Sure…the tech is a couple of years old, but the Sony Ericsson LiveView is now only $19.99 on eBay.
This remote, Bluetooth-enabled wearable display for Android smartphones once listed nearly five times the above amount, but folks can currently pick it up at a bargain price and have it shipped standard for free. The estimated delivery time is between July 25 and July 31, and the only payment form accepted is PayPal.
The product ships with a clip, wristband, microUSB charger with Intl adapter, and a U.S. power adapter.
Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sony is coming close to closing a deal with Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson to buy out their 50% stake of the Sony Ericsson brand. Sony Ericsson is currently the sixth largest mobile phone maker in the world, and Sony hopes to fully add them to their arsenal. As you can see in the graph after the break, Sony Ericsson’s market share has been declining rapidly in recent years.
While the talks could fall apart at any time, Sony Ericsson’s stake is estimated between $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion by analysts. Sony reportedly has high ambitions to regain the mobile phone market from primarily Apple and Google. For comparisons sake, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, but of course the Sony situation is a little different.
During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Sony Ericsson’s CEO Bert Nordberg went on record saying he and Sony Ericsson, “should have taken the iPhone more seriously when it arrived in 2007.” He also said that the company will begin focusing more on Android, instead of feature phones. Interestingly, he dropped note that Sony was considering purchasing Motorola Mobility before Google, but said, “before you go shopping you have to become rich.”
Yep.
Also noteworthy, Sony Ericsson has no plans to go Windows Phone any time soon saying “why add an inferior platform?”
The web is abuzz with the news that Google is snapping up Motorola Mobility in a deal valued at $12.5 billion. And while there are concerns that Google is pursuing the deal purely for the patents, CEO Larry Page said in a blog post that the agreement will let them “supercharge the Android ecosystem” by fending off patent threats from Apple, Microsoft and other companies. In addition, he dropped hints of “wonderful user experiences” in a nod at tightly integrated devices that Apple famously builds.
Now, conventional wisdom has it that the transaction will put other Android backers in an uneasy position as they get to compete with Motorola on an uneven playing field. Not to worry, Boy Genius Reporthas reactions from major Android backers that appear to be upbeat about the deal. For example, J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s Mobile Communications division says:
We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem.
The publication quoted similar statements by executives from HTC, LG and Sony Ericsson that Google published on their site. On the other hand, as noted byBusiness Insider, Android backers cannot be satisfied with the outcome of this time, regardless of their voice of support. TIMNwonders what this deal means for the future of Motorola products and the level of Google’s involvement in product development. So far, this is about intellectual property. Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha revealed in a conference call discussing the Google deal that his company controls a rich patent portfolio of 17,000 issued patents and 7,500 patent applications filed, indicating that Google will use this patent war chest as a powerful leverage against legal pressure from rivals Apple and Microsoft.
Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond said this in the call:
We’ve been playing with Sony’s Xperia PLAY, from Verizon for the better part of a month now. The PLAY is available on Verizon for $99 (and free on Amazon), after seeing a price slashed from $199 just a few weeks ago.
The PLAY is running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with a pretty thick overlay, a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 4-inch multi-touch display, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera, and preloaded PLAY software. Also included are controls to play games. Is this the gaming phone the world needs? Read on after the break for our full review.
Motorola’s Xoom will get the promised 4G LTE modem upgrade in September, per corporate communication from Verizon Wireless sent to registered users, published by the Droid Life blog. The free of charge update promises a tenfold increase in network speeds, available to more than 110 million people in select markets where the carrier rolled out its 4G LTE network, with “coverage expanding every day”. The email notice reads:
Be on the lookout at the end of summer for an email with information about how to upgrade your Motorola XOOM to speeds up to 10X faster than 3G. In the meantime, learn more about what you can do to prepare for the 4G LTE upgrade to your Motorola XOOM by backing up data, encrypting, or resetting your Motorola Xoom tablet.
On a somewhat related note, T-Mobile and Sony Ericsson also began rolling out Gingerbread updates to the Xperia X10 and G2x
Verizon’s Xperia Play hit stores May 16th for $199, but in just two months the device is already seeing a $100 price cut. The Xperia Play is now available on Verizon for just a mere $99! While users like to game on their smartphones, perhaps a smartphone devoted to it just isn’t sitting right. If you’re interested, we suggest you take advantage of this now.
Sony Ericsson revealed in its most recent filing it sold 16 million Xperia smartphones to date
Sony Ericsson today reported earnings for the quarter ended June 30. Revenues topped €1.19 billion, a 68 percent annual decline from €1.76 billion a year ago. Smartphone sales accounted for more than 70 percent of the company’s total sales during the quarter and they estimated their share of the Android market at eleven percent by both volume and value. The company shipped 7.6 million handsets during the June quarter, 31 percent less units on an annual basis and well below the low-end consensus of eight million units.
