According to a tip sent in to MobileSyrup, Canadian Xperia X10 owners are soon to receive the Android 2.1 update for their Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 handsets. The tipster has said that the update would be available from November 8th onwards, although as of yet there’s no sign of it.

Sony Ericsson Canada have also said that the update will be coming this month, although haven’t given any specific dates. Within the past few days however, the response from the Sony Ericsson Canada Twitter team is that, while they can’t provide a specific date, it is “very close”, so hopefully the update should be released over the next few days.

After almost a week of the initial released on Android 2.1 for Sony Ericsson’s first Android powered handset, the Xperia X10, the update has now been released in the UK. The update was plagued with delays from Sony Ericsson generally and again in the UK after Android 2.1 was released in the Nordic market for the X10. The reasoning behind the delay in the UK was due to UK laws and regulations and the update not being approved.

The update has now passed approval in the UK and been released for Xperia X10 handsets. The update for the X10 Mini and Mini Pro haven’t been rolled out at the same time and instead will roll out shortly after, hopefully before next week. Likewise, the update is only available for unbranded handsets at the moment in the UK. Owners of network branded handsets will have to wait until their operator releases the update for the handset after adding their apps to it.

via

Despite previous claims from the Sony Ericsson UK staff, mainly via their Twitter page, folks in the UK did not receive the Android 2.1 update before the end of October. Only the Nordic market saw the update on Sunday. Since then, Russia, Indonesia, many African countries and Singapore have also all seen the Android 2.1 update reach their Xperia X10 phones. Unfortunately the UK is still waiting and it may be a few more days before the update is released.

On the Sony Ericsson UK Twitter page, they’ve apologized for the delays and say the update should be with UK X10 owners within the next few days. However a later Tweet also says that they will have more information in a few days, so it may even be the second week of November when the UK get the Android 2.1 update. It’s also likely that this will only be available to unbranded handsets and network branded handset owners may have to wait even longer. This however is the case for most markets.

After months of waiting and various delays, Sony Ericsson have put a firm date down for the release of the Android 2.1 update. We’ve previously heard that the update will be rolled out in kits, where a kit configuration depends on your handset configuration. For example, the color and bundled accessories with your handset can have an impact on which kit you’ll have but, most importantly the regional settings are the main reasons for a different kit set. The first market/kit to be rolled out will be to those with Nordic X10 handsets. The update will begin from the evening of October 21st, European time. Other kits will be rolled out on Monday and throughout November. As of yet though, we don’t know what order the kits will be rolled out, or for which countries.

It’s also noted that the kits being rolled out are generic kits, so will apply to non branded handsets. Network branded handsets may have an additional delay, which we’ve already seen in the UK with O2 and the R2BA026 Sony Ericsson firmware update.

via

Things certainly seem to be on track for Android 2.1 being released from the end of this week. The latest Android 2.1 update news for Xperia X10 owners, including Mini and Mini Pro owners, is that Sony Ericsson have listed the X10 Mini as now having 2.1. From the Sony Ericsson website, selecting the X10 Mini takes you to the X10 Mini page and above the specifications and information, there’s a flash video. In the first section of the video towards the end it reads “Our smallest touchscreen slider yet. Now with Android 2.1″. While an update doesn’t seem to have been released yet hopefully this means that by the time a handset is shipped out it will have Android 2.1 preloaded and exisiting X10 Mini owners will have the update. Hopefully X10 and X10 Mini Pro owners will also get the update at the same time.

At the moment, on the Sony Ericsson website, the X10 Mini Pro page hasn’t been updated to include information about Android 2.1. Where as the X10 page doesn’t appear to be working correctly at all, instead the flash video shows you the X10 Mini information.

Source: SE-Xperia

It may be Wednesday but, there doesn’t appear to be a Winning Wednesdays competition from Sony Ericsson this week. Hope is not lost though as they have another competition open. This time it’s for an Xperia X10 Mini. As before the competition is held through Facebook, although not sponsored or endorsed by Facebook. As always you’ll need to enter some personal info so they can contact you if you win. You’ll also need to answer one question, which isn’t as simple or as easy as previous competitions. Although if you’re really stuck, they suggest visiting the WTA page for the answer. You may have to sift through some posts to find the answer though.

This time the question is asking for who won the women’s tennis singles final, at the US Open in 2010. Even if you don’t know, you have a choice of three answers: Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters or Maria Sharapova, as well as the above tip to help you choose the right answer. You have until October 11th to enter.

Since the delay of Android 2.1 for the Xperia family, a lot of questions have been raised. Many of which had previously been asked but, with the delay had become top Xperia questions again. While Rikard Skogberg did his best to answer them, this still left many users disappointed. Sony Ericsson Brazil have provided a question and answer page about the Android updates for the Xperia range.

