InHand, an on-device sales portal that Handango has worked onto the X1. Beyond blatantly stating that "the Xperia X1 will launch mid-September 2008," Handango was also kind enough to give us a possible idea as to the markets that the X1 will be hitting early. The text states that software must support the X1’s WVGA screen as well as the English, French, German, Italian and Spanish languages. Sweet, thanks Handango.

[Via Unwired View]

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Do you prefer your mid-level slider handsets in a putrid shade of green Your lucky day may be rapidly approaching. If these leaked promo shots are any indication, the wireless carrier is gearing up to launch a green version of their popular Sony Ericsson W580i handset. As far as we can tell, there’s no change to the specs, so you’ll still be pulling in a 2 megapixel camera, Quad-Band EDGE, media player, and a way-too-cramped keypad. It’s not the greatest phone on the planet, but it’s also not the most expensive, and if lime green is your thing then it might be too good to pass up. No word on drop date or pricing, but don’t expect it to cost any more than the current W580i. Hit the jump for more shots.

Thanks, Omie!

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Skyping from your lowly non-Windows Mobile phone just got a lot easier. Skype has just released an official mobile client that supports supporting over 50 handsets. Specific phone models aren’t listed, but the press release promised support for phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. Not bad at all. The new software reportedly allows for free Skype-to-Skype calls, and allows you to utilize Skype-out for all of your landline needs. We haven’t had a chance to test it out just yet, but we’re assuming that you’ll need either Wi-Fi or a 3G connection to carry on an intelligible conversation.

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Looking for a little exclusive T-Mobile info to close out your week? We’ve got you covered! An anonymous tipster has dropped the following bits of knowledge on us, straight from an all-managers meeting held yesterday (the meeting agenda is pictured above). There’s a lot to go over here, so strap in:

• Sony Ericsson handsets will be returning to T-Mobile by Q4 of this year. The first two SE handsets out of the gate will be the Bella, a 2 megapixel flip with aGPS and 3G support. The second SE handset will be the W670 W760, a 3.2 megapixel slider which is essentially a replacement for W580 and should also come complete with 3G and aGPS support. Expect to see both of these by October/November of this year, hitting stores with a complete complement of SE Bluetooth accessories, including the famed SE Bluetooth Watch!
• Motorola will be coming to the table with bot the Z6w and the ROKR E8. The Z6w should sport Wi-Fi, making it a great candidate for T-Mo’s Hotspot@Home service, but sadly neither of these are expected to support 3G data transfer.  There will also be a relaunch of the W490 in a host of new colors, including Light Purple, Light Pink, and Orange.
• Disappointingly, Samsung will only be releasing a couple of low end handsets for now, though they apparently have some "incredible" camera phone coming down the pipeline.
• Expect "massive" software refreshes from HTC for their T-Mobile lineup…Windows Mobile 6.1 anyone?

As always, take this stuff with a grain of salt until proven correct, but we’re pretty excited about what T-Mobile has up its sleeves.

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Making yet another stop on its way into the hearts and homes of consumers everywhere, the Sony Ericsson G700 has recently been given the FCC’s stamp of approval. The device is a beast of a handset, sporting a 2.4" touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera, tri-band GSM/single band UMTS, and more. One of the coolest features on this thing is the ability to jot down and save notes onto a digital sticky pad with the included stylus. Last we heard, however, the UMTS radio was 2100-mhz only, so we’re not sure if this thing will actually be launched stateside, but the FCC approval will stop the feds from chasing you down should you choose to enter the country with one of these things in your pocket.

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Oops! If you break out your bifocals you’ll see some products shots above of the upcoming flip phone that Sony Ericsson will be issuing in the not-so-distant future. That’s not the "oops" though; we’ve seen them before. Some eagle-eyed folks over at the Sony Ericsson Blog have spotted two new XML files on Sony Ericsson’s WAP site that shed a bit of light on the upcoming clam shell. So here’s what we know thanks to the new files and the few details we had prior to their discovery:

• 240 x 320 pixel QVGA display
• 2 megapixel camera
• NetFront 3.4 browser
• Available in two colors: Amethyst Silver and Grand Onyx
• Location-based service support (Integrated GPS? We doubt it)
• Two versions: Z780i for Europe and Z780a for North America

No we won’t be fighting through any lines to snag one of these little guys, but from the looks of things the Z780 will be a pretty decent low to mid-level handset.

