No, not that Storm silly -- that storm. As cellphone users around the globe put off that once imminent upgrade purchase in order to make the mortgage and feed the family, (most) handset makers are obviously feeling the pinch. A fresh report from The Wall Street Journal pretty much reiterates much of what we've already heard, but still dives deeper into which companies are best positioned to escape the madness. As predicted, HTC, Apple and Nokia were all pinpointed as being able to make it through tough economic times without losing their proverbial hats, but both Motorola and Sony Ericsson could be facing insurmountable odds. Granted, it's not like either firm has really been killing it of late, but it's a pretty bad time to be struggling, regardless. The takeaway? Don't be shocked to see some wild stuff go down in the mobile space -- all bets are off at this point.

[Image courtesy of DayLife, thanks JagsLive]

You knew we'd be back, right? It's that time again, ladies and gents: Engadget Podcast time. This week, thrill to the delectable sounds of your hosts -- Josh, Paul, and Nilay -- as they cover all things smartphone. Excite your senses with discussion of BlackBerry wishes and G1 dreams. Hear insight and outrage on the Fuze, X1a, iPhone 3G, and more. And the best part? It's entirely cholesterol and MSG free!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Welcome to the Jungle

02:02 - RED's Digital Still and Motion Camera System now official
04:24 - Verizon schedules Storm for November 21 release, $199.99 on contract
13:05 - AT&T BlackBerry Bold hands-on
26:40 - HTC Fuze now for sale on AT&T's web site
32:53 - Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 review
37:00 - HTC MAX 4G officially announced, world's first GSM / WiMAX phone
39:53 - Windows Mobile 6.5 confirmed by Steve Ballmer, might solve half your problems
49:10 - Apple's new iPod chief ordered to stop working
52:17 - Epic Android bug interprets your typing as system commands
57:15 - iPhone 3G overtakes the RAZR as best-selling domestic handset

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Strategic advantages Sany Ericssan holds over Sony Ericsson:

• A quarterly sales volume measured in the hundreds is considered a rousing success.
• Neither Sany nor Ericssan have any intention of pulling out of the joint venture.
• "Outsourcing" of industrial design saves time, money, and staff.
• None of those pesky Windows Mobile licensing fees to worry about.
• GPRS data speed isn't a problem -- it's a way of life.

[Via PMP Today]

Sony Ericsson's long-awaited XPERIA X1 is finally closing in on a US release, and Engadget Mobile has the low-down on the North America-bound X1a. Care to see how this hunk of sexy fared in real-world use? Do you love butterflies and magnetic fields? If you can honestly answer yes to any of the aforementioned questions, grab your reading glasses and head on over.

At long last, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 has a firm date for its launch into the topsy-turvy US market. Those who've been holding off time and again in anticipation of this WinMo 6.1 powerhouse can finally pat themselves on the back, as those rumors of the handset slipping into next year were greatly exaggerated. In fact, SE's doing itself a huge favor by getting this gem into the market place prior to the holiday season, and better still, on Black Friday proper. You heard right -- while most folks are frantically scouring B&M floors for door buster deals, those with copious quantities of disposable income can waltz on over to a Sony Electronics outlet or any of its authorized retailers on November 28th and pick one up. Wondering if this marvel is worth $799.99? Check out our review for a little insight, and peek the full release just after the break. Oh, and before you ask, there's no word yet on a subsidized version for any US carrier.

It's tough to predict the future, especially with cutbacks to R&D budgets in the face of a global economic slowdown. Still, it's always nice to see a forward-looking corporate-slide related to mobile handsets from the taller, blonder half of that Sony Ericsson partnership. LTE and fast CPUs are certainly no surprise, nor is that 1,024 x 768 XGA screen resolution that Japan's superphones are already bumping up against. The most compelling vision is that of the embedded camera sensors: 12-20 megapixels capable of recording Full HD video by 2012. Adding more fuel to firey speculation that handsets are about to find themselves embroiled in a megapixel war. Fine by us, just as long the optics and image processing are there to support such a resolution. Even though 12-20 megapixels seems high compared to the 5-8 megapixel cell phones we see today, those numbers are entirely within reason when you recall that Samsung hit 10 megapixels in Korea two years ago. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised in the least to find Ericsson's mythical device on the market well prior to 2012. Combined, these features certainly make for a tantalizing glimpse at the wireless handset future.

