It seems Sony Ericsson isn’t having too much luck with O2 in the UK. First O2 announced that they were delaying the Xperia Play as they found significant issues with the phone that hindered the user experience. At the time, there was no information on the Xperia Arc being delayed but, that also wasn’t released at the same time as other network carriers released the handset. Only in the past week or so have O2 made the Arc available to buy. Whether any of those orders were fulfilled or not however, remains to be seen.

Up until earlier today, the O2 store still said you could purchase the Xperia Arc and indicated that it was in stock, however O2 admitted that they didn’t have any stock in and were aware that the website did not reflect this. Instead of amending the site to show the handset as being out of stock or similar, the page for the Xperia Arc has been removed entirely. Upon browsing the O2 store, the Arc is listed on the first page but, following this link takes you to a “We’re sorry, but the phone you selected does not exist on the O2 shop” page and suggests looking for another phone, or that the page address may be wrong. Looking through phones available the Arc cannot be seen here either.

SE-Xperia also revealed that while talking to several stores, some said they may get stock in next week but, interestingly two of the stores said they wouldn’t have it for a few weeks, as further testing needed to be done on the handset. Some could assume the sales team got confused with the Play but, after the Arc being removed from the O2 site it seems that O2 could indeed be testing the Arc further.

Those who pre-ordered the Xperia Arc or Play on Vodafone will, unfortunately have to wait a bit longer till they get their hands on Sony Ericsson’s latest handsets it seems. Vodafone have announced that they are experiencing stock issues with both the Xperia Arc and Xperia Play. Sony Ericsson were unable to meet the demand for the devices due to freight issues and so they are working with Vodafone to ensure handsets are delivered as soon as possible. A specific timescale is as of yet unknown though.

Likewise, Three are also experiencing the same issues, with the Xperia Play at least. The earliest expected delivery date for the Xperia Play with Three is Friday 15th April, although this has already changed from April 8th.

O2 on the other hand, haven’t announced any problems with stock but, are delaying the handset. According to the O2 blog, while testing the handset, they’ve found several bugs in the software which affect the Xperia Play’s usability as both a gaming device and as a phone. O2 are the only network to have suggested there are problems with the software, leading many to believe it may be down to O2′s own firmware on top of the Sony Ericsson firmware.

Despite the handsets not being available through Vodafone or Three, many customers have managed to still acquire the Play or Arc  through third party retailers such as Phones4U or Carphone warehouse, who have some handsets in stock. The stock given to Phones4U and Carphone Warehouse is unbranded so for those who can’t wait to get their hands on Sony Ericsson’s next Xperia handsets, may be better off going through a third party retailer any way, as network branded handsets have had their problems in the past, specifically with Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10 and it’s software updates.

While Sony Ericsson have confirmed that their gaming handset, the Xperia Play will be available in both black and white, most retailers are only showing the Xperia Play in black. In the UK we can confirm that if you are after the white version, the white Xperia Play is an exclusive to O2, so you’ll need to purchase the handset from them.

O2 haven’t provided any pricing information or tariff info, so it’s unknown whether O2 will be charging extra for the exclusive white model or not. This is unlikely but, is a possibility.

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One UK network has confirmed that they will be stocking the recently announced Xperia Arc by Sony Ericsson when it launches in the UK. O2 have added the handset to their line of coming soon range and lists an April release date. Pricing is currently unknown but, it’s likely to be free on contracts above £35 a month, lasting 24 months.

Hopefully O2 will release the handset unbranded, as many O2 users felt disappointed with the way O2 dealt with updates released from Sony Ericsson, including the Android 2.1 update on the X10. O2 themselves had to approve the update, which led to X10 owners with O2 branded handsets, the last to receive the Android 2.1 update in the UK. Or if they do decide to the Xperia Arc with their own firmware, they are much quicker to release any updates Sony Ericsson provide for the Arc.

If you’re a fan of Tescos clubcard points and are looking to get hold of Sony Ericsson’s latest Xperia handset, it could be worth taking a look at Tesco online before you spend your cash elsewhere. The Xperia X8 is the same price on Tesco as it is elsewhere in the UK, so retails for £130. As we’ve just learned, the handset is an O2 exclusive, so the model available through Tesco is of course on the O2 network.

