November 25 - 4:35pm EST   Sailing Software has posted v1.0.2 of Sailing Media Sync, its phone synchronization software for Macs. The app syncs non-iPhone devices with iTunes, loading them with the music, playlists and podcasts a user chooses from. Files also retain any playcount information, which can influence future shuffling preferences. [full story]

November 12 - 12:30pm EST   Microsoft at its TechEd conference has confirmed the impending launch of Internet Explorer Mobile 6, the next major version of its cellphone browser. Originally announced in February, the significantly delayed update is available to test in emulator form and has also detailed all the major changes due with the web suite. The software aims to resolve many of the often-criticized features of the legacy browser from Windows Mobile 6 and starts with an accurate HTML renderer that displays websites the way they would appear on a desktop. Users can even change their user agent to force a desktop view instead of a mobile-optimized site. [full story]

November 12 - 9:45am EST   Sony Ericsson today finally detailed the US release of the Xperia X1, its first full touchscreen smartphone and also its first Windows Mobile phone. Rather than tie the phone to AT&T, the cellphone maker instead says the X1 will sell through its Sony Style website as an unlocked device for $800. The move lets users pick AT&T to gain full access to the phone's HSPA-based 3G or T-Mobile if they prefer the carrier and are willing to limit their data to EDGE. It also allows unrestricted apps and the ability to use SIM cards from foreign carriers. [full story]

November 4 - 4:20pm EST   Sony Ericsson is shipping less units than expected of its top-of-the-range XPERIA X1 due to a parts shortage, according to Tuesday's news. While Sony Ericsson won't divulge which parts are causing the production delay, it is known that the areas where the X1 was first launched, namely Sweden, Germany and the UK, are experiencing the largest shortages. [full story]

October 17 - 10:10am EDT   Sony Ericsson highlighted the mounting problems for incumbent phone makers on Friday with news of its summer quarter results. The carrier shipped a total of 25.7 million phones in the period, which ended in September; the figure is a slight 5.3 percent boost to its numbers from the spring but a slight loss from the same season a year earlier, dipping from 25.9 million phones in summer 2007. [full story]

September 15 - 5:00pm EDT   The lack of Sony Ericsson staff commitment to future XPERIA-branded handsets suggests they may not use Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system, alleges a Monday report. The news originated at the company’s digital marketing campaign launch for the range-topping Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 handset, which, ironically, is the first phone from the company to make use of Microsoft’s Windows OS. [full story]

September 10 - 2:50pm EDT   (Updated with carrier info) Sony Ericsson today countered rumors of software-related delays for the XPERIA X1 by announcing a launch date for the device in some countries. The company's first full touchscreen and first Windows Mobile phone will be available on September 30th in Germany, the UK, and the company's Swedish home. Phones will also be ready in most of Europe, South Africa, and some countries in Latin America and the Middle East later in the fall. [full story]

September 3 - 7:50am EDT   Sony Ericsson this morning introduced an software development kit just for the XPERIA X1, giving developers an opportunity to write apps for the phone's custom panel interface. The SDK will allow programmers to write Windows Mobile 6.1 apps that integrate directly with the panels at the top level and display live information without having the user enter the app itself. Sony Ericsson suggests this could be useful for at-a-glance looks at instant messaging or social networking as well as media catalogs. [full story]

September 1 - 11:05am EDT   Sony Ericsson today denied claims that its XPERIA X1 smartphone has been pushed back as far as early 2009, contradicting claims from its own employees at IFA as well as brief status updates on its own website. The firm now maintains that it has always kept its first Windows Mobile device to a fall 2008 launch and refutes claims that the software was too unreliable. [full story]

August 29 - 11:10am EDT   Sony Ericsson today confirmed through talks with Engadget the existence of a delay for the XPERIA X1. A company spokesman at the IFA technology show indicates that the company's first primarily touch-driven phone has moved from its generic launch window in the second half of 2008 to December or potentially January 2009, delaying the launch to almost a year after it was first announced. [full story]

August 28 - 11:55pm EDT   While Sony is expected to ship its XPERIA X1 touchscreen phone in October, new information seen on the UK Sony Style website hints that the release could be pushed back to January 2009. The Register reveals that a menu selection graphic contains a "January" tag, with the product page itself claiming the launch date is undecided. The information comes after conflicting news that Sony Ericsson already mistakenly delayed the device, and retailer Expansys claiming it had receive demonstration units of the phone already. [full story]

August 1 - 9:00am EDT   Microsoft has missed its much-vaunted yearly goal of selling 20 million licenses for Windows Mobile by a wide margin, the company has revealed. Initially certain that any shortfall would amount to a "rounding error," the company now acknowledges that it has only sold 18 million licenses over the course of its last fiscal year, which ended in June. Microsoft hasn't provided reasoning for the gap, which was unexpected as recently as a month ago. [full story]

July 18 - 12:05pm EDT   Sony Ericsson on Friday reported spring quarterly results that confirm a continued drop in the company's influence. The cellphone designer today said it has largely met its lowered predictions and shipped 24.4 million phones between April and June, or a two percent drop from the same season a year earlier. Net income for the company was also near-flat at the equivalent of $9.5 million, while the firm also warned that the average selling price for one of its phones dropped from approximately $198 to $184. [full story]

June 27 - 2:10pm EDT   Sony Ericsson today warned that its income and shipments will have shrunk this quarter over expectations. The cellphone producer now expects its pre-tax income to only "break-even" when reported in mid-July and says it will ship fewer cellphones over the three-month period than it did a year ago, with about 24 million phones shipped worldwide. The company also expects the average selling price to drop further still from the last quarter, dropping from roughly $192 at the start of the year to about $181, earning the company less for each device. [full story]

June 4 - 9:20am EDT   AT&T today said it has upped speeds with its LaptopConnect users in mind through a set of upgrades to the company's HSPA-based 3G wireless network. The service sees a major boost to upload speeds that increases the peak from 800Kbps to 1.2Mbps, a 50 percent gain which is nearly in line with download speeds. Those download speeds have also increased in overall performance, increasing from a minimum average of 600Kbps to 700Kbps and from a maximum real-world peak of about 1.4Mbps to 1.7Mbps. [full story]