Nice to see FIDO isn't completely left in the mud when it comes to reasonable handsets in Canada -- as a reminder, Rogers, FIDO's parent company, usually enjoys all the glory -- with the launch of the Sony Ericsson Z750i. Nothing new to report here in comparison with AT&T's offering, that is, if you choose to ignore video calling. The Z750i hit FIDO stores near you on Tuesday, prices range from $100 -- with data plan, $200 without -- on a 3 year stretch, $325 on two years, and $400 off contract. Woof Woof.

Enough of these overly pixelated, totally fuzzed-out captures of something supposed to Sony Ericsson's Paris -- we're looking at the real deal now. This definitely sexy slider has somehow fell in front of someone without hands a-shakin', and a smattering of distinct images are waiting just below in the read link. If you just like to be teased, the snapshots show a 5.0-megapixel camera and confirm that the keypad touts a two-character-per-button layout similar to the P1 -- but really, there's nothing like seeing it for yourself.

[Thanks, Kevin]

In a move meant to, uh, distract investors from its announced 48% profit downturn (compared to Q1 of the previous year), Sony Ericsson just announced a pair of mid-range handsets. The Z780 clamshell -- now official -- is the global sister to the announced Z770 for Europe. As such, she comes packing UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100 and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE radios. While it comes loaded with Google Maps for Mobile and aGPS navigation, you won't get much use from it on that itty bitty 128 x 160 pixel display of unknown dimensions. Hell, that bezel chews up an equivalent amount of real estate. The G502 candybar also features Maps but lacks aGPS. No worries for US Americans though as it's likely to stay put in Europe with UMTS/HSDPA 2100 and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 radios. Both will feature M2 memory expansion, Bluetooth, and 2 megapixel cameras when they launch in "selected markets" come Q2. Sorry Sony Ericsson, but we're not seeing a lot here to distract investors (or consumers) for very long. Xperia X1 please?

Update: Sony Ericsson has published conflicting information about the Z780's resolution. It's 2.2-inches and 320 x 240 pixels in the press release but 128 x 160 pixels on the product page.

Read -- Profits
Read -- Phones

Anyone hoping for another UIQ-based superphone can avert their eyes right now, but otherwise, hold on -- Sony Ericsson might just be onto something with its upcoming G502. The sleek black candybar should freshen the dead center of SE's lineup with a QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, HSDPA, Memory Stick M2-expandable storage, and the NetFront browser that's become a hallmark of Sony Ericsson's better non-smartphone devices. Rumor has it it'll get official on the 24th -- just two short days from now -- so get your popcorn ready, or whatever it is that you and your family do when you're gathering around the computer in anticipation of a new handset announcement.

Sony Ericsson's leaky enough so that we've had no problem believing that the BeiBei is dead real, but as we've seen with the M610i, a very real and very well-developed Sony Ericsson prototype by no means guarantees a release. That being said, we're starting to get pumped that this one might live long enough to see a store shelf or two -- particularly considering that it's said to rock UIQ 3.3 and looks a heck of a lot better now in its dark, handsome color scheme that the last time we saw it. So, anyone want to get a launch date pool going? This quarter? Next? 2009?

[Via Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog]

Man, if this phone turns out to be real, we can only imagine the cringes on the faces of Sony Ericsson execs knowing that its precious new UIQ superphone is in the process of being scooped in the most excruciatingly long, drawn-out process imaginable. The "Paris" is making yet another appearance over on se-nse, this time slid open to reveal a sliver of its QWERTY keyboard. It uses the same operating principle as the P1 and the M600, with two letters assigned to each side of each button; on the Paris, the buttons appear to be half black and half white. Could be hot, could be shockingly ugly, but we really won't know until Sony Ericsson's willing to either debunk this whole charade or give us some actual press shots.

Update: Yep, they're all black; light is reflecting off one side of the concave buttons. How boring!

