Sony Ericsson's Satio gets new firmware but not yet back on sale, Aino never affected
By Chris Ziegler 
posted December 1st 2009 12:34PM
posted December 1st 2009 12:34PM
We've got an old-fashioned Sony Ericsson-gate developing this winter with some clarification and new information on two of the company's highest-end phones of the season, the Aino and Symbian-powered Satio. First up, as we've updated in our original post, the Aino was never pulled from shelves -- we've been able to confirm this with Sony Ericsson spokespeople directly, which also satisfactorily explains why it was never pulled from the US SonyStyle site. Secondly, good news for Satio owners affected by the phone's issues: there's a new firmware out there for unbranded units, which suggests that units that are already in the field might not need to be recalled despite Sony Ericsson's admission that the power-down problem can't be fixed over the air. For what it's worth, we've been in touch with Carphone Warehouse today and they haven't yet put it back on sale -- so it's hard to say just how closely related the new build is to the most damning problems facing the phone right now. Owners who've upgraded: what have you noticed so far?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Well, Chris, I think you'll be hard-pressed to find 'owners who've updated' because said update has only been released in a handful of regions.
@(Unverified) But they all read Engadget... right?
RIGHT?!
@Chris Ziegler AhhhhhHHHHHHHHH *stands up from seat with gun, fires random shots, gets tackled*
I dont know , I feel sad for SE ...
so what the hell and how much was ACTUALLY fixed ?
I'll say it again, AINO is not a good name for a product unless it's sold at an Adult store.
@(Unverified)
I think it is an excellent name. Pronounced "I-no" and is a name from Finish mythology.
http://forvo.com/word/aino/
@(Unverified) And I'll say it again: when will I be able to go to a blog site where people are mature enough to not add porn to every discussion?
@(Unverified) Doesn't everyone know it's pronounced 'I-know'? Are you that guy that keeps asking the assistants for anal at my local Carphone Warehouse?
no update for my sim free satio uk :-(
just tried my unbranded UK satio... still no firmware released!
Well It's not crashed yet...No new features but it's a lot more responsive with no lag at all...I like =D Here's a quick vid I posted to youtube of it in action (sorry it's a bit rubbish, didn't have too much time on my hands) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFfaqf2z8F8
Don't you just love when firmwares are released without a proper changelog? It's funny that Engadget has to ask US what has been fixed...Care to comment Sony\Ericsson? They're the ones that do the fixing, so why not tell us exactly what the problem was, and what was done to resolve it? I think that's reasonable. Maybe it's a little unreasonable to ask why the problem was not found in any kind of testing, and why the product was released without proper testing? Guess no one does that anymore..gotta get it out there, and if it's broken, well who cares at least it's out there. Guess it backfired this time :)
I'll just wait until this comes to At&t and pounce on it. Though, if it doesn't happen by January, I'm gonna get the 3Gs.
^^ Enjoy your 3GS.
There is no update. This has to be a hoax. Dedicated SE forums have no mention of this, and myself along with a murder of others who have an unbranded Satio see no available update in the update service application.
Just another run through the mud for SE.
As someone who had a Satio right from late proto stages, I can assure that the "Power down problem" mentioned here was rectified in the R1BB041 retail firmware, which has been available for quite some time on SEUS.
Chris: Why don't you look into the fact that CPW pulled only the BLACK Satio (Which is the color I have and is working perfectly, btw) and not the other colors? And how about the fact that this recall hasn't happened in any other country and isn't even a countrywide thing in the UK?
@Herr Synnberg it was all satio's not just the black... I have been back to the store and has this confirmed by the manager who exchanged mine for a new one...
@azza88 My bad, then.
I read that the black ones were pulled possibly because they can't be updated to the new FW (Which is BS because I've flashed mine thrice since I got it).
Are you facing any problems with your Satio? I don't find anything drastically bad on mine. Hell, my G900; THAT's a phone that needed some serious updates! :D
I've had my unbranded Red Satio for over a month now and I haven't been having any problems with any of the reported bugs. It does sound like a Carrier branding issue - Vodafone being a big culprit. However, I am also aware that Carphone Warehouse claims their Satio's are unbranded as well.
I'm eagerly awaiting a firmware update, especially for a Facebook app and better battery life among other things. Meanwhile I'll count my lucky stars my Satio hasn't started playing up like most SE handsets do (And yet I still buy them out of hope that SE will eventually reclaim its former glory)
I recently upgraded the firmware following power issues however following this not only did my phone still keep switching itself off but I stop geting SMS. The only way to get my messages was to switch my phone off and back on again. I called Orange who said I should not have upgraded as the firmware upgrade is fixing some issues but causing others. I have now been sent a new phone from Orange with the advice not to upgrade it at the moment.