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Sony Ericsson Windows Phone prototype hits eBay, reminds us sliders existed
eBay is as close as it comes to a genuine Aladdin's cave, and we've seen plenty of ancient rarities, prototypes, sci-fi weaponry, and the odd killer robot go under its gavel. One of the latest artifacts of interest comes from eBay's Netherlands site, which is hosting an auction for a Windows Phone prototype slider known to her friends as Julie (or Jolie, depending on where you look in the listing) from the now defunct Sony Ericsson partnership. The phone that never was from the company that is no longer is allegedly one of only seven units made, and is touted as having an 8-megapixel shooter and 16 gigs of storage. Some digging through the XDA Developers' forum suggests the handset's old Windows Phone 7 ROM is basically non-functional, so don't expect to plug in your SIM and stroll out the door with a useable device. If that doesn't put you off, however, there's no exorbitant entry price, and bids remain sensible, for now. Head to the listing below for more pictures and to get in on the action, but bear in mind the only shipping options are for Europe. Nothing a PM with an outrageous offer won't rectify, surely. Update: The seller has been in contact to let us know that international shipping is now available, and while the WP7 ROM running on the handset is by no means a final build, there are no issues with voice calling, the camera or Bluetooth.
Sony Ericsson rearing a 'Julie' Windows Phone 7 slider in the lab?
Our latest Windows Phone 7 gossip stems from the juicy Chinese grapevine. Rumor has it that Sony Ericsson's now testing a WP7 device -- possibly a first for the company -- codenamed "Julie," which sports a sliding QWERTY keyboard and a capacitive multitouch screen about the size of the X10's. Ah, this sure brings back touching memories of the first two WinMo Xperia sliders. Apart from the processor being clocked at 1GHz or above, little else is known about this unborn baby -- no dates, no photos ('tis our mockup on the right), but we won't question this tipster who also brought us SE's "Shakira" and the peculiar 5.5-inch Android device. Anyway, given SE's track record, it'll probably take six more months of gestation before Julie pops out.
