On the 17th of June Sony Ericsson invited me for their press event in Amsterdam. The day started as usual with a slide show by the head of Sony Ericsson in Benelux. At first he wanted to remind us of the fact that Sony Ericsson has already sold 66.5 million Walkman phones and 22 million Cyber-shot phones. Here some more numbers about Sony Ericsson as a brand;

Continue reading “The newly announced products”

Here they are! Hope you’ll enjoy them, and do feel free to press the thumbnails to get the full size image (it’s not that fun to just look at the thumbnails, is it?). PS. Sorry about the N95 8GB comparisons - guess he had to find another brick to compare the C905 with.

Thanks, MR!

We’ve had a chat with Kenneth Møller, National Account Manager, Sony Ericsson Denmark and Iceland, about today’s announcements as well as some general phones talk. Here’s what he had to say

Q. The new C905 Cyber-shot features an 8-mega pixel camera - was that a necessary step?

A. The amount of mega pixels is one of many factors we’re continuously working with to get the best image quality. With the C905 you can even share your photos via DLNA to i.e. your TV or Playstation 3 and thereby show the photos in a large size. This is where the amount of mega pixels makes a considerable difference.

Q. An important factor when it comes to mobile phone cameras, high resolutions and alike, is the size of the camera sensor. Any news on this front to avoid picture noise, colour errors, and alike?

A. C905 has a larger camera sensor than what we’ve seen in previous models, but apart from that we’re working on advanced features such as face detection and smart focus, which in different ways is what consumers of compact cameras and mobile phone cameras want.

Q. Many will say the C905 lacks optical zoom. Why was this feature excluded?

A. During the development progress we’re continuously evaluating based on what combination of features that delivers the best user experience and the best combination of features, size and price. In the case of C905, we think the 8.1 MP in combination with the possibility to share your photos on your TV is the best solution. Apart from this you can now also geo-tag your photos with the built-in aGPS and use it for navigation purposes.

Q. The TV-out cable ITC-60 is announced as an accessory to the C905 - can it be used with other phones?

A. C905 is the first phone by Sony Ericsson with TV-out functionality.

Q. The Sony Ericsson F305 is the first model in a revived F-series of gaming phones. Will this series be reserved cheaper phones, or will we also see more expensive phones in this series in the future?

A. We strongly believe in our new F-series, but can only make statements about announced products.

Q. What makes the gaming experience on the F305 unique compared to i.e. the K850 and W910, both also featuring a built-in accelerometer?

A. With an accelerometer as in F305, you get expanded possibilities to use different movements.

Q. With the Cyber-shot phones now in the C-series, will the K-series be used for price-friendly phones such as the K330?

A. The K-series will be used for phones in the entry-level segment. When it comes to imaging, we’ve got the S-series; Snapshot to complement the Cyber-shot range in a more competitive price level.

Q. The C905 in particular has received lots of publicity in the media and on various forums. Is this a so-called hero product?

A. We announce what we think gives the best user experience in the imaging segment. With the C905, we announce several new technologies and applications, that we believe will take the photos from your mobile phone camera to the next level. That’s why we strongly believe the C905 will communicate to all.

Q. What will the new phones cost?

A. It’s not Sony Ericsson without the operators that can set the prices for the markets, and they can vary by market. Our estimate is that the C905 will cost around the same as the K850 did when it was released.

… and now some more general questions.

Q. The XPERIA brand was launched earlier this year, and even since we haven’t seen any further additions in the XPERIA range. Are there any plans of announcing one or more this year?

A. We’ve announced the X1, which will be released during Q4 2008. We can however not comment further on any unannounced products.

Q. How does the future look for high-end phones by Sony Ericsson? At the latest few announcements the primary focus has been on cheap entry-level models - is it the plan to continue this?

A. We’ll be expanding our product portfolio in full to satisfy all kinds of markets.

Q. Is there still a market for ultra-thin phones?

A. The size of the phone is still an important factor, that must be balanced with the feature set and price.

Q. Numerous competitors have announced luxury models - does Sony Ericsson see a future for these phones or are they niche-products?

A. Our goal is to deliver a unique user experience for consumers with different needs. This goes for all segments.

Q. Professional UIQ-phones are a rare sight nowadays - are there any models in the pipeline or is the platform less suitable than Windows Mobile for this kind of phones?

A. Sony Ericsson today works with a set of different platforms that all add different parts to the portfolio. UIQ is still an important platform, complementing Windows Mobile in X1.

PS. Sorry about any mistakes in the text. Had to do this in a hurry, so the translations are definitely not top notch!

… and here are some official photos of the second low-end phone to be announced, the Sony Ericsson K330.

Continue reading “Sony Ericsson K330 photos”

We’ve already told you about C905, F305 and S302, so we’ll leave you with a link to each. Also announced today was the three Bluetooth headsets, we’d posted about, as well as an HSUPA modem with a built-in memory card reader called MD400, and the MD400g with the additional of a built-in GPS unit.

Two other phones were announced today, as expected. These were J132 and K330, both low-end phones with for the entry-level markets. Both feature a built-in FM radio, and the K330 comes with a VGA camera as well. The specifications aren’t ground-breaking, but that’s why they’re for entry-level markets

More coming up in a bit!

PS. Sorry about the late posts today; I had my physics exam today (yes, horribly scheduled!).

The Sony Ericsson’s K550 was recently spotted in a luxury version, dressed in Swarovski crystals. Although dressing up phones with these crystals is pretty common, what was unusual was the manner in which it was dressed up. On the front case, the crystals are placed around the phone’s display, while on the back they’re encased in such way that they make a round shape and even cover the photo camera’s protective lens! We’re not sure how many users would actually like to buy it, but we’ll leave you with the pics to decide!

There’s no details regarding the price of this luxury edition, and its still unclear whether more such handsets will be available or this one’s just a unique handset combined with the luxurious Swarovski crystals. Regardless of its availability, this luxurious K550 will only have the standard features of this type of handset.

via Softpedia

Sony Ericsson just recently launched a new firmware for the K660, W890, W910, Z750 and Z770. This one is called R1FA030, and is available on Sony Ericsson Update Service.

As of this moment, I’ve only heard feedback from W910 users, but the user feedback so far is quite good, and reports say that the device generally feels faster after the update, especially in the Media menu even with great amounts of files. I’d be surprised if this doesn’t go for the rest of the phones as well. Other than, Sony Ericsson apparently did some fixing on the rather buggy video playing, and the phones should now be a lot better at playing videos. An option to update the media library has also been added to the Media menu.

Let’s hope the rest of the A2 phones will get their firmwares updated soon as well!

[thanks, cliosguy!]