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.