Buying online has a slight advantage over buying elsewhere, or even in store. Until October 12th there is a promotional code which will give customers an extra 500 Clubcard points. Which for Tesco Clubcard users could come in very handy. The only downside of buying online is waiting an extra day or two before you can play with your shiny new handset. Tesco do promise next day delivery if ordered before 12pm though. If this offer is of interest to you, or you can’t find the handset elsewhere, the code to receive the extra 500 points is “TDX-AWCK” and you can order the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 from Tesco here.

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According to the latest O2 catalogue, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 handset will be an O2 exclusive release in the UK market.

The X8 is advertised for sale in the October 2010 edition of the O2 sales brochure at a cost of £129.99 plus £10 airtime top-up charge on the network as a Pay as You Go handset. O2 have then gone on to claim that the X8 smartphone handset is “Only on O2″ which looks set to be a great exclusivity deal for the UK carrier as the Xperia X8 should prove very popular with consumers due to it’s fairly low price and it’s not too shabby list of specifications for such a low price.

O2 also advise in the catalogue that customers wishing to enter into a monthly contract for the X8 handset should enquire within O2 stores regarding the deals on offer.

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The Xperia X8 has been spotted on one UK retailer’s website. Woolworths are showing the Xperia X8 for order. Initially there was a 3 week wait for delivery, the current message however states delivery is due within 7 days. Woolworths is part of the Home Shopping Limited group, so the handset appears on sister sites such as Additions, Very, First etc. All websites state the same delivery time and price. The handset is listed for £129 and comes on the O2 network. It doesn’t say what color backs it comes with but, does show the pink back plate.

The pricing should be inline with other retailers, if not cheaper as has been the case for the Shop Direct group with the X10 Mini and Mini Pro. If you’re not already a customer of Woolworths, or one of the other sites, there is often a 10% off discount code, which would reduce the handset cost even more.

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Following on from the official announcement of the Xperia X8 release, O2 have now announced that their new addition to the Xperia handset line up will be released in the UK this coming September.

The Xperia X8 is listed as ‘Coming Soon: September’ on the O2 website which is great news for those of us that are waiting impatiently for the X8′s release. The exact date in September is still unconfirmed however.

Features include:

3″ Touchscreen
Google Android OS
3.2MP Camera
Timescape and Mediascape installed

The X8 will also come with exchangeable covers included in the box in white and aqua blue and will feature Google Android 1.6 which should be upgradable around the time of release to either version 2.1 or 2.2, whichever Sony Ericsson decide to release first to update their current range of Android powered handsets.

While the firmware update which improves the battery life among other things has been released to most markets now, X10 users in the UK who have an O2 branded handset are still awaiting the update. The firmware is available in several variants through out the world, starting from R2BA020 going up to R2BA024. The last digit is dependent on region and carrier. In the UK generic handsets have R2BA020 as does the T-Mobile update, while Vodafone branded handsets are given R2BA024. In India users are being updated to R2BA023. At least two networks are still awaiting the update, Three UK and O2 UK. One member of the Android Forums went as far as emailing Sony Ericsson, to ask where the update was for O2 X10 users. In the response, the Sony Ericsson rep suggested other ways to improve the battery life but, spoke specifically of the situation with O2. At the moment, Sony Ericsson are still waiting for O2 to approve the firmware version for release through the Sony Ericsson Update Service. Unfortunately no time scale is known but, the rep went on to say, as soon as the approval has been received from O2, they will release the update.

Have you updated your firmware yet, or are you still waiting for your carrier to approve the update? Let us know in the comments.

While Vodafone and O2 can’t offer the Xperia X10 Mini in lime green, they are however offering the handset up for free. Neither the Vodafone or O2 website state which color X10 they have in stock but, it appears to be the basic black model. Both networks are offering the handset up for free on 18 or 24 month contracts from as little as £20 a month. The other major UK network T-Mobile is yet to offer the handset and there’s no mention on their website of the X10 Mini. They do however have the X10 Mini Pro listed, which is set for a July release. While there’s no sign of the QWERTY-less Mini X10 on T-Mobile, the other networks don’t have any information regarding the X10 Mini Pro, so it looks like the X10 Mini Pro, could be a T-Mobile exclusive.

If however you were after the X10 Mini on T-Mobile, all is not lost. Third party retailers, such as Mobiles.co.uk have the handsets in stock and they dispatch unlocked handsets, with the X10 Mini being no exception. Because of this, they can offer the handset on the networks it is available on, along with T-Mobile and Three.

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