Okay, seriously, Sony Ericsson, it seems pretty clear-cut that your closely held secrets have leaked out into the public domain here -- either that, or there's a pretty extensive conspiracy in the user community to fleece everyone with similar-looking fake shots -- and either way, it's about time you step forward and clear the air. This here is the latest shot of the so-called Paris that's floating around the interwebs, and while the screen looks more fake than ever, the phone itself matches up nicely with what we've seen before. With UIQ 3.3 in the cards, this could be the phone that finally takes the "other" Symbian platform from niche to glamor and glory, but only if the mothership can get it released in a timely fashion. That's you, Sony Ericsson, so get to it.

se-nse is spilling some more beans on its supposed leak of the P5 "Paris" smartphone, and put simply, UIQ fans are (or should be) salivating uncontrollably right now. And when we say "salivating uncontrollably," we mean like to the point that they're unable to present themselves in social situations because there's just this really disgusting stream of spittle constantly flowing out of their mouths. Got that visual? Okay, now check it: the blog is reporting that the Paris will sport a touchscreen display (capacitive, it seems), a semi-QWERTY keypad in the same vein as the M600 and P1, WiFi, 3G (maybe in a global flavor for once?), GPS, and preinstalled Google Maps, all sitting atop UIQ 3.3. If this is real, it gives the XPERIA X1 a nice little run for its money atop the Sony Ericsson food chain, does it not?

[Via Slashphone]

The same week that Nokia Siemens Networks unveiled its LTE solution for North America comes a little nugget from Ericsson: the M700. Hailed as the "world's first commercially available LTE-capable platform," it promises peak data transmissions of 100Mbps down and 50Mbps up, which will undoubtedly be the next best thing since sliced bread. Reportedly, initial devices based on the unit will be ExpressCards, USB modems, etc., and of course, it supports bandwidths between 1.4 and 20MHz and the oh-so-exciting 700MHz bands. Unfortunately, a commercial release isn't set to happen until 2009 -- with products "based on the platform" not scheduled until 2010 -- but to its credit, samples of ASICs will be ready to roll sometime this year.

We're still smarting from the apparent cancelation of the fabulously powerful K850 from AT&T's 2008 lineup, but as consolation prizes go, the Z750a ain't bad. That being said, it's solidly seated in the midrange, which seems like an unusual place for Sony Ericsson's very first carrier-launched 3G handset for the US to be; the 2 megapixel camera isn't going to "wow" anyone, and the choice of colorful, ultra-gloss shells definitely limits the phone's appeal to a certain demographic. On the bright side, the music player has an XMB appeal to it -- users of other recent Sony Ericssons will feel right at home with the app -- and it's one of the better built-in players currently available on any handset. The Memory Stick Micro slot makes that player just a little trickier to use for anyone that isn't already using Sony Ericsson kit, but c'est la vie, we suppose. Check out some shots in our handy dandy gallery here.

It's not a surprise, but it's still overwhelmingly refreshing to see Sony Ericsson finally (and we do mean finally) bringing some 3G action onto AT&T. The "a" variant of the glossy, colorful Z750 clamshell will be hitting AT&T in an official capacity come early April, featuring an OLED external display cleverly concealed by the phone's translucent shell, a 2 megapixel camera and media player both backed up with Memory Stick Micro M2 expansion, stereo Bluetooth, and of course, that lovely HSDPA 850 / 1900 that's eluded Sony Ericsson's AT&T offerings for far, far too long. Look for it to go out the door for $49.99 after a $100 rebate.

Apparently not content to let Nokia Siemens have the upgraded mobile broadband spotlight to itself today, Ericsson has now announced that it's set to demonstrate what it's touting as the "world-first end-to-end HSPA Evolution technology" at CTIA next week. That, the company says, should allow for speeds up to an impressive 42 Mbps, a feat made apparently possible by a combination of higher order modulation technology (64QAM) and 2x2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology. As for the actual demonstration, Ericsson is only going so far as to say that it'll be conducted with an unspecified "handheld form-factor device" that's based on the Ericsson Mobile Platforms access technology. Other details are unsurprisingly pretty light at the moment, but we're betting Ericsson will have plenty more to say about it when they actually light things up at CTIA.