MWC 2011 : Sony Ericsson

MWC 2011 in Barcelona has started with a bang. Sony Ericsson has just increased its Android portfolio by three.
Xperia Play

The highly anticipated devices that started leaking like a faucet half a year ago has finally been announced. This is an Android smartphone built for gaming. Other than the slick control pads, this is nothing special compared to the stars of CES. Games will run on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and will be presented on a 854x480 4-inch screen. This device is obviously targeted to a small group of customers and games have yet to be proven to have full compatibility and run smoothly.The Xperia Play will be available in March off-contract or subsidized courtesy of Verizon in "early spring".

HP WebOS Event

HP is in need of some high quality mobile devices to take advantage of its Palm acquisition. Today, it announced three.

HP Veer

The HP Veer is a petite phone with a 2.6 inch screen (320 x 400). However, unlike other small phones, this one has a fast 800 MHz processor as well as a 5 megapixel camera. It will sport the familiar Palm form factor with a portrait slide out keyboad and will run WebOS 2.2. The Veer will be availabe "this spring" at an undetermined price point.

Motorola Xoom Preview

According to multiple sources, the Motorola Xoom will become available the 17th of February for a rumored $799. That's a lot to ask for a tablet that is trying to topple the established iPad and soon the iPad 2. Without nearly as many good, quality, tablet specialized apps as the iPad, the Motorola Xoom may have a hard time winning over tablet customers. Especially at $799. (the Wi-Fi only version may be slightly cheaper).

UPDATE:

Wifi version now available for $599. iPad 2 still probably better choice as Honeycomb looks like a Beta build.

The Android Market Evolves

Android has long led the competition in areas such as multitasking and its sophisticated notification system. Unfortunately, its app store has not been one of those things. The Android Market suffers from fragmentation and piracy and while there are a decent number of apps available, there are not many quality apps, especially when compared to iOS. The new Android Market interface and the new web client bring a more sophisticated experience and make discovering the quality apps among the dross just that much easier. Thankfully, Google has taken a step in the right direction by way of recent changes to make the Market more dev friendly. Google has also apparently created an in-house app development team to crank out quality titles from within the company. Today, they have also announced in-app purchases allow you to purchase premium content straight from the app, a feature demanded by devs and that has been part of iOS for a long time. And so the Android Market continues to evolve and it will, one day, catch up to the App Store.

Android Market Web Client

Android has finally gotten a web client that allows you to pay for apps that are sent to and installed on your phone OTA. Browse top apps and apps in specific categories straight from your computer. Head on over to market.android.com to check it out.

Sony NGP

Sony's Next Generation Portable and the next successor of the PSP line, the NGP is powered by a QUAD core processor. It will light up a 5 inch OLED display at 960x544 resolution and comes with dual analog sticks. It will ship with a accelorometer, electronic compass and back and front facing cameras. There is also a rear touchpad, situated on the back of the device, the same size and shape as the display. This allows for sophisticated touch controls in addition to the touch controls on the front of the device. It will also be WiFi and 3G compatible and will be available by this holiday season for "less than $599". 

Verizon iPhone 4

The Verizon iPhone 4 will be available for pre-order on February 2 and will be available in store on the 10th. Pricing will be the same as its GSM (AT&T) counterpart ($199.99 for 16GB, $299.99 for 32GB). Being on Verizon's network means no talk and data simultaneously, but may also mean significantly better coverage for some customers.

UPDATE : Available

Stars of CES 2011

CES 2011 was a record year. Here are the stars of the show.
Motorola Xoom - Tablet

The Motorola Xoom is the flagship tablet and the first to ship with Google's tablet specialized Honeycomb software. Solidly built with a 10 inch (1366x768)  screen, this is the first true competitor to the iPad. It also utilizes a dual core Tegra 2 processor at 1GHz each to power all the cool effects in Honeycomb. Of course the true test is how many tablet specialized apps are in the Android Market.

UPDATE: Available starting at $599 Wi-fi only, $699 3G

Motorola Atrix 4G - 4G phone - AT&T

The Motorola Atrix 4G is a complete beast. Destined for AT&T, to many customers, this may just make up for AT&T's loss of iPhone exclusivity. Packed with a 540 x 960 4 inch screen, as well as a Tegra 2 dual core processor (1GHz), this phone is the complete package. What makes it really interesting, though, is that you can also buy a laptop dock, transforming your Atrix into a laptop. The laptop interface is specially designed and takes full advantage of the Atrix's plentiful resources. Expect it on AT&T with *sigh* 2.2 Froyo by the end of February.

UPDATE: Available for $200 on AT&T

HTC Thunderbolt - 4G phone - Verizon

The debut of Verizon's LTE network starts off with a gorgeous phone. Although not dual core, it features HTC's stellar build quality and the speed of Verizon's new 4G network.

UPDATE: Available for $200 on Verizon

Motorola Droid Bionic - 4G phone -Verizon

Similar to the Atrix 4G except with a larger 4.3 inch screen and without the interchangeable docks. It will also be available on Verizon instead of AT&T and will become the new leader of the Droid pack.

Samsung 9 Series - Laptop

Samsung's newest 13-inch ultraportable is thinner than the MacBook Air at its thickest point and has the looks to match. Internally, it is very powerful with a Core i5 processor. For users looking for a sleek and extremely solid ultraportable, the Samsung 9 series will be available by the end of March for a hefty $1,699.

UPDATE: Available