Sony Xperia X10 Users Finally Get to Taste an Old Eclair, Android 2.1

Consumers spent Tuesday morning bashing Sony Ericsson and AT&T for announcing today that it has begun upgrading Xperia X10 phones to Android 2.1, or "Eclair"�the version of Android launched in January 2010.

"WOW!!! And you guys are actually excited to announce this. SE has just lost the plot," wrote one user at Sony Ericsson's blog.

On Tuesday, Sony Ericsson announced the manual update to Android 2.1 in a blog post: "We couldn't be more excited to bring you the news we have for you today. After much hard-work, we are happy to announce that the Android 2.1 upgrade will be available for AT&T XperiaTM X10 customers in the US starting Tuesday, May 31. We can't thank you enough for your patience."

The announcement was met with more sarcasm than the usual tech post, with responses like "Thats great news...everybody open up a bottle of campaign (sic) and lets celebrate this!!se you are a joke!!and a bad one!!" and "No wonder why sony always get hacked, good luck with this."

Xperia X10 users in the U.S. have reason to be annoyed. Android 2.1 is a minor platform update that Google launched in January 2010. The update gives Xperia X10 devices 720p HD video capture, multi-touch support, continuous autofocus on the camera, face detection during video capture, and expanded homescreen support. Click here to download instructions for manually upgrading your phone.

Sony Ericsson can't be blamed entirely for the holdup. In fact, it first announced the upgrade last November for users in Europe and Australia. AT&T had "no comment" on the U.S. delay.

According to Android Developers' May stats, only 24.5 percent of all smartphones still run Android 2.1, a vast improvement from last November when the figure was 77 percent. Since then 70.2 percent of all smartphones have been upgraded to Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above.

In the U.S., the Xperia X10 series launched in August through AT&T and with an outdated version of Android, 1.6.

PCmag

New Sony Vaio F, S series laptops go upscale

Sony laptops generally tend to be particularly good at being two things: big, high-end media experiences, and small, slim executive powerhouses. The new Vaio F and S series laptops, announced today, offer a bit of both for laptop shoppers willing to spend over $1,000.

The 13.3-inch Sony Vaio S series is only .95 inch thick, and also relatively light: just 3.6 pounds, despite having an optical drive. The closest equivalent we can think of is the Toshiba Portege R835. Unlike the Portege, the Vaio S has a higher-resolution display--1,600x900 pixels--and optional discrete graphics. The Vaio S comes with a second-gen Intel Core i7 CPU and optional AMD Radeon HD 6630 Hybrid graphics, and a wide variety of high-end features such as optional Blu-ray, a backlit keyboard, and a face-tracking low-light Exmor-sensor Web camera.

Meanwhile, the new Vaio F series laptop is a super-size beast that probably won't stray far from your desk. A 16.4-inch, 1080p, 1,920x1,080 display, 3D front-surround Dolby Home Theater speakers, a Blu-ray optical drive, Nvidia GeForce GT 540M or 520M graphics, and the same high-end Exmor-sensor Web camera are part of an attractive package that includes a quad-core second-gen Intel Core i7 CPU.

The look is similar to the new F series laptops we first saw at CES 2011, but at least this 3D-free version costs less than the 3D Vaio F.

The Vaio S series starts at $1,370, and is available in four colors including the newly added pink and blue. A sheet battery for extra charging costs $150.

The Vaio F series will start at $1,100. Both are currently available for preorder on Sony's Web site. Hopefully, we'll have both in for review soon.

Cnet

T-Mobile releases Samsung Exhibit 4G, Gravity Smart

Just a day after it announced release dates for the HTC Sensation 4G, T-Mobile is back for more Android fun with the new Exhibit 4G and Gravity Smart. Both smartphones carry a budget price tag and will be out in June.

The Exhibit 4G sports a slim candy bar design in violet or black. The touch screen takes up most of the real estate leaving space below for three touch controls and a physical OK button. You'll use a virtual keyboard with Swype for your typing needs and it all runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Inside you'll find a 1GHz processor, a 3-megapixel camera with a flash, a front-facing VGA shooter for self-portraits and video chat, Wi-Fi calling, a full HTML browser with Flash, a memory card slot, USB tethering, and support for T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. When you're not being productive, you can watch live and on-demand programming from T-Mobile TV, download movies and TV programs from the Samsung Media Hub, and play preinstalled games like Bejeweled 2, Scrabble and Doodle Jump.

