Sony Ericsson outs CNN, Skype, Mytopia panels for XPERIA X1

Sony Ericsson's Panels interface hasn't taken off the way HTC's TouchFLO 3D has, but it's still a nice way to momentarily forget that you're being forced to use windows Mobile 6.1. At any rate, those who plunked down some eight bills to procure an XPERIA X1 should probably give this a look, as SE has just unveiled the latest Panels for its first (and likely last) HTC-designed smartphone. Available starting in mid-March, users will be able to suck down CNN, Skype, Mytopia and 'On the Road' Panels. For specific details on what each will provide, you know where to head.

• sony Ericsson Idou hands-on and video walkthrough
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Sony Ericsson Idou hands-on and video walkthrough

Sony ericsson launched its 12.1 megapixel Idou at Mobile World Congress yesterday evening, and while not a finished device, we checked it out anyway. The Idou will eventually roll with the Symbian Foundation's OS, but the version we're seeing here is somewhere in between. The resistive touchscreen (essentially the same as found on the XpressMusic 5800) is immense, glossy, and already brilliant. The transitions and sweeping gestures (check them in the vid) are really responsive and quick, with no real lag. We checked it against its nearest neighbor in the C905 and it is slim in comparison. Top notch stuff, we are anxiously waiting for more. Video and gallery follow.

• Sony Ericsson W995 video hands-on

Sony Ericsson W995 video hands-on

So it's not totally clear to us why you'd wait for this thing over a C905 that you could buy today, but once again, that's the confusion behind sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot / Walkman branding that they're claiming they hope to clear up going forward -- it's just that the W995 isn't really a step in that direction, and we weren't huge fans of the chicklet-sized nav keys up front. That being said, it seems like a fine phone overall -- the display looks crisp and vivid, the interface was relatively snappy, and there's little to complain about having an 8.1 megapixel autofocus cam at your disposal. Click on for a quick shot at the UI in action!

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Sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot C903 spotted in all three colors

Sony Ericsson's no longer playing hide-and-seek with its Cyber-shot C903, but we're still pretty stoked to see a few in the wild shots prior to mobile World Congress. pictured above (and in the read link) are all three flavors of SE's forthcoming slider, though it should be noted that these are likely pre-production units. Still, aside from a few minor changes on the real deal (the omission of a front camera, for instance), everything else is there. Is that mouth of yours watering yet?

• Sony ericsson 's W395 Walkman and C903 Cybershot bring more of the same
• sony Ericsson set to launch Hikaru at MWC?

Sony Ericsson mulling production of TD-SCDMA handsets?

Take this one for what it's worth (which ain't much at the moment), but DigiTimes has it that Sony Ericsson is considering producing TD-SCDMA handsets for entry into Chinese markets. Granted, you can already find yourself a few SE knockoffs in that section of the globe, but we're guessing the company is looking to actually profit off of the phones sold in the aforementioned nation. We're told that Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO of Ericsson, has indicated that T3G technology could be tapped to provide the TD-SCDMA solutions, and given that China will soon have gobs of 3G capabilities, the timing here makes sense. Potentially more interesting would be SE's choice of handset for the Chinese market -- will we finally see the company work some low-end magic now that the economy is strained? Give it a shot, SE, it's not like you've really got anything else left to lose.

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Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cybershot bring more of the same

In the run-up to Mobile World Congress we've been treated to a windfall of hot new phones and technologies. Then there's Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cyber-shot. The W395 is a new Walkman slider with built-in stereo speakers meant for the "youth" market, a market that seemingly hates 3G or storage since the quad-band GSM/EDGE device ships with a measly 1GB memory card. It will, however, be affordable and feature a 2 megapixel camera when it ships in Q1. The C903 Cyber-shot slider already spotted around here a few times brings a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with sliding lens cover as we've seen -- give the cover a slide and this cameraphone's ready for duty. The camera features face detection and a Smile Shutter mode that automatically snaps the shutter when a happy face is detected. It also packs a 2.4-inch display, Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot and, get this... it'll even make phone calls. This worldphone rides quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE for 10 hours of talk or 400 hours of standby with UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 (or 850/1900/2100 in the C903a configuration) frequencies bringing the 3G sometime in Q2. Beautiful devices for what they are -- guess we're just spoiled by all the MWC goods expected in Barcelona from RIM, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Acer, Android, Palm, Microsoft... you get the idea.
Update: Details on a 5 megapixel C901 candybar were also released sans the Cyber-shot branding and any fanfare even though it's similarly spec'd to the C903.

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Sony Ericsson set to launch Hikaru at MWC?

Sony ericsson leaked another stellar looking phone today in the form of the slider pictured above, apparently codenamed Hikaru. As with all these early treats, specs are thin, but we do know if has an 8 megapixel camera, 2.6-inch screen, WiFi, AGPS, some type of kickstand -- a la Nokia N96 -- and a 3.5mm headphone jack! Yeah, really, a first in a Walkman set. What else can we tell ya? Nothing, though, we should all know soon enough if this pans out as real and is indeed set for release at Mobile World Congress next week.

• Evil WAP Push messages can reboot some Sony Ericsson handsets?
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Evil WAP Push messages can reboot some Sony Ericsson handsets?

Some modern phones do a pretty good job of rebooting at random on their own without additional assistance from miscreants, but unfortunately, the real world is filled with people who'd like to make your gadgets just a little bit buggier than they already are. Enter this nifty little vulnerability recently discovered to affect a good number of sony Ericsson models, involving a specially crafted WAP Push message carried via SMS that'll instantly restart the phone. That's not the best part, though -- in theory, an attacker could send you a string of these bad boys that would get queued up by your carrier, so the second the phone comes back online, it gets the next message and restarts once again -- potentially leading to a long, painful spell without a usable handset. Apparently, there isn't any known fix for this, so if you're carrying one of the affected models, just stay on the good side of any evil-doers you happen to know for now, okay? Follow the break for a video of the restarts in action (we understand the outgoing calls are just to demonstrate that the attack can be initiated at any time, though we can't say for sure).

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