Previous reports had led experts to believe Sony was planning a device called Kumquat after an apparent roadmap was leaked revealing several names one of which was this. The image that has surfaced however is reported to be the first of the so called device and judging from the photo it appears it is aimed at the mid-range of the market.

While none of the specs have been confirmed officially, from the image we can see that is features a screen with an approximated 3.5” display making it smaller than many of the existing Sony smartphones on the market. Rumors suggest it will also feature a 5 megapixel camera, a 1GHz processor and a screen resolution of 854 x 480. We will have to wait for the official announcement of the device before any more details are revealed.

The news of this device will be disappointing for many fans of the company as many had hoped for a higher-end device instead of another mid-range handset that they continue to churn out. It is also believe that with growing competition from smartphone manufacturers and high standards, patience will be the key to having an impact on the market. This means rather than producing a new smartphone for the sake of it, consumer needs should be more considered and catered for.

Do you agree with this theory? What do you think of the Sony ST25i Kumquat?

The fourth quarter in 2011 showed a 19% decrease from the previous quarter which is why the Thailand floods of October and November are being pointed at as the main cause. They were the worst floods they’d experienced in decades which led to the company’s chain suppliers being hit and component shortages.

Last year the joint efforts of Sony and Ericsson led to a £6.7 million profit, or €8 million, as opposed to the £172.3 million, or €207 million, loss this year. According to the article at Huffington Post, tough competition from market rival companies, particularly Samsung and Apple were also blamed for the losses due their cost restructuring and squeezed margins.

Chief Executive and President of Sony Ericsson, Bert Nordberg had this to say on the matter; ‘Our fourth quarter results reflected intense competition, unfavorable macroeconomic conditions and the effects of a natural disaster in Thailand this quarter.’ Amidst all the bad news that the earnings revealed, some encouraging news emerged as it appears the Android smartphone, the Xperia from 2008, managed to shift 65% more units that the year before.

Sony and Ericsson are set to go their separate ways soon when Ericsson relinquishes its part of the company, resulting in the acquisition of £915.6 million, €1.1 billion for their troubles. February looks to be the month the deal is sealed although some reports say the deal may be completed as soon as later this month. Are you surprised by the earnings that were revealed?

Currently we don’t know anything in regards to release date or pricing, but to be honest with you we’re not surprised as the Xperia S has only just been revealed to the world. A recent article of ours suggests that it will become available SIM-free on March 5 for £467.99 (inc VAT) – therefore this gives us some insight as to when it may hit Three and how much it will cost, but nothings been officially announced just yet.

If our previous post’s information is correct we would be surprised if the Xperia S doesn’t become available from Three in March/April of this year. It’s hard to put an exact price on the smartphone as there are many considerations to take into account, but Three quite often give customers high-end smartphones for free when they agree 24 month contracts costing £30-£35 per month.

You can find out why so many people are excited about the Xperia S by checking out the official website, the 12 megapixel camera, dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.3-inch 720p display and HSPA+ connectivity are just some of the things that caught our eye, however we would prefer it to launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich rather than Android 2.3 Gingerbread (which it currently runs).

Hopefully we will find out more from Three soon, when we do we will be keeping you posted so keep checking Product-Reviews.net for all the latest technology news. Below we have added Three’s promotional video where they roll of a seemingly endless list of desirable specifications – Will you buy a Sony smartphone in 2012? If so, will you choose the Xperia S?

Lots of the specs which the Ion boasts have been seen in previous smartphones, but to see all of these things come together in one device shows us just what we can expect from devices in 2012, also if a smartphone doesn’t meet these specs we question whether it can still be regarded as a high-end device in this day and age. The Ion runs Android and for obvious reasons we can only say this is an archetype for Android smartphones as alternative software platforms can run perfectly on much lower spec hardware.

In 2012 we believe that manufacturers who release high-end Android smartphones should look at the Xperia Ion as a benchmark, it features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 720p display (screen size is not greatly important in our opinion), 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (with support for microSD cards), HDMI-out and a 12.1 megapixel camera which can capture 1080p Full HD video. Obviously WiFi, Bluetooth and some form of 4G connectivity are all essential features these days, also we think that anything under 4-inches in terms of display size wouldn’t work with such a high-resolution panel, but in terms of performance hardware the Xperia Ion has everything an Android smartphone needs in 2012.

The only thing which disappoints us about the Xperia Ion is the software platform, it runs Android 2.3 out-of-the-box and Ice Cream Sandwich has been promised – we would much prefer it to ship with ICS as a fresh new smartphone should boast the latest Android version to kick-start the year – do you agree?

You can see a full breakdown of Xperia Ion tech specs over at SonyEricsson.com, do you think that this should be seen as a benchmark for high-end Android smartphones this year?

The product in question is rumored to be the Xperia Arc HD, an Android powered smartphone equipped with a camera capable of high-definition functionality. Whether the device is in fact the Xperia Arc HD remains to be confirmed. The images were posted on the company’s Facebook page; each is a close-up of the device’s camera features; the video/photo switch button, the micro USB port, the camera lens with HD written below and the camera button.

According to BGR there are a number of other possibilities which the device in the images could be; these include the Nozomi, the Xperia Ion and the LT28at. All of which have been rumored to be making an appearance at the CES this year. The Xperia Ion is a newly registered trademark by the company and the LT28at is the code-name for a smartphone which the company will be launching with AT&T soon.

As the images are all of the devices camera it is safe to assume that it will be packing a fairly impressive one. This also suggests that it is likely to be a 12 megapixel snapper. Other than that the specs of the device are unknown although rumors have pointed to the device featuring a 4.3” display, 1GB RAM and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. As it is also likely to be an Android device we are hoping that whatever it may end up being that it carries the latest version of Google’s OS, Ice Cream Sandwich. All will be revealed at CES next week.

