May 29 - 8:20pm EDT   Sony Ericsson is allegedly making a move to up its devotion to the gaming industry by allowing the cameras in its phones to function as a motion-controlling sensor. Pocket-lint reports that the communications device company has signed a deal with California-based GestureTek to incorporate the software into its phones in September. Sony at present already uses the software for its EyeToy camera device on the PlayStation 2, and will allegedly function on Sony Ericsson's older phones as well. [full story]

April 21 - 5:05pm EDT   Market research company ABI Research says in a new report that a Linux-based mobile operating system will find its way into in almost one out of every five mid- to high-end cellular phones by 2013. The study cites efforts by the LiMo Foundation, Google's marketing of its Android OS, as well as Nokia's Maemo and Trolltech purchases as some of the reasons the open-source OS system will grow. ABI's findings also conclude that despite the added cost of hardware necessary to support open-source operating systems, the move will offer better value because of the greater number of supported applications. [full story]

April 2 - 4:50pm EDT   We've taken a quick glance at Sony-Ericsson's Xperia X1 at CTIA. The phone is Sony-Ericsson's first to run on Windows Mobile, and features an iPhone-challenging three-inch, 800x480 touchscreen with a unique panel-based interface. The X1 also features 3G broadband as well as a QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera, and expandable memory via microSD. Sony-Ericsson plans to release the phone late into 2008 but has not revealed prices, which will vary by carrier. Click ahead for the full gallery. [full story]

March 27 - 2:25pm EDT   Sling Media on Thursday said it would expand SlingPlayer Mobile to add support for phones running the UIQ operating system. The new version will allow some Sony-Ericsson and Motorola phones to stream and remotely control Slingbox devices at home whenever the device is connected to either a 3G or Wi-Fi network. The initial lineup will include the P1i (pictured) and P990i smartphones, the M600i, as well as the W950i and W960i Walkman phones. Motorola's RIZR Z8 is also included, Sling said. The updated version of the software will be available in the summer and will sell for $30 to first-time users but will also be downloadable for free for existing owners. [full story]

March 21 - 8:35am EDT   A patent infringement claim may lead to blocks against importing both Blu-ray technology as well as cellphones and other storage, the US International Trade Commission said today. The potential impasse has its roots in a complaint by patent holder and Columbia University emeritus professor Gertrude Rothschild, who claims that bringing numerous foreign-made devices with short-wave lasers and LEDs violates her own claims to the technology in the US. Most companies affected by the dispute are those producing Blu-ray optical storage drives and involve chief backer Sony as well as LG, Pioneer, Samsung, and Sharp. [full story]

March 19 - 10:25am EDT   Sony-Ericsson will see lower profits than expected in its next quarter due to a drop in sales of mid- and high-end phones, the company has revealed today. The cellphone partnership now expects to sell a comparatively modest 22 million phones between January and March and should see reduced income as well as a lower average phone price of €120 ($188), showing an emphasis on low-cost phones. The dip is largely attributed to struggling sales in Europe, where Sony-Ericsson has often had its best market success but where it also faces its stiffest competition. Moves are underway to escape dependence on the region but are not far along enough to have affected near-term ... [full story]

March 17 - 4:55pm EDT   Sony-Ericsson rarely supplies North America with its highest-end phones, which makes the K850i a rare treat for the continent: it comes equipped with 3G Internet access, a 5-megapixel camera, and a media player that draws on Sony's experience with its Walkman players. Electronista has tested the phone and in its full K850i review learns whether the phone lives up to the ideal or falls victim to its own emphasis on features. The handset is already available today on Rogers in Canada and may be available soon through AT&T in the US. [full story]

March 17 - 11:50am EDT   Motorola has quietly dropped two of its key executives, the company revealed today in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. The company's European head of Mobile Devices, Mike Fenger, has been replaced by former regional sales VP Stephen Nolan; Larry Raymond comes from the retail chain Sears to occupy the role of treasurer, replacing Steve Strobel. The shift is "part of an overall plan to swiftly transform the senior executive team," according to a company spokeswoman. [full story]

March 7 - 8:55pm EST   In a surprise evening announcement, Motorola on Friday revealed that the firm's Mobile Devices chief Stu Reed has chosen to leave the company. The executive had spent just eight months in the role after being promoted from the company's supply business and is said to be departing immediately from his position, which primarily addresses the company's cellphone business. No reason has been given for Reed's departure, though the company notes that he has launched "key initiatives" that will form the basis for future plans. The company has also declined to name an immediate successor. [full story]

March 7 - 3:00pm EST   Sony-Ericsson will release a version of the K850 in the US through AT&T, info provided from an FCC filing show. Already available for a month through Rogers in Canada, the K850 will come as the US-friendly K850a but should support the same tri-band 3G Internet access and quad-band GSM as its northern counterpart, giving it full-speed data on AT&T's network. Text in the user guide accompanying the FCC data references AT&T by name. [full story]

March 4 - 8:15am EST   Sony-Ericsson's contribution to Germany's CeBIT technology expo today is the T303, a compact slider said to boost the standards for relatively basic phones. The device sports a mirrored front finish with a metal trim and also brings a 1.3-megapixel camera that provides better quality than the VGA cameras that ship with other phones in the class. The handset trims costs by carrying just 8MB of memory and removing the Memory Stick Micro slot of other Sony-Ericsson phones but offers an FM radio to supply music. [full story]

February 28 - 12:25pm EST   Sony-Ericsson's K850i phone has just landed at the Electronista offices, and it promises to be one of the most powerful phones tested here to date -- and likely one of the most powerful phones of its type in North America. For those unfamiliar with the device, the K850i is one of Sony-Ericsson's few phones that supports North American 3G. This translates to very fast downloads, and in our initial experiences the performance is genuinely quick enough to be usable; it feels tangibly faster for downloads than EVDO on rival CDMA networks. The 5-megapixel camera is welcome, especially with the addition of a sizeable flash. [full story]

February 10 - 3:40pm EST   Sony-Ericsson has finished up its announcements in Barcelona with word of a 3G ExpressCard line and a stereo headset. The EC400 and its GPS-equipped counterpart the EC400g are Sony-Ericsson's first mobile Internet cards to provide HSPA while using the ExpressCard format; both plug into the EC/34 slot of Mac OS X and Windows PCs to provide up to 7.2Mbps downstream in peak conditions as well as up to 2Mbps for uploads. An auto-configuring process ensures a near pain-free setup process, the company explains. [full story]

February 10 - 3:15pm EST   Rounding out Sony-Ericsson's phone releases at Mobile World Congress are the C702 and C902, both entries in the company's Cyber-shot cameraphone lineup. The 3.2- and 5-megapixel respective phones are each designed for frequent photography, each with their own unique twists. The C702 equips assisted GPS and will geotag photos with their positions; its body is also sealed against dust and splashes and is shaped to snap photos easily with one hand. [full story]

February 10 - 2:50pm EST   Sony-Ericsson this afternoon claimed to have some of the best music and web phones yet with the announcement of two more devices in its Mobile World Congress lineup. The W980 clamshell is the device maker's new flagship Walkman phone and includes 8GB of built-in flash memory to hold most users' whole collections without needing an external card. Audio-enhancing functions as well as premium earbuds also provide better listening than most devices in the class, the company touts. In an unusual spin for Sony-Ericsson phones, an FM transmitter is built in along with a receiver, allowing the W980 to beam music to nearby stereos or even other phones with FM radios. [full story]