[Via IntoMobile]

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How much do we want this thing to just come out already? Far and away the smoothest looking handset to come from Sony Ericsson in a long time, the XPERIA X1 is one of the most highly anticipated mobiles making the net rounds right now. It will be the first of Sony Ericsson’s new high end geek-sheek line and this puppy is packing. A new white paper has just been issued on the Sony Ericsson developer site that adds some details beyond what we’ve already told you. Highlights:

• New Sony Ericsson UI components:
  • Sony Ericsson Panel - news weather, finance, world clock, weather, and app shortcuts
  • Media Experience Panel - multimedia consumption and navigation
  • Slideshow Panel - slideshow of recent videos and pics
  • Microsoft Today Panel - standard Windows Mobile Today screen
  • 3D Fish Panel - Aquarium with 3D fishes
  • Custom Panels - user customized
• Video recording options:
  • MPEG-4: 30fps @ VGA
  • H.263: 30fps @ VGA (U.S. model only at 24fps)
  • H.264: 15fps @ VGA (not supported on U.S model)
• Google Maps and Java ME preinstalled
• Out-of-the-box Exchange Direct Push support; Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail setup wizards

Still no mention of Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional in the 40-page document, but you’ve seen the screenshots. If you’re drooling over the X1 and have the time to flip through the white paper, definitely hit the read link. If not just sit back and try to remain calm while we wait for more details. Hotness.

[Via inexperia]

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The FCC is a certifiable goldmine for anyone looking to uncover the latest carrier offerings before they’re made public. The latest discovery is the Sony Ericsson K850, which according to the FCC is headed to none other than AT&T. That’s good news for American SE fans that have felt a bit forsaken by the lack of high-end offerings on American carriers. The K850 on display from the FCC sports tri-band 3G support, which should translate into some HSDPA goodness when it finally hits the AT&T shelves. No official word yet on when we might expect to see this 5-megapixel beast, but it’s rumored to be soon, and we’ll keep you updated like always.

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CeBIT is now underway in Hamburg, Germany and Sony Ericsson has chosen the forum to officially announce a new low-end handset dubbed T303. Shots of the T303 had been leaked last week but the name of the device and its specs were unknown at that point. Well, mystery solved. The T303 is aimed at the younger market and fits in the ‘fashion phone’ category; petite dimensions, mirror chromed face and limited functionality are tell-tale signs. Light users may enjoy this one but expect it to be a downgrade if you’ve ever owned a phone that does, well, anything. Specs include:

• 1.8" 128×160 65K color screen
• 1.3 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom
• media player with TrackID
• FM Radio with RDS
• Dimensions: 83×47×14.7 mm
• Weight: 93 grams
• No memory card slot (?!?)
• No 3G, No HSDPA, and no EDGE (?!?)

We really wish there was more to say on this one, but what you see is what you get. If you have a pre-teen and decided it’s finally time to get him / her a handset, this might be your bag. Others need not apply. The T303 will be available in three variants: T303/T303c with GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 is various markets and T303a with GSM/GPRS 850/1800/1900 for the US. Each of the three versions is expected to become available mid-year.

