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Verizon HTC Trophy and Xperia Play available for order

The Verizon HTC trophy is now finally available for order on the company’s website alongside the Xperia Play. The HTC Trophy costs $149.99 with a 2 year contract and a free Xbox 360 game (Halo Reach, Kinect Sports or Lode Runner) while the Xperia Play is priced at $199.99 with a 2 year contract and is pre-loadeded with 6 PlayStation certified games: Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, The Sims 3, Star Battalion, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Madden NFL 11 from EA, and Crash Bandicoot (hands on video here).

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Sony Ericsson: No Window Phone 7 handsets if the OS doesn’t take off

Just in case you didn’t get the memo earlier; Sony Ericsson isn’t going to build a Windows Phone 7 device anytime soon. According to Sony Ericsson’s CTO the company won’t be making any products if the operating system doesn’t take off. From a business perspective this is understandable given the company’s heavy Android push with it’s latest smartphone’s, the Android PlayStation development suite and the Sony NGP. Windows Phone 7 has yet to prove itself in the market and Microsoft’s total lack of communication around sales can only mean that things aren’t really catching up yet.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Android 2.3 Gingerbread update announced

Still wondering if Sony Ericsson is really serious about being a big player in the Android ecosytem? Well, today’s announcement that the Xperia X10 will get a new lease of life this summer via an Android 2.3 Gingerbread update further proves that the company is firmly behind Google mobile OS and Windows Phone 7 is definitely something of the past for the company. As you probably already know, SE isn’t known for its execution or product support but things seem to be moving in the right direction ever since the announcement of the PlayStation Suite and certified games system and the company’s new roaster of Android devices announced at MWC last which includes the Xperia Play gaming phone (hands on video here) and sleek looking Xperia Arc (my hands on video here).

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PlayStation Certified games coming to Tegra 2 powered Android devices

The Android ecosystem is about to see some consolidation in the near future and may become a viable gaming platform thanks to Sony recent investments. NVIDIA has just announced (via the Android Tegra Zone) that the PlayStation Suite framework and associated PlayStation Certified games will be compatible with Tegra 2 powered devices (tablets and handsets). Sony PlayStation certified games have so far only been shown running on Qualcomm’s MSM8X55 platform running on the Adreno 205 GPU like the Xperia Play which you can see in action in my hands on video here.

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Intel Havok Physics system ported to Android: Video demo on the Xperia Play

As Qualcomm told me during Mobile World Congress, Sony Ericsson is the only OEM who bothered to use the latest Snapdragon and Adreno drivers on its devices and the video after the break just shows why they did this. The company is really serious about gaming on Android and unfortunately seems to be the only Android OEM in this case (Sure there’s NVIDIA and its Tegra Zone marketplace but I’m fairly sure that they don’t really care about the platform. All that matters to them is that their SoC is being bought by OEMs). THe video after the break will show you Intel’s Havok physics engine / solver porting on Android and running on the Xperia Play’s MSM8255 with Adreno 205 GPU:

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Sony Ericsson Julie Windows Phone 7 prototype phone live pictures

Remember the Sony Ericsson Julie Windows Phone 7 handset that SE was said to be working on back in June ? Well, here’s apparently how it looks like in the flesh. The device will probably never seen the light of the day but we now at least know how it looked like. I personally wouldn’t count on any Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 handset hitting retail anytime soon after what I heard the company reps say during Mobile World Congress when the subject was brought up (one kept on trashing MS and WP7 every time somebody asked him about it..). Android and the PlayStation Certified platform is what they are betting on (remember that the Sony NGP / PSP2 can also run Android..)
More pictures after the break:

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Preview: Hands on video

One of most impressive and best looking Android handset on display at Mobile World congress was definitively Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc with its super thin design and nice 4.2 inch screen. You can check out the hardware specifications here in case you didn’t know them yet. similar to the vast majority of the high-end Android phones being released the Xperia Arc features Qualcomm’s MSM8255 SoC with the Adreno 205 GPU. The device’s main differentiating features are the Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine (FWVGA 854×480 and LED Back-lit but looks identical in quality to an SLCD panel IMO) the 8 Mpix Exmor R CMOS sensor (maximum aperture of f/2.4), mini-HDMI port and super thin design (only 8.7mm thick). So how does it all look like in real life? After handling it for a few minutes I can safely say that the Xperia Arc is one of the nicest phones out there. It may be a tiny bit too plasticy but size of the screen really makes it feel like something unique.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Preview: hands on video and gameplay

Wondering what’s inside Sony Ericsson’s first PlayStation Certified handset? Just check out the full software and hardware specifications here. Now let me give you my first hands on impression of the Xperia Play after playing with it for a couple of minutes earlier this week. The build quality seemed to be relatively solid but a bit too much plasticy or my taste and the two L and R trigger button on the top of the device really felt cheap because of this. The 4 inch FWVGA (854×480) screen looks really nice thought and had good viewing angles for an LCD (I’m guessing that it’s the same as on the Sony Xperia Arc (hands-on video coming soon..) and similar to the SLCD found on HTC’s latest devices (but Sony Ericsson loves to called this Bravia something.. marketing..you know..).

