Posts Tagged ‘Sony Ericsson’
Nokia Cuts Phone Prices as Market Growth Returns
Nokia cut phone prices across its portfolio in late January, putting its cheapest smartphones on a collision course with mid-range phones from rivals Samsung and Sony Ericsson.
Nokia said price changes were part of its normal, ongoing business. The world’s top cellphone maker usually cuts prices across its portfolio a few times each year. Several industry sources told Reuters Nokia had cut prices by up to 10 percent. After the price cut Nokia’s cheapest smartphone model, the 5230, retails for around 170 euros ($239) in Finland. The model’s wholesale price is now below 120 euros. Demand for cheaper smartphones has helped the segment grow despite the recession, defying the broader, weaker industry trend. Sales jumped 30 percent in the October-December quarter according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Nokia said last week that revenue from smartphones jumped 26 percent in the quarter from the previous quarter to 3.9 billion euros, helping power its overall result. The average wholesale price of its smartphones dipped to 186 euros from 190 euros in the third quarter.
The falling prices have hurt handset vendors like Sony Ericsson, who have focused on mid-range or feature phones, which often boast good cameras or music players but lack computer-like open operating systems. These have been cheaper than smartphones, but the price difference is declining fast. “This latest round of price adjustments sees Nokia taking its low-cost Symbian devices into new territory,” said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, a British firm that tracks the wholesale prices of mobile phones in Europe. Nokia’s price cuts come as the industry returns to growth following a grim 2009 marked by recession-hit consumer demand. Nokia says it expects the cellphone market to grow 10 percent this year.
Sony Ericsson’s Vivaz Announced
Sony Ericsson has announced the Vivaz that follows on from the Xperia X10 announced in November 2009, and is the second phone in the new family of communication entertainment phones coming to market in the first half of 2010. Sony Ericsson Vivaz will come to market in Q1 2010.
The Vivaz has high quality HD video allowing consumers to produce and broadcast their experiences with the latest video capture and sharing features.
The open platform also allows users to personalise their entertainment experience by downloading great applications through PlayNow and the Symbian Developer Community.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz features the new design philosophy ’human curvature’, first introduced with the Xperia X10, which will become a consistent feature of Sony Ericsson’s portfolio.
The Vivaz also features:
•HD video – produce and broadcast your best experiences with the latest video capture and sharing features
•Social networking – easy access to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter
•8.1 megapixel camera – capture life’s moments in high quality
•Face and smile detection – a perfect picture every time
•Sony Ericsson Media Player
•3.2-inch-widescreen
•3D games
•A-GPS
•Google Maps
•Wi-Fi
•Bluetooth
•8GB microSD card
Sony Ericsson Vivaz supports UMTS HSPA 900/2100 and GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and will be available in select markets from Q1 in the colours Moon Silver, Cosmic Black, Galaxy Blue and Venus Ruby.
Pricing hasn’t been announced yet.
Sony Ericsson Launches Two New Walkman Mobile Phone Handsets
Sony Ericsson has just added two more handsets to their popular Walkman range of music handsets. The new handsets – W205 and W395 are both of the slider variety which seems to be SE’s forte.
At the launch of the new phones, Sudhin Mathur, General Manager, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications India said, “Being the pioneer in the music phone category, our ‘Walkman’ phone range has universally been lauded for the quality music experience offered. The basic premise behind the launch of the affordable Sony Ericsson W205 and W305 Walkman phones is to further extend this experience to those who love portable music but have never had the Walkman phone experience.”
The W205 will enable users to share the handset with family and friends and still maintain a certain privacy level with its multiple phonebook feature that lets up to four users create personalized contact lists that are kept separate. The lower end W205 Walkman phone also features:
- a 1.8-inch display sporting a 128 x 160 resolution and 65K colors
- GPRS/EDGE
- 1.3 megapixel camera
- FM radio with recording
- TrackID
- Bluetooth
- M2 card support
The second handset the W395 Walkman is slightly more higher ended than the W205 with features like:
- a 2 inch TFT LCD with a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels and 256K colors
- support for GPRS/EDGE
- Bluetooth with A2DP
- built-in stereo speakers
- Motion gaming support
- FM radio
- TrackID and PlayNow
- A 2 Megapixel camera
- M2 card support
The W205 comes with HPM-64 Bass Reflex headphones and the W395 has the HPM-62 stereo headset and are priced at Rs. 5,795 and Rs. 8,395 (MRP) respectively. Both handsets are also bundled with 1GB memory cards.
Sony Ericsson Announces Three New Mobile Phones
Sony Ericsson started off the proceedings at the Mobile World Congress in style with the announcement of one known and two unleaked handsets. The phones in question are the Xperia X10 Mini, the X10 Mini Pro and the Vivaz Pro – the last one being the only handset whose existence was known prior to the announcement. The Xperia Mini series will complement the flagship Android handset, the Xperia 10 that is set to be released in the next few weeks.
The Xperia X10 Mini, Mini Pro:
The Xperia X10 Mini is really what its name says. A credit card sized version of the Xperia X10 (which if you’re not aware, sports a mammoth 4-inch touchscreen), it runs Android 1.6. Both phones are virtually identical except for the slide out keyboard on the Pro version. The Mini and the Mini Pro feature a 2.55-inch QVGA touchscreen. Like in the X10, they also come with the Timescape application that integrates text messages and social networking updates of your phone contacts at one place. Both the phones support HSPA 900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, HSPA 850/1900/2100 and EDGE 850/900/1800/1900. For imaging purposes, there is a competent 5 megapixel camera
at the rear of both the phones. Thanks to GPS, the camera supports geotagging of images. Both the phones come with a 3.5 mm audio jack for music and on the connectivity front, feature Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as well.
Even though these phones are small in size, they do weigh a lot, thanks to the features they pack in. The X10 Mini Pro weighs 120 grams, and is 32 grams heavier than the X10 Mini – which tips the scales at just over 88 grams. On the software front, there is full access to the Android Market. The Mini and the Mini Pro will be available starting this very quarter.
Vivaz Pro:
Sony Ericsson Vivaz, if you are not aware, happens to be the company second Series 60 based handset after the Satio, which did not particularly hit the sweet spot since its release last year. The Vivaz, earlier known as the Kurara, is the second phone in the world that can capture 720P videos. The first of course is Samsung’s Omnia HD – also a Series 60 handset.
There was an image of the Vivaz with a slide out keyboard leaked a few weeks ago. That phone has now seen official acknowledgment in the form of the Vivaz Pro. The slide out keyboard laden Vivaz Pro also boasts of the same features – but comes with a smaller 5.1 megapixel camera. The former, as you might be aware, has an 8 megapixel camera. Other features include A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack and a 3.2-inch screen. The Vivaz Pro is expected to arrive only by mid 2010. The Vivaz and its Pro brother come with a 720Mhz processor and the latter boasts of a longer battery life.