July 2 - 12:20pm EDT   In some good news for local cell phone manufacturers, the European Union's plan to introduce new taxes for handsets sold throughout Europe has been scrapped, says a Wednesday report. The new taxes would have raised prices customers pay for new phones and most likely lowered the sales numbers of an already falling market. The decision came from Sweden, which hosts the rotating presidency of the EU, and will mean the Customs Code Committee will continue to treat cell phones as duty-free items. [full story]

July 1 - 12:40pm EDT   Large PC builders are dragging their feet when it comes to environmental promises, claims Greenpeace. The activist group has once again updated its Guide to Greener Electronics, which assigns relative rankings to major high-tech corporations. A new development is the assignment of "penalty points" to major PC builders, including HP, Dell and Lenovo. The companies have delayed plans to strip PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from computers, Greenpeace says, and in the case of HP, none of its current systems have reduced toxicity. [full story]

June 30 - 10:15am EDT   If a tip provided today proves authentic, Nokia is poised to upgrade the quality of its camera phones significantly in less than a year. Supposed insiders for PhoneReport say the company will boost the sensor resolution up to 12 megapixels, not unlike Sony Ericsson's upcoming Satio, but that it should add optical zoom instead of the digital zoom that most phones are forced to use. The first phone to see the upgraded photography could arrive by late 2009 or early 2010 and may be a prime candidate for Mobile World Congress in February. [full story]

June 29 - 9:30am EDT   Several major cellphone makers today agreed to support a European Union push for a universal charger standard. Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson have signed a deal with the European Commission that will see micro USB become the default connector for powering cellphones in the continent. Chipset producers like NEC, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments have also agreed to the deal. [full story]

June 29 - 9:00am EDT   Sony is just now developing a gaming-themed phone that would be targeted explicitly at the iPhone, Japan's Nikkei BP said this weekend. The company is supposedly creating a device team as soon as July that would merge the gaming qualities of the PSP with its Sony Ericsson handsets. It's implied that the device would have a touchscreen to better position the device against Apple's hardware. [full story]

June 25 - 9:05am EDT   Sony Ericsson complemented the T715 with the addition of a new Bluetooth headset useful for most phones. The VH310 is built for longevity with about 11 hours of continuous talk or 500 hours of standby. Comfort is also a concern as it ships with three different ear tip sizes and two different ear hooks to accommodate most wearers; at 10 grams it also shouldn't weigh too heavily when in place. [full story]

June 25 - 8:05am EDT   Sony Ericsson in a quiet launch has revealed the T715. The slider is aimed at the upper mid-range with 3G over HSPA, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a partly aluminum shell. Although it doesn't have fully independent GPS, the phone ships preloaded with Google Maps for basic navigation and will geotag photos. AccuWeather and YouTube apps are also onboard. [full story]

June 15 - 10:55am EDT   Sony Ericsson's fourth touchscreen phone and its second Windows Mobile device, the XPERIA X2, could be made public as early as Wednesday thanks to a leaked invitation to a press event that day. The Singapore gathering appears to focus on entertainment but has been linked to the smartphone, which may also appear at the same time as a Bluetooth headset based on FCC data. The possibility exists for other phones but hasn't been supported by other rumors. [full story]

June 5 - 4:35pm EDT   T-Mobile's US branch is now known to be bringing Sony Ericsson's T707 Elle to its network courtesy of an FCC filing that shows its update. The TM717 is effectively a sequel to the TM506 and would bring 1,700MHz native 3G to the T707. While close in design and most other features, it would upgrade the camera from 2 to 3.2 megapixels at the same time. [full story]

June 4 - 8:05am EDT   As expected, Sony Ericsson on Thursday pledged itself to an environmentally friendly track with the launch of its GreenHeart line. The C901 GreenHeart and Naite (both links active soon) are both made of at least 50 percent recycled plastic and have ambient light sensors that dim the display to save power. Apps onboard each also encourage non-car transportation with the C901 comparing walking routes versus driving, while the Naite has a carbon footprint calculator for trips. [full story]

June 3 - 4:20pm EDT   A leaked photo reveals a new handset that is said to be the eventual successor to the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 smartphone. The spied device apparently goes by the codename Vulcan, though little other information is known about it. While the low-resolution image does not reveal much, similarities between the new device and the old one are clearly visible. [full story]

June 3 - 3:35pm EDT   Sony Ericsson today said it has brought the W995a Walkman phone to Americans as an unlocked device. The slider is Sony Ericsson's most advanced non-touch media phone and has 3G, an 8.1-megapixel camera and Wi-Fi to complement its signature music jukebox app. In US form, it comes with both native AT&T 3G as well as Sony's just-launched Media Go software for loading tracks. [full story]

June 3 - 1:50pm EDT   Sony Ericsson at mid-day said it would jump into the mobile app store field by bringing apps to its PlayNow service. Similar to the iPhone's App Store and other services, developers will have to submit apps to Sony Ericsson but can optionally put their apps in a central portal across all 13 countries PlayNow serves. Developers won't be locked into a single operating system, however, and the company plans to offer both Symbian apps for its upcoming phones and Java ME for more limited phones. [full story]

June 3 - 11:20am EDT   Nokia's lead in appeal to a younger audience is quickly giving way to newer companies, a study by online community Habbo has revealed today. A study of more than 112,000 teens in 30 countries has seen just 21 percent declare Nokia as their favorite phone brand. The tally is enough to give it the lead but is a major drop from 29 percent a year ago. Sony Ericsson, normally sixth place in actual market share, garnered second place but itself dropped from 21 percent to 18 percent. [full story]

June 1 - 9:10pm EDT   Sony Ericsson plans to drop the controversial Memory Stick Micro (M2) standard, according to TrustedReviews. The company's global marketing director, Fortuné Alexander, acknowledged the transition to microSD and microSDHC formats for upcoming devices. Sony Ericsson recently announced the Aino and Satio handsets, both integrating microSDHC slots instead of requiring Memory Sticks. [full story]