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The more we find out about Sony Ericsson’s upcoming X1 under the new Xperia line, the more of a beast this device is shaping up to be. Seriously, what doesn’t it have? A slew of new pics have emerged on a Hungarian blog and they go a great distance to answer the questions that bloggers all over the internet have been asking this week. Mobile World Congress attendees were pretty pissed that X1 demos were extremely limited. Well, the cause behind Sony Ericsson’s secretiveness is now crystal clear; the X1 is running Windows Mobile 6.1. We’ve been telling you about 6.1 for a while now and we even gave you a great walkthrough back in December. The updated version of Windows Mobile still isn’t official however, and so it stands to reason that Sony Ericsson had to be very careful about what they revealed. Let’s look at a quick rundown of what these freshly leaked pics confirm:

• The X1 is pure fire
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS
• Qualcomm 7200A CPU running at 528 MHz
• 128MB of RAM
• VGA 800 x 480 display resolution
• 3.2 megapixel camera with no flash (wtf?!)
• Beefy 1500 mAh battery

The metal case, the QWERTY that slides out at a slight curve, spot-on specs and a battery that can handle it all… This is one sexy mofo. Pricing on this badboy should be pretty high but it really looks like Sony Ericsson hit a home run.

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Ever wish you could grab a new Sony Ericsson handset with a full QWERT keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera, aGPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HSDPA/HSUPA, all running atop a beautifully skinned version of Windows Mobile 6? Turns out today might be your lucky day. SE has just unleashed the XPERIA X1 at the Mobile World Congress, and from the looks of things, this is going to be one hell of a competitor. The handset sports a slide out / slide up keypad that looks like a cross between a Sidekick and an HTC Tilt, with navigation accomplished by way of a 4-way dpad and an optical joystick. The handset also sports a custom "panel interface" that appears to provide TouchFLO-like icon-based navigation. No word on price, but we should see it launch in "select markets" by the second half of 2008. Nice!

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First on the block with the Sony Ericsson K850? That would be Canada’s Rogers Wireless. The company has just announced that they will be the first North American service provider to carry a subsidized version of SE’s high-end camera phone. For the record, the K850 is one hell of a handset, sporting an N95-rivaling 5 megapixel camera with xenon flash, tri-band HSDPA, video calling support, and much more. Rogers is set to offer the K850 for a paltry $200, though you’ll have to sign over 3 years of your life for the privledge. Available immediately.

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External stick-on lenses for mobiles first surfaced years ago and they really haven’t been widely adopted. Maybe it’s because they’re not marketed well, maybe it’s because they don’t work well and maybe it’s just because they’re ugly. Whatever the case may be, the Mobile Phone Telescope is one of the first options we’ve seen that actually packs some significant zoom capability. Available for a variety of Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola models, this lens adds an additional 6x optical zoom to your mobile’s already existing zoom capabilities. It doesn’t fix directly to your phone’s case thankfully; instead it includes a form fitting shell that hugs your mobile. The lens then fixes to the shell and can easily be removed for storage on the go. Yes, it makes your phone look plain silly, but if you have a mobile with a decent camera you might finally be able to toss your separate point-and-shoot and carry the lens attachment in its place. Brando, the well-known online retailer from Hong Kong, is offering all models of the Mobile Phone Telescope for a paltry $19 and shipping is a flat $3 worldwide. If you can get past the awkward stares you’ll be getting every time you pull this thing out of your pocket, it’s really not a bad deal.

[Via geeksugar]

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Who doesn’t love some roadmap action? A Symbian one at that! We told you we were pulling the wool off this whole Vodafone thing, and you can clearly see we’re serious. Check out the Symbian roadmap which extends all the way to Q4 of ‘08! There’s no mystery devices like on the Windows Mobile roadmap, but we can see the lifelines of the other devices we should help give us a heads up on when there will be new models. The Nokia E90 is set to be available until the end of Q3, the Nokia E65 should get faded out right before the Nokia Dora comes, and the Nokia E50 should already be gone. Little Nokia recap for you:

Nokia Dora

Nokia Liam

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Everyone loves leaks and according to some info on the Esato forum, a beta tester has leaked a live photo and some specs on what looks to be Sony Ericsson’s entry into the "iPhone catchup game". Sony Ericsson has been manufacturing touchscreen devices for quite some time but even still, the hardware and UI in the image above look pretty familiar. Like its predecessors, the P5i will be home to the Symbian UIQ OS but according to rumors it may be one of the first Sony Ericssons to see the upcoming UIQ4 OS. Other rumored specs from the forum include a slider form-factor, 2.8" display (640 x 480), integrated WiFi and GPS, 5 megapixel camera, HSDPA and HSUPA connectivity, 360 MHz processor and 160MB of internal memory. The P5i should be released into the wild sometime in Q1 / Q2 2008 and if it lines up with the rumored specs it could be quite a contender.

