Sony Ericsson, building buzz for a soon-to-launch smartphone, is offering a sneak peek at what is likely the Android-running Xperia X3. An Xperia X2, running Windows Mobile 6.5, is also expected this quarter.
Sony Ericsson is offering a video
sneak peek at a device launching Nov. 3, which appears to
be the high-end, Google Android-running Xperia X3 smartphone. It would be Sony
Ericsson's first smartphone to run the increasingly popular open-source
operating system.
According to online reports from sites such as
Brighthand, the Xperia 3, code-named Rachel, is rumored to
feature a 4-inch, 800-by-400-pixel touch screen and a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
processor.
Acer, which spilled minimal details about its Liquid
smartphone, is also said to pair the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with the
Android OS. HTC's HD2 smartphone,
however, paired it with Windows 6.5, and Toshiba's Snapdragon-featuring TG01
smartphone also matched it with Windows.
The Xperia 3 is additionally expected to feature an 8-megapixel camera with
flash and video recording, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card expansion
slot and GPS capabilities. It's expected to
be a quad-band GMS phone with dual-band (900/2100) 3G connectivity, as well as
offer support for Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi connectivity.
An Oct. 30 Strategy Analytics report on global mobile handset
shipments in the third quarter of 2009 found a stumbling Sony Ericsson placing
fourth in market share, with shipments falling 45 percent, compared with the
third quarter of 2008. Pointing to upcoming devices, however, report author
Neil Mawston was optimistic about the phone maker.
"Operating margin continued its sequential improvement over the 18 percent
loss in the first half of the year, reaching minus 12 percent in the [third
quarter] of 2009, largely as a result of gross margin improvement," wrote
Mawston. "If Sony Ericsson can continue improving at this rate, bolstered by
several promising new devices in [the fourth quarter of 2009], we estimate the
vendor can return to profitability by [the third quarter of] 2010."
On Sept. 2, Sony Ericsson introduced the Xperia 2, which will
run Windows 6.5 and is also expected to arrive in the fourth quarter. The Xperia
2, according to Sony Ericsson, will feature a 3.2-inch touch screen, an
8.1-megapixel camera, a 3D panel for 3D effects and a SlideView feature, which
offers quick access to frequently used features and alerts to calendar
information and incoming e-mails.
Firm details on the Xperia 3, however, will have to wait until Nov. 3.
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