Ancillary facilities in Miami will also be closed, with the US headquarters moving to Atlanta, Georgia and what is left of the R&D division moving from Research Triangle Park to offices in Redwood Shores, California.

The job cuts are being conducted in several stages with new teams being formed to deal with the new logistics presented by the transition, with Sony Ericsson offering severance packages to qualified employees.

The closure of the Research Triangle Park Facility marks the end of an era for Sony Ericsson in the US, as the facility was home to the joint venture’s US headquarters and the former CDMA R&D team responsible for the T608, the last CDMA handset developed by the company in 2003 before the team was dissolved in the same year by the global office in Sweden to focus exclusively on GSM worldwide and confinining CDMA development to Japan.

The X10 will feature a new user interface that features custom applications developed by Sony Ericsson such as Timescape and Mediascape, Timescape being a converged messaging application which includes social network access while Mediascape is a media management application that includes YouTube support and access to Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow app store.

The X10 technical specifications consist of a 4 inch widescreen WVGA resolution touch display that is scratch resistant thanks to its glass front capacitive display, Android 1.6, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, quad-band GSM/EDGE radios and 850/1900/2100MHz UMTS/HSPA support for the US market.

It also features an 8.1 megapixel camera that supports geo-tagging, face and smile detection, image stabilization, auto-focus and flash, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, GPS/Wi-Fi radios and integration with Google services such as Maps, Gmail, Calendar and Talk.

It will be available in the first quarter of 2010 in black or white with no pricing information at this time.

Following up, Sony Ericsson has announced the forthcoming US launch of the Aino multimedia handset.

The Aino features quadband GSM/EDGE, triband 850/1900/2100 HSPA support, Remote Play, Media Home, and Media Go support for streaming media from the Playstation 3 console or over a network via DLNA, Wi-Fi radio, 3 inch 432×240 resolution widescreen touch display, 8.1 megapixel camera with Auto/touch Focus, photo flash, image stabilization, 16x digital zoom, face detection and BestPic technologies as well as auto-rotation of images along with the Geo-Tag app for geotagging photos and video.

The Aino also includes Stereo Bluetooth headphones, charging dock, an 8GB microSDHC memory card and a USB connector cable in the box. The phone is available directly from SonyStyle for pre-order for $599.99 with no word on launch date at this time.

The Equoinox features a 2.2 inch internal QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder, microSDHC expansion slot, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, A-GPS support, speakerphone and HSDPA/quadband GSM/EDGE access.

The distinguishing feature of the Equinox is the custom light on the front of the clamshell which features different light patterns in Amber, Sapphire, Beryl, Diamond, and Amethyst colors.

The Equoinox features a 2.2 inch internal QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder, microSDHC expansion slot, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, A-GPS support, speakerphone and HSDPA access.

Sony Ericsson has officially announced the successor to its first Xperia Windows Mobile device in the Xperia X2 which will be one of many Windows Phone devices releasing in the 4th quarter.

The Xperia X2 features a 3.2 inch WVGA resolution capacitive touch display, quadband GSM/EDGE, triband US 3G, revised QWERTY keyboard recalling Sony’s Japan-market Vaio Picturebook, Windows Mobile 6.5 with an updated version of its Xperia Panel user interface, an 8.1 megapixel CMOS camera with xenon flash, video recorder, autofocus and image stabilization, microSDHC expansion slot, Wi-Fi radio with DLNA support, GPS transceiver and TV output.

No release timeframe has been set for the US version.

The W518a features Sony Ericsson’s signature Walkman features, including shake control for shuffling playlists via accelerometer, gesture control for silencing incoming calls, QVGA internal display, exterior media player controls, microSDHC expansion slot, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder and speakerphone alongside the full suite of AT&T services.

The C905a features a class leading 8.1 megapixel CMOS camera featuring autofocus and face detection as well as a Xenon flash which PhoneNews.com confirmed in July 2008.

The remainder of the specifications consists of a QVGA display, quadband GSM/EDGE, triband HSDPA access, Bluetooth, GPS support via an internal transceiver with A-GPS support, FM radio with RDS, speakerphone, media player, Bluetooth, and MemoryStick M2 expansion slot.

Both phones are now available with the W518a available for $199.99 No Commitment or $99.99 after new 2 year agreement before an additional $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $49.99. The C905a is available for $379.99 No Commitment or $229.99 with new 2 year agreement before an additional $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $179.99.

Buy the Sony Ericsson C905a from AT&T
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The W518a features Sony Ericsson’s signature Walkman features, including shake control for shuffling playlists via accelerometer, gesture control for silencing incoming calls, QVGA internal display, exterior media player controls, microSDHC expansion slot, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder and speakerphone alongside the full suite of AT&T services.

The W518a will be available on July 19 for $99.99 after $50 mail-in rebate with new agreement.

The phone features a class leading 8.1 megapixel CMOS camera featuring autofocus and face detection as well as a Xenon flash which PhoneNews.com confirmed in July 2008.

The remainder of the specifications consists of a QVGA display, quadband GSM/EDGE, triband HSDPA access, Wi-Fi radio for wireless media access via DLNA and data access, Bluetooth, GPS support via an internal transceiver with A-GPS support, FM radio with RDS, speakerphone, media player, Bluetooth, and MemoryStick M2 expansion slot.

The C905aa will be available on July 19 for $179.99 after $50 mail-in rebate with new agreement

The T715a features a 2.2 inch QVGA display, quadband GSM/EDGE and triband US 3G HSPA access, microSDHC expansion slot, speakerphone, 3.2 megapixel CMOS camera with autofocus, flash, video recorder, front-facing video camera for video calls where supported along with geotagging support for photos.

The rest of the featureset comprises a media player, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, TrackID, FM radio with RDS support and Mega Bass spatializer settings. The T715a will also feature Microsoft Exchange email server support along with ActiveSync support for information and media sync.

The phone is expected to be released in the third quarter of this year.

Encyclopedia: Sony Ericsson T715a

The TM717 is a derivative of the European T707 with the bespoke AWS 3G support along with a 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, speakerphone, QVGA internal display, MemoryStick M2 expansion slot, media player, and integrated FM radio with RDS support.

Neither T-Mobile nor Sony Ericsson have officially announced the phone at this time.