Hey, hey, just as expected out pops Sony Ericsson's latest Walkman from the rumor mill. The quad-band W705 (aka RIKA, the G705 clone) with UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 support shares the same Clear Bass / Clear Stereo audio quality found in the W980 Walkman while packing DLNA-certified WiFi, shake control and SensMe music manipulation, a "large" (uh, hardly by today's standards) 2.4-inch display, 4GB of bundled memory card storage, an FM radio, 3.2 megapixel camera, Google Maps, and an accelerometer for what's quickly becoming a ubiquitous auto-rotating display feature on cellphones. It also packs Bluetooth, allowing it to stream audio out to the newly announced MBS-900 Bluetooth 2.1 channel speaker with integrated FM radio. You know, if you're a fan of compressed audio and short battery life. Just sayin's all. Both will be available in select markets as of Q1 of the new year.

As you might have noticed, there's already plenty of Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1s out in the wild by this point, but there's apparently not quite as many as SE would like, and it's laying the blame on some slightly mysterious manufacturing delays. According to IDG News, Sweden, Germany and the U.K. have been hardest hit by the delays, but Sony Ericsson isn't about to get much more specific than that about the matter, saying simply that a lack of "certain materials" is causing the shortages. The company has said, however, that more phones should be shipping into Sweden in the next few days, with the U.K. and Germany set to get additional shipments in the next few weeks. It also says that planned launches in other countries like Switzerland, France, and Singapore, to name a few, won't be affected by the delays, and that the phone is still on track to be released in the US sometime in November.

[Via the::unwired]

An ad campaign shot entirely on a mobile phone camera? Well, Sony Ericsson -- claiming to be the first -- has done it, using the C905, ostensibly to prove what an awesome (8.1-megapixel) camera it boasts. The results can be found exclusively in December's issue of FHM, and are what Sony Ericsson Marketing Director David Hilton calls an "amazing opportunity" to "show off the capabilities" of the Cyber-shot. So let's just get this straight: your ad uses a professional model, a fashion photographer, professional lighting, and makeup, not to mention all that retouching, and we're supposed to be impressed with the camera? Okay, we'll admit it: we're pretty impressed.

[Via PicturePhoning]

White glove delivery? Puhlease. Try white glove dissection, as in, the four part saga shown to us via the miracles of YouTube by gadget lover CyK1. Using a cautious approach, a pair of tweezers, what appears to be a guitar pick and a pair of delicate white gloves, he details the disassembly of SE's highly-anticipated XPERIA X1 in four captivating clips. Granted, two of the four actually show reassembly efforts, but you know you're not about to leave after just watching half of the show. Hop on past the break once your popcorn is ready.

We won't embarrass you by asking when the last time you read a book was, but we know good and well you'll be fixated on this here PDF. As the run-up to the long-awaited release of Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 continues, the outfit has been kind enough to post up the official 26-page user guide for all to see. Granted, you pretty much know everything that's in there, but if you're looking to hone your battery changing skills before taking possession of one, the appropriate documentation is just a click away.

So what do you think they take pictures of in an FCC lab when they've got an 8-megapixel cameraphone handy? Oh, come on -- you know the technicians lucky enough to fiddle with fresh gadget after delicious, fresh gadget as they burn through specific absorption rate paperwork engage in a little extracurricular activity from time to time. Our guess, honestly, is that they probably snap that scary apparatus that looks like a human head made out of gelatin and MMS it to their daughter with a message like "look what I found in the ditch, honey!" Of course, that prank only works once before little Julie figures out what daddy's up to, then all hell breaks loose as she tips off the gadget blogs that there's an unannounced Sony Ericsson on the way. Yeah, the C905. Thanks, Julie.