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]

Ahead of CTIA -- and ahead of a possible Windows Mobile 6.1 announcement -- UIQ Technology has announced that UIQ 3.3, based on a Symbian 9.3 foundation, is now available to manufacturers. It's not a revolutionary build by any stretch of the imagination; in fact, the firm itself says that it includes "incremental enhancements" designed to keep up with changing requirements in the marketplace. Headlining features include Opera 9.5, support for Opera Widgets (widgets do seem to be the rage in mobile these days), and a dedicated widget "dashboard" for managing the little bits and pieces of content the user is tracking. The 3.3 SDK is already available, so with any luck, we should see devices in the marketplace before the century's out.

The Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog is reporting that Sony Ericsson's rather stellar showing at Mobile World Congress isn't quite over yet. As you might recall, the joint venture owns UIQ, so it would make some good sense that it'd save a couple surprises for UIQ's MWC press conference, which doesn't go down until the tail end of the show on Wednesday. One of those surprises might just be this, a UIQ-powered candybar going by the codename "BeiBei" that features a dizzying (and frankly, nonsensical) array of navigation buttons and a fairly buttoned-up appearance that should appeal to businessfolk. Another possible UIQ debut is said to be "Paris," a higher end device. If this all pans out, it was rather brilliant of Sony Ericsson to let the X1 fervor calm down before launching another volley, wasn't it?

The Z10's fresh out of the gate, but it probably serves Motorola well to be thinking well, well ahead -- like 5 megapixels worth of ahead, for example. The so-called Z12 "Skarven" has been rumored for a few months now, and this fairly legit looking shot claims to have a wide swath of the Z series lined up for a family portrait: Z8, Z10, and Z12, from left to right. It allegedly runs UIQ (much like the two kick sliders before it) appears to feature some touch sensitive controls up front, and should feature the aforementioned high-end cam, integrated GPS, and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom flat for all we know. With any luck, we might find out a thing or two at MWC in a few days.

Pay close attention here -- odds are this is as close as you'll ever get to the mythical M610i from Sony Ericsson. For most of us, that's just fine, but for others, this could be a pretty heart-wrenching 9 minutes and 28 seconds as our Polish reviewer takes us through a painstakingly detailed rundown of the stillborn UIQ handset's hardware and software. The video's host takes note that the phone features WiFi, an Opera-based browser (labeled as "experimental" but flawless in real-world use), a 208MHz processor, 128MB of RAM along with about 181MB of user storage, and Bluetooth; what the phone doesn't feature is a camera, and that's what would've made the device a potentially compelling choice for buttoned-up business types that can't have a cameraphone (read: P1i) on the premises. Keep your chins up, though, UIQ faithful -- this thing's so stale at this point that we've gotta believe there's already something better in the pipe.

[Via My-Symbian.com]

Originally rumored for an announcement as early as tomorrow, icaka over on Esato's forums is now reporting that Sony Ericsson's new be-all, end-all superphone -- the so-called P5i -- has been sent back to the shop for retooling and won't make a public debut until May or June of next year. While it could be argued that the P1i is hot (or at least warm) off the factory line, a top-5 phone manufacturer certainly can't rest on its laurels -- and if the listed specs here are even close to accurate, they're staying up on their game: think 2.8 inch VGA display, integrated GPS, WiFi, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, HSUPA (yes, UPA, not DPA), and 128MB of RAM on board. Even better, it'll all be packed into a slim, light slider form factor that allegedly looks something like this concept art. Sounds just a smidge too good to be true, we know. Then again, by the time mid 2008 rolls around, is there any line item here that shouldn't be standard fare on a high end handset? Here's hoping!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Palm's not the only company that isn't afraid to speak out on the Open Handset Alliance. Nokia, Microsoft and Symbian made it most clear today that they don't perceive danger from the new initiative and corresponding Android OS, with Nokia stating it quite bluntly: "We don't see this as a threat." Microsoft was a bit more on the defensive. "It really sounds that they are getting a whole bunch of people together to build a phone and that's something we've been doing for five years," said Scott Horn, from Microsoft's Windows Mobile marketing team. "I don't understand the impact that they are going to have." The Symbian folks stated the obvious: "If Google was not involved the industry would have just yawned and rolled over," said John Forsyth of Symbian. "We take it seriously but we are the ones with real phones, real phone platforms and a wealth of volume built up over years." UIQ was a bit more optimistic about the OHA, saying that "Generally, it's positive for the industry." Apple wasn't as commital either way. "We have a great relationship with Google and this doesn't change anything," said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. "They are certainly an important partner for iPhone."