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This is about as far away from reality as any concept car you’re likely to see in Detroit, but the prospect is intriguing. The new Sony concept is pretty short on details, but the noticeable addition to the hardware is the full-size USB port. Imagine being able to transfer photos, videos, even contact info, maps, and directions without the aid of a computer or the copy-and-paste-into-an-email mess. Quite frankly, we’re surprised someone hasn’t done much with this non-Sony-sanctioned concept yet, and hope it shows up in production models soon.

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We know the LG Vu has been trying to make its way onto to AT&T, and heck, even the Sony Ericsson K850i. What’s weird here, is that AT&T / Apple is trying to push the iPhone to business users. Business users? Finally! This internal AT&T slide shows us some of the juicy tidbits on what we should soon expect. If the iPhone were to go ‘business edition," they’d have to offer the same discount large corporations already get, though. There would also most likely have to be a way to integrate the iPhone device with a corporation’s Exchange server. Evolve applications? You betcha’!

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Tuesday, November 6th should be a crazy day for the Sony Ericsson faithful. The company is rumored to release 3 new handsets, each with a unique feature set that is sure to please and impress. First up is the SE W890i, a 3G-capable Walkman phone that sports an accelerometer, 3.2 megapixel camera, and a new version of Sony’s Walkman media player software. Next on the block is the W380i, a mid-level Walkman phone that will sport a mysterious new feature known as "gesture control" which should allow for some level of media control by way of physical gestures. Nice! Finally, SE will debut the K660i, which is an internet-centric handset designed to allow users to browse the web in both portrait and landscape mode. It also features an on-screen cursor a-la Opera Mini. This is a 3G handset. No word on price point or availability, but we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as anything else surfaces!

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Got a little bit of competition there, Nokia? We’d say so! Sony Ericsson, long know for pooping on us America consumers with non-850MHz phones has finally turned a corner. The Sony Ericsson K850i doesn’t just come quad-band — we’re talking tri-band UMTS/HSDPA action also! Such a glorious day. A 5 megapixel CyberShot camera graces the handset, as do countless other features and upgrades over previous S.E. products. We’re loving this device, too. The camera lens opens automatically like a real camera on the back, the keypad is a pleasure to use and is highly responsive. We’re zipping away at HSDPA speeds right now, so we’d say all systems are a "go!" If there was ever a time to do a battle, it would be between the Nokia N95, and the Sony Ericsson K850i. Right, Chris? Check out our shots below!

Click on over to our Sony Ericsson K850i Unboxing gallery!

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Luckily, most patents are designed to only protect the manufacturer of the concept in question…not the actual product pictured. And we are thankful for that. With all the cool phones out there and coming out, the atrocity above is hardly something anyone would salivate over. But, it does open up some options that haven’t been explored much, as evidenced by the hidden touchscreen slider in the example. It’s not the most revolutionary design we’ve ever seen, but it would add more functionality to an arguably exhausted slider concept, so we shake our fist in happiness at that.

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Have you ever been curious about a product you’ve seen on a billboard, but not so curious as to want to actually type the search request into a search engine? Enter the newly-released Thrrum Visual Browser to save the day. Once the software is downloaded onto one of the compatible Sony Ericsson handsets, you only need to take a picture of the text you’d like to search for, and it does the rest. The rest being, presumably to translate your photo of words into actual text for a search engine request. So if you’ve ever wanted to experience the steadfast reliability that is OCR software, and take it with you on your cell phone, this is just the ticket.

[via MobileWhack]

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