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.