What do you think the device in the images could be?

The company has now detailed its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade plans, and according to SlashGear it will be landing on the Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V, and Xperia ray first. This is expected to begin at the end of March or early April, and although Sony Ericsson has promised to update all of its current model range some devices may have to wait until the middle part of next year for it.

By the end of April or early May the company has said it will start rolling out the new software to the original Xperia arc along with the Xperia mini, Xperia neo, Xperia Play, Xperia active, and the mini Xperia pro. It has also been announced that the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman will also be updated around the same time.

You have to remember though that when the upgrade begins to be rolled out not all users can expect to receive it at the same time. The update will see a staggered rollout with each one taking a number of weeks to complete.

There could also be further delays as individual carriers test the software on their networks before releasing it to their customers. Users can also expect to see Sony Ericsson’s customized interface with the update operating system. By the time many handsets finally receive Android 4.0 we can expect to see a least one more new version by then.

Do you think companies should get their handsets updated quicker after a new Android OS is released?

We first reported about rumors that the Xperia lineup would be tasting Ice Cream Sandwich last month, and now according to The Next Web the mobile manufacturer have confirmed the news. There will be many owners of recently purchased Android devices hoping their device will be getting the new OS, and is possibly the biggest fault of the platform with many handsets deserted by manufacturers.

But that won’t be a concern for owners of any of the 2011 Xperia line up following the announcement by Sony Ericsson. This will mean the Xperia Arc, Xperia Arc S, Xperia Pro, Xperia Active, Xperia Ray, Xperia Play, Xperia Mini and Mini Pro, Xperia Neo and Neo V, and Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman are all set to get a taste of the Ice Cream goodness.

Unfortunately the company have not revealed when the updates will start landing on the devices, but they have promised more information on this “in due course”. The new operating system will provide users with a new look interface, and have a new Face Unlock feature as well as NFC support on certain devices. It also has an upgraded camera app among its many new features that have got Android fans excited.

Are you pleased to hear that Android 4.0 is comi9ng to the Xperia lineup?

We are led to believe that the Nozomi LT26i features a 4.3-inch display which outputs at 1280 x 720 (with a 320dpi pixel density), if you check out this blog post you will see that the guys over at Just Another Mobile Phone Blog suggest that it features 1GB of RAM and a dual-core 1.5GHz chip – for now this must be treated as a rumor.

The images below give you a quick glimpse at the LT26i, the design is pretty desirable in our opinion, also if you look closely you can clearly see that there is a front-facing camera. The image on the right shows that it is running release 2.3.5, which suggests that it runs Gingerbread, we think it needs to ship with Ice Cream Sandwich to see success, how about you?

The comments over at Engadget are very complimentary of the job which Sony Ericsson’s designers have done, one person points out that there seems to a transparent band just below the display, is this some sort of LED notification system? Other people are very happy to see a minimalistic design, we just can’t wait to find out how thin it is and whether the internal hardware is as impressive as we believe it to be.

As and when we hear more about this smartphones tech specs, release date and price we will keep you posted – do you think that this has the potential to be the best-ever Sony Ericsson smartphone? We do…

The update will be available to a significant number of Sony Ericsson’s devices including the following; the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, Xperia Arc S, Neo V, Active, Ray, Pro, Mini Pro, Mini, Neo, Play and Arc. It brings several changes and upgrades to the devices too, a list of which can be found below.

• Screen Capture, which allows a screen grab at any location on the phone
• Gesture input, which lets the user input text simply by swiping their finger from one letter to the next, making tapping letters a thing of the past
• Wi-Fi DLNA
• The ability to use the Xperia smartphone as a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals to the Sony Ericsson LiveDock multimedia Station. Connecting the device to a TV for a big screen experience is also possible via HDMI
• 16x video zoom capability
• 3D Sweep Panorama functionality for Xperia smartphones
• Facebook update for optimized discover, share and like functionality for the Xperia
• Video Chat via Google Talk for devices with front-facing cameras

Sony are on the verge of taking over Sony Ericsson’s share meaning the Sony Ericsson name will no longer exist and future devices will be simply known as Sony devices. The company has been enjoying a lot of success with the Google OS and as Phandroid explains, continues to offer support to customers in terms of updates meaning they are among the more favored devices.

Head on over to Phandroid now for a video walkthrough guide of the software update. What do you think of the update? Have you had any problems?

The device was first announced back in August, before the latest Android OS was released, despite this, as we previously explained, the company is expected to be updating a whole range of their smartphones to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is including the Xperia Neo V as well as other models such as the Xperia Pro, Xperia Arc and the Xperia Play.

As far as specs are concerned, it offers a pretty decent array of hardware, ideal for those who can’t quite afford the high-end smartphones in the market. It features a front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear facing camera with HD recording capability, DLNA and HSDPA media streaming technology, Wi-Fi, a 3.7” scratch-proof touchscreen and a 1GHz processor.

According to ITProPortal, Sony claims the Xperia Neo V is one of the first smartphone capable of 3D sweep Panorama technology. This allows user to capture three-dimensional images and display them on a 3D TV when connected up. Whether the connection cables will come with the device still remains to be seen. Sony Ericsson’s Head of Product Marketing, Nikolaus Scheurer added ‘users will get to enjoy new features from Google, an even richer Facebook integration and enhanced camera functionality’ from the company.

The device can be purchased at Play.com now for $415 or £259.99. What do you think of the latest offering from Sony Ericsson? Does the Xperia Neo V appeal to you?