Sony Ericsson X8, Yendo, Cedar: A bevy of new launches

Like buses, we’ve waited proverbial hours for a new Sony Ericsson handset to be announced, and now three have come along at once.

If you’re a fan of the Xperia range but on a bit of a budget, you’ll be pleased to hear that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 (left) brings the Xperia experience to you at a more affordable price. Apparently the user interface is akin to that of the teeny tiny X10 Mini, with a different shortcut assigned to each corner of the 3-inch touchscreen. The Android handset also features Timescape, SE’s social networking aggregator, access to the Android Market and a 3.2-megapixel camera. Available sometime between July and September – nothing concrete on networks or pricing yet though.

With a focus on entertainment, the Sony Ericsson Yendo (right) is the first full-touch Walkman phone. Like the X10 Mini, it features the four-corner UI that Sony Ericsson seem very proud of – one-touch shortcuts to your favourite applications, one in each corner of the 2.6-inch screen. There’s not much more forthcoming about the Yendo at present, but we’ll keep you posted.

Sony Ericsson Cedar (left) is the newest member of the Greenheart family; with a focus on its environmental sustainability and financial affordability, the Cedar also rocks HSDPA (super-fast 3G), widgets and a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can use whatever headphones you fancy with it.

The Xperia X10 range is also getting a little bolster so as not to feel left out; the X10, X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro will be getting Android 2.1 in Q3 this year. Why no 2.2, Sony Ericsson? Seems like we’re playing a bit of catch-up here. The X10 will also benefit from HD video recording from Q3, while Q4 will see it enabled to connect to a TV wirelessly (it’s not clear if this will be Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or what) so you can play media content through the TV set.