By Rikard Skogberg
30th June 2011.
14:25
Monthly Archives: June 2011
Today, Skype have updated their Skype for Android™ app on Android™ Market to support Video calling for a select number of phones including the Xperia™ neo and the upcoming Xperia™ pro.
The Skype application lets users do all the great things users are used to on Skype for Android™ and now adds free video calling allowing you to make free video calls between supported Android™ phones, iOS devices, PC’s, Mac’s and even some TV’s on WiFi or 3G.
For best performance we recommend a strong WiFi connection. If you are on 3G, you should make sure you have an appropriate data plan.
You can use the forward facing camera on Xperia™ neo or Xperia™ pro to video chat with your friends or easily switch to using the main 8 MPixel camera with Sony’s Exmor R™ for mobile sensor to show friends your surroundings. The viewing experience is also enhanced thanks to the Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine on Xperia™ neo and Xperia™ pro.
Skype have updated their website today with plenty of info and support material so check it out and happy video calling on your Xperia™ smartphone!
More info here: http://blogs.skype.com/en/2011/06/smile_skype_for_android_with_v.html
As you might have heard the big tennis tournament Wimbledon is ongoing right now.
We’re a proud sponsor of the WTA and some of my colleagues got to meet our ambassador Maria Sharapova after she’d tried out the Xperia™ active.
They recorded this video where she really puts Xperia™ active to the test 
A while ago we ran a competition on Facebook where our fans got to compete on being the first to review on of our two upcoming feature phones Sony Ericsson txt pro and Sony Ericsson Mix Walkman phone. Some of them got phones for review and finally four was selected as the finalists. The video reviews from these four finalists where put on Facebook where the other fans could select the winner by using the like button.
The assignment was a tricky one, record a video review that should show the phone in a creative and informative way – all this in only 45 seconds!
The one with the most likes was Pavan from India. Congratulations Pavan!
Here’s his review of the Sony Ericsson txt pro:
Some of my colleagues made a short interview with Pavan to get to know a bit more about him, why he entered this competetion and what he’s going to do with the prize:
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? – I am from Bangalore studying 3rd year Engineering course in Don Bosco Institute Of Technology.
Why did you enter the reviewer competition? – When I came across the review competition, I felt like this is something different, something unique, asking customers to make a review of a brand new phone. So I just had my 50 words submitted in seconds.
What did you think of the competition? – It’s the first time I have taken part in such a huge competition. Right from making the review video to the voting part I enjoyed every bit of it.
Have you always been a fan of Sony Ericsson? – Yes! I have always been a fan of Sony Ericsson. I love the walkman phones you make.
What do you usually look for in a phone? – Apps! A phone which supports a lot of apps would be an ideal phone for me.
What was your favourite feature of the Sony Ericsson txt pro phone? – I liked the Friends App and the threaded way of displaying messages. Both features make texting fun and easy!
Will you recommend the txt pro to your friends? – My friends are already excited to receive the phones!!!!!
What is your favourite Sony Ericsson phone? – My fav is the Xperia X10. One because it’s sleek and second I love the Timespace app it has.
Did you expect to get so many votes and great comments? – Initially I wished the judges selected the final winner, but as the voting went on I was happy to see my LIKES going up by 100 each day.
Now you have won the prize how are you going to decide on how to share the phones? – This is harder than winning the competition. I am waiting for the phones to decide on sharing.
Just now over in Singapore some of my colleagues are showing three new phones and two new smart extras, all of them will be available in selected markets from Q3 this year.
For the full press releases for all this with full specifications etc head over to the Sony Ericsson Press Room
The first two phones are the new additions to the XperiaTM family of smartphones:
XperiaTM ray
XperiaTM ray is a fully fledged Android smartphone on the latest Android platform for smartphones, a.k.a. Gingerbread. It also features the 8.1 MP Exmor RTM camera and the Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® engine as known from e.g. XperiaTM arc. What’s special about it though is its size and design. I’ve been using one for a few days internally now and it really is a special kind of smartphone. It’s sleek and beautifully designed and its more narrow form factor almost remind me of the feel of the successful models W880 and W890. Despite its slim (9.4mm) and small footprint it has a FWVGA display, i.e. same 854×480 resolution as e.g. XperiaTM arc, but in a 3.3 inch display size which give an amazing feeling of high resolution and clarity. It also has a very elegant blackness to the display which makes it nearly invisible when in standby, making it blend into the black glass front perfectly. The slimness, lightness and more narrow form factor really makes it slip into my jeans pockets perfectly. It’s also built around an internal aluminum frame that comes out on the edges as side lines. This gives an extremely solid feeling to it. Despite its sleek form factor it still packs the same 1500 mAh battery as XperiaTM neo so there shouldn’t be any compromise on battery life either. For me personally this could very well be the perfect form factor in a smartphone!