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Play specifications

As you probably already know by now the much anticipated PSP Phone aka the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play was officially unveiled a few days ago in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress. But what is inside the first PlayStation Certified handset? Just hit the break to check out the exhaustive list of features and hardware specifications of the device. You can then go and check out my hands on preview and video here.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Play officially unveiled in Super Bowl ad

Sony Ericsson has finally officially unveiled the Xperia Play (also known as the PSP phone) in a TV commercial which just aired during the Super Bowl. The Android device is going to be officially announced on February 13th in Barcelona just ahead of Mobile World Congress and I’ll be there to cover the event. As you probably already know the Xperia play will feature a Qualcomm MSM8255 SoC with the Adreno 205 GPU and be the first device to be compatible with PlayStation certified games. Checkout the cool and creepy TV ad after the break:

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Sony takes aim at Windows Phone 7′s Xbox Live and XNA framework

You have probably all seen or heard of Sony’s Next Generation Portable PSP2 announcement yesterday. I won’t go into details about the device itself but will just point out that this thing is really a monster in terms of raw hardware specifications and power. Sony has in my opinion done an outstanding job this time around but one of the most interesting part of the event was the announcement of the PlayStation Suite framework for Android 2.3 devices and the PSP2 NGP that directly targets Microsoft’s XNA framework and Xbox Live service. So what is really the PlayStation Suite? It is many things:

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Hands on Preview

Want to see how the recently announced Sony Xperia Arc performs in real life? Here’s a in-depth hands-on courtesy of GSMArena who took the time to handle the device and shoot some videos of the product in action. The MSMS8255 powered handset seems to perform exactly like any other top end Android device on the market right now (Galaxy S, Desire HD) but this was frankly expected given that the hardware and OS here is nothing really new. Until Google fundamentally changes how the UI works on on samrtphone (similar to what they did with the “tablet” version of Android 3.0) we won’t see much difference in performance between Android devices. It was recently demonstrated in a video earlier this month that even Tegra 2 powered smartphone weren’t as snappy as the QSD8250 Window Phone 7 devices.

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Sony Ericsson still open to use Windows Phone 7. But not yet

It is a well known fact that Sony Ericsson is betting its future on Android but they apparently still have their eyes on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. The company keeps saying that they are open to use it but that the time has come yet. Is it for real or just PR purpose ? Nobody really knows.One thing is for sure though: they probably aren’t in a hurry to have an Xbox Live enabled smartphone alongside their soon to be launch Xperia Play PSP phone (which is totally understandable). Their parent company (Sony) has also recently decided not to launch a WP7 version of the PlayStation application (it’s out on iPhone and Android).

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc specifications

Sony Ericsson has finally provided more info about the recently anounced Xperia Arc android hadset formely known as the Anzu. As I speculated a few days ago the device features a Qualcomm MSM8255 SoC (with the Adreno 205 GPU) and not an MSM7230 like the Anzu protoype handsets. Hit the break for the full hardware pecifications:

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro 2 shot naked again

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro 2 that we saw a few days ago has appeared in another set of live pictures, this time showing us the built-in sliding keyboard. The original poster also confirms my hardware specification guess: It features an MSM7230 SoC. Check out another picture after the break:

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Early Sony Ericsson PSP PlayStation Phone Xperia Play Review

IT168 posted an extensive review of the upcoming Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone aka Xperia Play aka Zeus Z1 today. Beware that this is based on a non-retail version of the product so things can change between now and when the device finally launches. The phone features an MSM8255 SoC which includes the Adreno 205 GPU so the performance should be on par with the HTC Desire HD and it’s US cousins the HTC Thunderbolt and HTC Inspire 4G but only 512Mb of Rom and 512MB of Ram ‘the device runs Android 2.3). The phone also features a 4 inch 854×480 screen, 1500Mah battery and 5Mpix camera with LED flash. So as you can see there’s nothing to fancy here besides the sliding gamepad. Seeral benchmarks have been done but you won’t learn anything new there (performance is as expected). Check out some videos after the break:

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Sleek looking Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Android device unveiled and hardware specifications

This must be one of the best looking smartphone ever. The Sony Ericsson Arc pictured above is apparently going to be announced and unveiled today in Las Vegas during CES and should be the company’s successor to the Xperia X10 (It was previously known as the Anzu). The hardware specifications are the following:

- 125x63x9 mm 8.7 mm only in the narrowest part
- 117 grams
- 1GHZ Qualcomm SoC (surprisingly some of the Anzu prototypes had an MSM7230 SOC clocked at 800Mhz but I would surprised if this one didn’t have an MSM8255)
- 4.2 inch 854×480 capacitive touch screen with Sony Mobile Bravia Engine Reality Display image enhancements
- 8Mpix camera with Sony Exmor R sensor
- 1500Mha battery
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread

Check out more pictures and a video presentation of the device after the break

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Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson PlayStation Zeus Z1 / Xperia Play phone in the wild again

The Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone aka Zeus Z1 aka Xperia Play has once again shown its face in the wild today. As you can see in the pictures the Xperia & PlayStation branding is now plastered on the device which could mean that what we are seeing here is probably final hardware. There’s still no word on when it will officially be announced but It’s either going to be at this week’s CES or next month’s MWC. More picture after the break:

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro 2 shows up in the wild?

Another unannounced Android smartphone from Sony Ericsson just showed up in live pictures today on a chinese message board. The device is said to be running Android 2.4 (?), has an tiny 3″ HVGA screen, a 1GHZ CPU with an Adreno 205 GPU….hold on a second.. this doesn’t make much sense right? If it’s indeed a 1Ghz Qualcomm chipset with an Adreno 205 then it can only be an MSM8255 but there’s no way that SE will pack such a chipset into a low-end device which only has HVGA screen. The other possibility is the mid-range MSM7230 (used in the T-Mobile G2, HTC Desire Z) but it doesn’t add up either because it’s only clocked at 800Mhz so the specs mentioned in the post seem fishy at best. The Neocore score is also on the lower end of the spectrum…

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