However, they reported a net loss of €50 million, which is especially troubling given a more modest loss of €11 million in the previous quarter and a net profit of €12 million in the year-ago quarter. Moreover, Sony Ericsson’s cash position has gone from around $2.2 billion prior to the iPhone launch to -250 million now. On a brighter note, Sony Ericsson said it shipped more than sixteen million Xperia smartphones to date, with eight new models rolled out in this year alone, including the Xperia Active pictured above. President and CEO Bert Nordberg attributed the declining business to the Japan earthquake in a statement accompanying the earnings report:
Sony Ericsson’s second quarter profitability was affected by the March 11 earthquake in Japan. We estimate that the impact of earthquake-related supply chain constraints on our portfolio was close to 1.5 million units, with most of the effect in the early part of the quarter.
AT&T announced at a media event today that Sony’s Xperia Play will be available on their network. AT&T didn’t give an exact date or pricing, but said that the Play will land on its shelves by the end of the year. AT&T’s Xperia Play will be running Android 2.3, or Gingerbread, making it the second 2.3 phone on AT&T’s network alongside the Status (OK, that’s sad). Also, AT&T’s Xperia Play will bring support for 21Mbps HSPA+ 3G and a new “Stealth Blue” color option. No word if AT&T will change up pre-loaded games from the Verizon/international versions.
At CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore, Sony Ericsson launched a new compact smartphone that runs Gingerbread, the newest Android 2.3 release available for phones. Just 55mm wide, 92mm tall, 16.5mm deep and weighing in at 110 grams, it easily slips into your back pocket. The “It’s the ultimate phone for your active life” tagline is not without its merits: The device features dust-proof and water-resistant design with scratch-proof multitouch display that accepts touch input even when either the screen or your fingers are wet.
And you gotta love this line from the promo clip (below the fold) coming from the mouths of tennis player Maria Sharapova who endorsed the Xperia active while trashing Apple’s handset indirectly by alluding to Antennagate:
I don’t feel I have to be TOO SAFE with my phone, almost be a little rough and I know I’ll be able to take it and throw it in my bag, can get water on it, dust antyhing – and I know that I’ll be able to make a phone call.
Additionally, it comes preloaded with sports apps, has built-in GPS, barometer and compass and can monitor your heart rate and pulse in real time using ANT+ wireless networking. The impressive hardware (given its size) includes a three-inch display 320-by-480 display with Mobile Bravia Engine, a 1GHz processor and a five-megapixel back camera that shots 720p clips and has a bunch of intelligent features.
Plus, it ships with two interchangeable covers and a bunch of sports accessories, including an arm case, wrist strap, sport stereo headset. soft touch back cover and detachable ear hooks for the handsfree active headset. The Xperia active should hit select global markets by the third quarter of this year. More juicy press shots, full release and the Maria Sharapova clip right below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t05991f5WlY] Expand Expanding Close
Sony Ericsson yesterday confirmed that its Xperia X10 will be getting the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update in early August. In addition to a detailed feature list from March, Gingerbread software will keep the original camera interface as in the Eclair version and enable Facebook integration that the company rolled out to 2011 handsets, sans this caveat:
With regards to the roll-out plan, as said back in March, this will first and foremost be made available to generic trade kits. Even if there will be some operator kits getting this upgrade, as said before – some of you will not be able to upgrade your customized version of Xperia X10.
Also, DLNA functionality won’t be supported at this time. With bad news out of the way, here’s more features to be excited about plus a nice video of Gingerbread on the Xperia X10 in action…
Chinese-language forum IT68.comclaims some knowledge pertaining to Sony Ericsson’s upcoming smartphone, said to be the company’s first-ever foray into the dual-core game. Relayed byPhone Arena, the word on the street is that Sony Ericsson will market the product under the Xperia Duo moniker, signifying the importance of a dual-core processor. If a blurry photo is anything to go by, the phone will sport ay least a 4.3-inch display with edge-to-edge design, which is also rumored to be one of the tricks of an upcoming fifth-generation iPhone. That’s about all the news the rumor mill spelled out about the Duo. We’ll keep you posted…
While it isn’t officially official, HTC’s CEO Peter Chou has come out and said it would unlock all of its phone’s bootloaders.
Quote from HTC CEO Peter Chou: “There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we’ve listened. Today, I’m confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience.”
It will be interesting to see how the carriers react to this. The Sprints and T-Mobiles likely will be ok with this (they carry the Nexus S afterall) but Verizon and AT&T? That’s another story. GDGT is awaiting clarity on those and other issues. Expect a Press release from HTC soon.
Just as Verizon Wireless announced Thursday launch of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play handset in the US, the New Zealand branch of the big red carrier tweeted Monday that the entire shipment headed to that country had been stolen.
Regret to advise the Xperia Play launch will be delayed. Major security breach. The shipment of phones has been stolen.
Turned out that was just a clumsy marketing gimmick that had cleverly exploited the whole Sony-versus-hackers brouhaha in an effort to drum up publicity ahead of the Xperia Play launch in New Zealand. To make the whole thing appear realistic, the carrier even released security footage, allegedly from the Vodafone store, seen above. They were “investigating” the theft, per this tweet:
Our fraud team are investigating the stolen Xperia Play phones and have released footage of the break-in. Can you help?