Somewhere below the mighty P1i in Sony Ericsson's UIQ-based smartphone lineup lies the M600, a phone that introduced the world to one of the most bizarre QWERTY keypad styles we've ever seen -- a style Sony Ericsson continues to sporadically use today. Thing is, the M600's getting awfully long in the tooth, and we've been waiting on the long-rumored (and FCC-confirmed) M610 for a long freakin' time now. It may still be getting tweaked deep within Sony Ericsson's labs, but at least one prototype example has strayed far enough from home to find itself listed on eBay's German site. Bearing the trademark "SE123" found on prerelease Sony Ericssons, the thing certainly looks legit -- though we're not really convinced it looks better than the M600 it's destined to replace. Then again, maybe that's why it hasn't been announced yet.

[Via Unwired View]

Nokia and Sony Ericsson are typically considered Symbian's two patron saints, but little ol' Motorola's got skin in the game too with the Z8 in the marketplace and the Z10 just around the corner. Moto's been warming up to UIQ, the Symbian shell favored by Sony Ericsson -- problem is, Sony Ericsson owns 100 percent of the platform company, which we presume makes for some awkward conversations between UIQ and Moto about the manufacturer's future products (seriously, would you want to share your most closely guarded secrets with a competitor's division?). It's all good, though: Moto's agreed to take 50 percent of UIQ off Sony Ericsson's hands, with both companies saying that they'll be working together in the future to push UIQ and its development platform. Of course, Motorola's commitment to Windows Mobile still seems plenty strong, but we're all for smartphone diversity.

Believe it or not, Sony Ericsson's P1i has one of the richest, most storied family trees in the smartphone world. Technically, it could be said that the phone can trace its roots all the way back to Psion's EPOC-based organizers, but more practically, the P1i is a direct descendent of the R380, the first Symbian-powered phone and a device that made more than a few jaws drop with its versatile design and expansive touchscreen. What's our point? Simply that this brushed metal-clad beast has some work to do to live up to its ancestry, lest a few P800s start rolling in their graves -- and with WiFi, a 3.2 megapixel cam, and UIQ 3, it seems equipped for the job. Read on for our quick take!

Thanks to the good folks at Wireless Imports for the hookup!

With six handsets, three new Bluetooth watches, and an array of new accessories and peripherals, Sony Ericsson went for broke with today's announcement (heck, we'd go so far to say that they should've teased even a little more than they did). Obviously that's a lot to digest, so we wanted to zoom in on the W910 and W950 -- the company's newest and fanciest Walkman-branded units -- and take a look at just what it is that sets them apart. Read on for details.

Yeah, the new batch of watches is pretty cool, but let's be honest -- at the end of the day, the handsets themselves are the real deal, and Sony Ericsson didn't disappoint with today's reveals. The Gracenote slip-up outed the three hottest of the bunch, the K850, W910, and W960. The K850 is the follow-on to the lauded K790 / K800 with a 5 megapixel cam, NetFront browser, and tri-band HSDPA (North American bands mercifully included) and quadband GSM plus EDGE. The W910 and W960 are beasts of Walkman phones, offering 3G data, 2 megapixel and 3.2 megapixel cams respectively, and -- in the case of the W960 -- UIQ 3.1 and a full 8GB of onboard storage. Also-rans in today's lineup include the not-for-US-consumption K530, a 14mm 3G candybar, and the low-end Z250 and Z320 flips. Look for 'em all in the second half of the year.



Read - Z320 and K850
Read - W910 and W960
Read - K530
Read - Z250