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Sony Ericsson starts taking submissions for Android version of PlayNow
Manufacturers and carriers are showing commendable restraint in avoiding totally bastardized, walled-garden versions of Android on their handsets (for the most part), but they're not avoiding it altogether -- take Sony Ericsson here, for instance. The company has announced that it's expanding the reach of its PlayNow app store to cover Android in concert with its launch of the X10, which presumably means that users will be juggling a minimum of two sources for third-party wares on this thing. Long-term, this kind of needless fragmentation seems like one of the greatest threats to Android's ability to become and remain a heavyweight player in the smartphone ring -- but then again, what do we know? It's not like these guys haven't already figured out how to dominate before with UIQ... ah, wait. Anyhoo, yeah, back to the topic at hand: devs are now invited to submit their Android apps for inclusion in the PlayNow store, so hey, you may as well -- the phone's looking to be a hottie, so it can't hurt to have your stuff featured on there, we figure. [Thanks, wimbet]
Oh, by the way: July 26, 2009
Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for the weekend of Saturday, July 25th, 2009: A small Chinese firm by the name of Beyond Radio Technology is working on an Android phone that they claim to have had in the labs for 18 months now. Problem is, they've posted screen shots, and they're clearly QVGA -- an instant fail. [Via Cloned In China] Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Arena app store is now accepting apps from developers. Paid apps must cost at least €3 (about $4.25), though freebies will also be allowed; free apps with ad support, however, will require some other form of agreement with Sony Ericsson. There are no submission fees or annual charges for devs, which is nice -- and interestingly, apps that are rejected will have a plan B in the form of official partner GetJar. Java and Symbian are being supported initially, with other platforms (ahem, Android) coming in the future. [Via mocoNews] All of the intel in the field is now pointing toward an August 5 launch for the BlackBerry 8520 "Gemini" on T-Mobile, which confirms earlier suggestions. Speaking of T-Mobile, the Samsung t659 -- codenamed "Scarlet" -- has been spotted in the wild. Unless you have a thing for 2 megapixel cameras, we wouldn't get too excited, but the presence of AWS 3G is always welcome. The global number two manufacturer, Samsung, released its Q2 results -- and they're looking pretty solid. The company managed to push some 52.3 million handsets in the three-month period and said that it'll make good on previous guidance (and then some) of hitting 200 million shipments for the year. [Via mocoNews] A poster over at the ever-trusty xda-developers has somehow managed to stumble upon themes for AT&T's upcoming Warhawk -- the carrier's version of the HTC Touch Diamond2 -- and they're looking mighty Windows Mobile 6.5-ish. [Via wmpoweruser.com and Fuze Mobility]
Sony Ericsson expands PlayNow arena to cover apps, too
It looks like Sony Ericsson is taking a page out of Apple's book for the launch of its app store, bundling the service in with the very same platform it already uses to distribute music and movies. PlayNow arena -- which was originally designed for music distribution and whose movie rental functionality is going live this month in a handful of locales -- is now being expanded to incorporate applications as well, initially coming to 13 countries and some 38 Sony Ericsson models. Conveniently, PlayNow arena is already well-plumbed to support a variety of blling methods which should make the transition to paid apps a pretty seamless one for the company, devs, and users alike. Submissions from developers for inclusion in the store will kick off July 1, initially covering Java and Symbian before being expanded to cover "additional platforms" (Android, anyone?) later in the year; there's no word, though, on exactly when end users will be able to get in on the action.
Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Arena movie download service ready for June launch
Everybody's getting into the mobile movie sideload business -- just ask Samsung -- and following an MWC unveiling earlier this year, Sony Ericsson is gearing up to launch movie content starting next month as part of its existing PlayNow Arena service. Direct on-phone downloads over WiFi or 3G would be awesome, but as most of these services tend to operate, PlayNow Arena will require that users select and download movies on their PCs, cable up their phones, and transfer the media the old-fashioned way, at which point they'll be playable on the device for 90 days. You'll be able to select from about 15 movies at any given time with content being cycled monthly -- ridiculously meager, yes, but when you consider that the service is bundled with certain phones (up to 60 movies a year), it's hard to pitch a fit. Look for it to launch on the W995 slider in Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK in June; support for Sony Ericsson's newly-announced Satio and Aino (among others) is expected later in the year.
Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Arena: 1 million, DRM-free songs on Monday
What was just a footnote to 2007 has finally come to fruition. Sony Ericsson just went live with details on the August 25th launch of its PlayNow Arena media download site. Initially the site will offer 1 million, DRM-free songs (ramping up to 5 million) from Sony BMG, Warner Music, and EMI. It will also offer games, ringtones, applications, and themes for your mobile downloading pleasures. Other European countries will come on board later this year before it goes global in 2009. Tracks are expected to be "on par" with Apple's iTunes ($0.99 / €0.99) pricing but will cost SEK9 (about $1.43, credit card required) for the Nordic launch. Full press release after the break.
Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Arena gets spied
At risk of getting delayed right into obscurity, Sony Ericsson looks like it's finally just about ready to release its long-announced PlayNow Arena mobile media store in a couple of European locales. SEMC Blog got the lowdown on screen shots of both the web-based and mobile versions of the Arena client, and we'll be honest, we're not really seeing what took so damn long. Okay, so we've got a unified portal for buying games, images, and music -- that's great and all, but not terribly unique, innovative, or interesting beyond the fact that many modern Sony Ericsson handsets should have tight integration with it out of the box. At least N-Gage can use the excuse that its fairly extensive community gaming aspect took some work to build out and get right; this, on the other hand, is little more than a glorified media store. Tell you what, though, guys: release a US-spec W980, and we'll cut you some slack the next time you delay a web portal by a few months. Honest.
Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Arena coming later this month?
Sony Ericsson's nebulously defined next-gen music delivery service, PlayNow Arena, looks like it's been ripening on the vine since we last heard about it and it's getting ready to launch -- or at least get shown off, anyhow. The company appears to have sent out invitations to an event at the upcoming MIDEM music conference in Cannes, where "further details" around PlayNow Arena's launch will be revealed. Oh, and light food and drink will be served, too, which is the real draw here.[Via IntoMobile]
Sony Ericsson announces plans for PlayNow Arena service
It sure looks like Sony Ericsson is keeping itself busy these days, with the company now following up word of its latest hardware with an announcement of its plans for its upcoming PlayNow Arena service. That, as you can probably guess, is an upgraded version of the company's existing PlayNow service, although it seems that it'll be a good deal more than just a music service. There will still be plenty of goodies on that front, however, including the TrackID service mentioned on those new handsets, which'll let you identify a snippet of music off the radio and then grab it straight off the PlayNow Arena service. Even more interestingly, Sony Ericsson says that Arena will be an "open multimedia platform" that "welcomes everyone," which it says will lead to an even wider range of games and other "mobile entertainment experiences." It also promises to be compatible with a "wide range" of Sony Ericsson phones, although the company isn't getting much more specific than that at the moment. Expect to hear plenty more in the coming months, however, with the service itself set to roll out in "selected markets" in the second quarter of next year.[Via LetsGoMobile]