The Gravity Smart is the first Android handset in Samsung's Gravity series (previous models like the Gravity T ran Samsung's TouchWiz OS). It offers a slider design with a full QWERTY keyboard hidden behind the front face. The keyboard includes a decent selection of shortcut keys (colored in green) and a convenient space bar. The 3.2-inch touch screen also offers a virtual keybaord with Swype.

Features on the Froyo 2.2 device include a full HTML browser, a 3-megapixel camera with a LED flash, a personal organizer, messaging, e-mail, a music player, the usual Google features, and access to apps through the Android Market.

The Exhibit 4G will be $80 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. The Gravity Smart will sell for $70 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year contract.

Cnet

Motorola Atrix next in line for Gingerbread update?

appears AT&T's Motorola Atrix 4G might be next in line to receive Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Tech site BriefMobile has scored an alleged copy of the update, which claims it's full of new features, including application grouping, downloads management, and a retooled user experience.

According to BriefMobile's information, the revamped user interface feels less like Motoblur and more like the Motorola Droid X's Gingerbread update. Another noteworthy feature is the ability to download apps from outside of the Android Market. As you may know already, AT&T recently changed its stance on this topic, beginning with the Infuse 4G.

BriefMobile anticipates a June or July release for the Atrix update and expects it to have a build number along the lines of 4.5.XX. The AT&T smartphone recently saw an update that enabled support for the HSUPA+ network, but it didn't play nice with select banking apps. For those affected, Motorola has since made a minor update available.

Since we're on the subject of Motorola software updates, readers should be reminded that Verizon's Droid X is now seeing its Gingerbread update. Many of the features here look to similar to those found in the 2.3 that's apparently headed to the Atrix 4G.

Cnet

Sony launches new Walkman B160 series

Sony has launched its Walkman B160 Series MP3 players, which weigh 28g and are less than 10cm long. The Walkman B160 Series features a two-tone finish in a choice of vivid colours.

According to Sony, the Walkman B160 Series delivers big sounds and deep bass notes despite its compact size. If users push the bass button on the MP3 player, it is designed to release more deep notes and also starts a colour matching power illuminator, which pulses in time with the music.

The device is designed to provide 90 minutes of power with just a three minute charge, and when fully charged has approximately 18 hours of play time.

The device can be connected directly to a PC via the player's built-in USB connector and users can drag and drop files or transfer them to the device via Windows Media Player 11/12.

ZAPPIN song search technology is designed to allow users to browse through their music archives via the ZAPPIN button, which activates a short snatch of each track.

The MP3 player also now features a detachable belt clip to allow for easier portability. A new feature, the detachable clip, attaches Walkman to a belt, bag strap or outside the pocket of the shirt or jeans.

The new Walkman NWZ-B160 range of MP3 players is now available in the UAE at all Jumbo Electronics showrooms.

ITP

Unreleased BlackBerry Bold 9790 leaks out

Reality Mirror has leaked images of what it claims to be the RIM Blackberry Bold 9790. The posting indicated the 9790 would run BlackBerry OS 7.0 and come with 8GB internal memory, a QWERTY keyboard, a touchscreen, and offer NFC. No details were provided about the screen size, resolution, or what processor was being used.

The 9700 series was first released in 2009. In 2010 it received a facelift. Since then, RIM has announced the new Bold 9900 series, which should be available later this summer. Given that, it is unclear if the images are those of a future product or a prototype that was ultimately scrapped.

Electronista

Samsung 5-inch Galaxy Player gets $270 Best Buy price leak

Best Buy's mobile app inadvertently gave away possible pricing for the Galaxy Player 5. Also known as the Galaxy S Wi-Fi 5.0 elsewhere, the five-inch, 8GB Android player is shown costing $270. The price puts it well above a similar iPod touch, although it has a much larger display, a higher-resolution three-megapixel camera, real GPS, FM radio, and a microSDHC card slot.

Neither Best Buy nor Samsung has confirmed the pricing. The device's presence would still line up with official plans for a spring launch. Just the 8GB capacity will be available, but a four-inch Galaxy Player 4 is also on tap that should come closer to the $230 mark of the iPod.

Both are effectively versions of the Galaxy S without the phone and share the same version of Android 2.2 with Samsung's TouchWiz interface on top.

Electronista