Here’s a video showing some of the thoughts behind the design of XperiaTM ray:
XperiaTM active
XperiaTM active is also a different kind of smartphone compared to the earlier phones in the Xperia family. While it packs a full feature set of Android Gingerbread, a 3 inch 320×480 Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® engine and a 5MP camera with HD-video recording etc it also is dustproof and water resistant. The resistance to dust and water meets the standard of IP67 which is described like this:
“According to International Protection Rating. IP67 implies that when the phone is correctly mounted to maintain its dust and water resistant qualities, there is no ingress of dust (digit 6) and that ingress of water (digit 7) in harmful quantity shall not be possible if the device is dropped in fresh water under up to 1 m of submersion for a duration of maximum 30 minutes.”
You can find more information in the IP rating standard here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_rating
What this really means is that XperiaTM active is the smartphone that you don’t have to be as careful with as previous ones. You can use it for an active live, out running in the rain etc without being worried that your phone will be damaged from it. If you’re not the active type there are of course also lots of other situations where a more resistant phone comes in handy, me being a lucky father of two little girls can definitely see a case for it besides exercising in the rain
The scratch resistant screen also uniquely incorporates wet finger tracking, to ensure the phone works perfectly when either the screen or your fingers are wet.
Besides that it also is a beautiful smartphone which really gives a feeling of sturdyness to it even though it has basically the same form factor as the previously announced XperiaTM mini.
Remember, most of our phones, including XperiaTM active, also features ANT+ which makes it possible for you to connect a compliant heart rate monitor directly to your phone to monitor your heart rate in lots of different exercise applications out there.
Here’s a video of XperiaTM active:
We’re also announcing a new feature phone over in Singapore:
Sony Ericsson txt
The Sony Ericsson txt is a feature phone with features inspired by XperiaTM at an affordable price. As a sister phone to the previously announced Sony Ericsson txt pro it gives you excellent support for messaging on the go with a full QWERTY keyboard and incorporates an SMS shortcut key for quick and easy messaging. It also comes with an embedded “friends” application that lets you instantly follow Facebook and twitter updates from your selected top five friends. It comes with Wi-Fi, a 2.6 inch screen and a 3.2 MP camera.
Last but not least my friends over at Extras haven’t been lazy either. We’re announcing two new Smart Extras that further build on extending the proposition of our XperiaTM smartphones through accessories that enable new functionality.
LiveDockTM
The first Smart ExtraTM out in Singapore is the LiveDockTM multimedia station. It gives you the ability to seamlessly integrate your Xperia smartphone into your home. Simply connect your phone to the docking station and it will launch your specified application automatically for you. If you own more than one LiveDockTM you can even set them to launch different applications, e.g. a world clock at your desk at work and perhaps a photo gallery for slideshows, kind of like a digital photo frame, at home.
LiveSoundTM
The LiveSoundTM hi-fi headset gives an excellent sound experience combined with a stylish tangle-free design. It also has LiveKeyTM control which gives you the possibility to access applications in your phone directly with a simple push of a button on your headset. As an example you can start your sports app by pressing the LiveKeyTM control. Pressa again during your workout to get information such as heart rate or distance covered. All this keeping your phone in your pocket. It’s built on a new generation of speaker drivers which combines a decrease in physical size with a breakthrough in audio quality. For me personally the new softer ear buds (that come in different sizes) gives a perfect fit and the flat tangle-free cord is a brilliant enhancement.
Back in March we announced that we are working on a Gingerbread update for XperiaTM X10. Our developers have been working hard on this and the work has progressed well. Development and testing is still ongoing and the current plan is start the roll-out in the beginning of August.
For more information on what to expect from this update please re-visit the original post from back in March, most of it is still valid:
A few things have changed since then.
First of all – we’ve seen your feedback about losing some of the camera features of the original XperiaTM X10. Our developers have been working on it and I can now confirm that also the Gingerbread version of the X10 software will keep the original camera UI as in the Éclair version. I can also confirm that the new Facebook inside XperiaTM functionality introduced in the 2011 XperiaTM products will also be in the XperiaTM X10. More info on what it is and what it does at: http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/services/facebook-inside/overview?cc=gb&lc=en.
As said in March most of the 2011 XperiaTM software functionality from e.g. XperiaTM arc will be included. The UI with the desktop layout and pinch-to-overview gesture will be similar and Gingerbread features like Wi-Fi & USB tethering, App storage on SD-card etc are included. Also the customizable horizontal app tray and the media experience widgets from the 2011 XperiaTM Products are in, including an integrated equalizer in the music player. Of course also apps that require Android versions 2.2 or 2.3 will now be possible to download from Android Market, e.g. Adobe flash.
One difference compared to the 2011 products is that DLNA will not be included. Extra type approvals were needed for that and we were unable to prioritize that without jeopardizing the time schedule. There are both server and client alternatives downloadable from Android market though.
For XperiaTM X10 mini, mini pro and X8 there are as communicated earlier no plans to update beyond the current Éclair version. There are two mains reasons for this: The XperiaTM X10 mini, X10 mini pro and X8 all have less RAM memory than XperiaTM X10. By this we can’t guarantee a good user experience by upgrading beyond Android 2.1. The upgrade of XperiaTM X10 also was made possible due to that we had a code base that mostly could be reused. For the mini’s, who have a different user interface, this possibility did not exist.
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 XperiaTM X10.
I’ve recorded the hands-on video below to give you a view of what it looks like. Let me know in the comments section if there are follow-up questions or certain use cases you want me to go through!