The first question on everyone’s lips is of course, when will Android 2.1 be released? Sony Ericsson Brazil have said that the update will be out early November for unbranded handsets. For operator branded handsets though, the release should be late November. They go on to say the Android 2.1 update is for the X10, X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro, with no mention of the Xperia X8. They are also working with their partners to get phones purchased after the Android update release date to feature 2.1 but, some handsets may still need to be updated. Where as any Xperia phones manufactured after it’s been released will of course have 2.1 on.

With regards as to why the update took so long, Sony Ericsson Brazil replied with:

2010 has been a year of intense transition for Sony Ericsson. 2010 Has Been a year of intense transition for Sony Ericsson. The process took a little longer than the competition because we improved our version of Android. The process took a little longer than the competition because we improved our version of Android. Now that we are on track and the process was completed, we will move forward. Now That we are on track and the process was completed, We Will move forward.

The update to version 2.1 with all the customization it offers, it takes the user experience to levels much better than what is currently available in the market. The update to version 2.1 with all the customization it Offers, it takes the user experience to levels much better than what is Currently available in the market.

This of course led to questions as to why the company don’t just release Android 2.2 instead. What it seems to come down to though, is that Sony Ericsson want to integrate Android 2.2 into their handsets, as best they can and to continue the Sony Ericsson experience, which includes Timescape, Mediascape, Moxier etc. Android is at the heart of their portfolio though for 2010 and 2011. Once again, 2.2 for the Xperia X10 hasn’t been confirmed but, it’s the most promising information we’ve heard.

The page also confirms what improvements will be made with the 2.1 update. For the Xperia X10, 720p HD video recording will become possible and there will be 5 homescreens instead of the current 5. For the X10 Mini and Mini Pro, the bluetooth support will be improved, which hopefully means there won’t be a need for third party apps to transfer files. The update list also goes on to say that both the X10 and the Mini’s will be able to sync contacts photos with Facebook contacts. Presumably this means once your contact is linked to a Facebook account, the Facebook photo will be associated with the contact, instead of needing to add a separate photo, something which X10 owners have been asking for since release.

One other thing to note is that while we’ve been told before that the Xperia X10 does not support multi touch, Sony Ericsson Brazil have not said this when the issue came up. Instead they’ve said there’s no plans to include it.

via

Sony Ericsson are to release the popular Xperia X10 Mini in three new colors. All three models will keep the same black face, where as the backs will offer a choice of three new colors, pink, blue and gold. The X10 Mini already has a pink back but, it is more of a gradient with white and is often described as the pink/white X10 Mini. The new pink back however is completely pink and slightly metallic looking. If pink isn’t your thing though, Sony Ericsson will also be releasing the handset in an cool Azur Blue.

To add a bit more class to your phone though, there’s also an option of the gold model. Again this is just the back which has been turned gold, the front remains black, to some extent anyway. While the other two models remain the same as models already released, the gold version will also come with gold buttons. There isn’t any information on when the new colors will be released though.

via

I’m sure it will come as no surprise to many that the official Sony Ericsson blog post concerning the Android 2.1 delay has received hundreds of comments, over a 1000 in fact. Not all are from angry customers though, some are from Rikard Skogberg who is the Nordic Product Marketing Manager and he has tried to calm things down and answered many of the questions on the blog. How calming his responses will be to some though, remains to be seen.

The folks at XperiaX10 have compiled a list of the additional points regarding the delay, along with other interesting tidbits. A full list of what XperiaX10 have noted can be found after the jump.

In summary however, Skogberg admits that he knows the company failed, especially in regards to their planned timings. He also knows they have issues, which is why they had to delay the release. Because of the delay, the second part of the 2.1 update (2.1x) will also be delayed, meaning we won’t see it till 2011. When the update is released, it appears that it won’t include Arabic letters, nor does it appear that there will be an update for the camera flash. With regards to the in call volume, nothing has been mentioned surrounding this.

Skogberg also went on to say that there are no plans committed for 16m colors, multi-touch or Adobe Flash. The possibility of Android 2.2 on the Xperia range also hasn’t been ruled in but, it also hasn’t been ruled out, so there is still some hope that we may see Froyo on the Xperia X10.

With regards to the Xperia X8, it will receive the same Android updates as the X10 Mini and Mini Pro. However the updates will come later but, still within 2010. The X8 should also be released in the next two weeks.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the main reasons consumers have been wanting Sony Ericsson to update the Xperia range of handsets with Android 2.2, is due to the flash support. Many wanted the company to skip Android 2.1 and move directly to 2.2 as it brings more features. One of these features being flash support, in the form of the Adobe Flash Player application from the Market. Unfortunately, due to the lack of multi touch, flash will not be supported on the Xperia X10. This was revealed in a new white paper from the company.

The same white paper, also says that the display for the X10 will remain at 65,536 colors after the device is updated to Android 2.1. 16m color support may however be included in the Android 2.1x update but, it’s not known for now. Ironically though the Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro both have 16m color displays.