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Sony Ericsson published the financial summary for the fourth quarter and the full year 2011. Sadly, the results show extremly bad performance when compared to the other giants in the market.

Reading through the report and analyzing it we understand that the company sold 43.1 million phones in 2010 but the sales dipped to 34.4 million phones in 2011. The sales ended with a net revenue of  €1,528 million in Q4 2010 but the case was different last year; ie the sales ended with a net revenue of only €1288 million in Q4 2011, a 16% drop versus Q4 2010. Drastically, the company ended the year with a net loss of €247 million.

The most appropriate person to comment on this disappointing performance of the company would be Bert Nordberg, President and CEO of Sony Ericsson. I’ll post his comment:

“Our fourth quarter results reflected intense competition, unfavorable macroeconomic conditions and the effects of a natural disaster in Thailand this quarter. We are aligning our business to drive profitability and to meet customer needs. In spite of these challenges, throughout 2011 we’ve shifted our business from feature phones to smartphones, and our Android-based smartphone sales in the quarter increased by 65% year-on-year. The Xperia portfolio, including the recently announced Xperia NXT series, will serve as a cornerstone of our smartphone lineup in 2012″

He blames the intense competition, unfavorable economic conditions and floods in Thailand as the reasons for the company’s loss. He also confirms that the company will be focusing on to Androids in the coming year and hopes that would boost the sales.

Also, Sony’s reputation in the global market is a blessing and lets see how they handle the smartphone section (Sony Mobile Communications) in 2012.

Report:

Source: sony ericsson press release

In previous posts,  we have talked about how you can use your Xperia™  to  connect  to a big screen like your TV to access content, show and share it with your friends and family, and during the 2012 International CES, at the Sony booth, we could see a lot more about how you can connect your Xperia™  with other devices: stream your favorite songs using Music Unlimited from your phone to your car or home stereo system, connect with your friend using his  Sony tablet to play a game against you on your smartphone , share the photos you took in 3D with your Xperia™  directly to your 3D screen.

With the new Xperia™ S and Xperia™ ion,  content accessing and sharing with other devices such as Laptops, Tablets and TVs becomes really easy and intuitive.

Just connect the smartphone through an HDMI cable to your TV and you can share the HD videos you took before with the 12 MP Camera, or use the remote control to navegate on your phone and check the most watched videos on YouTube or read what did your friends say on Facebook about your latest picture. If you are bored, you can go to Video Unlimited and watch one of the latest films, directly from your phone, or on your Tablet or TV.  If you are traveling, you can connect your Xperia™ S to the screen on your room and read your latest emails or check your calendar so you know exactly what meetings you have the next day.

The video we posted really explains more what you can do with Xperia™ S, so check it out.

As more and more of Sony services and technologies come integrated into our portfolio of Xperia™ devices, the natural step for us in the Sony Ericsson Developer Program is to also bridge this to our developer community. The Sony Tablet™ S™, Sony Tablet™ P, and Sony Internet TV powered by Google TV™ are devices from Sony running Android™ and allow developers to innovate on top of these platforms. In this article, we will introduce you to Sony’s developer services. Read more after the jump.

The Sony Developer sites offer a great pool of resources with which Xperia developers can use to build upon their own mobile applications experience. If you haven’t had a chance to check out all of Sony’s developer resources, here’s a quick look at what the site has to offer:

sonydeveloper.com

The central location for all Sony developers is sonydeveloper.com. Here, you’ll find a subset of links focusing on Sony Android™ and Yahoo!® Widgets development.

Sony Android™ development

The Sony Internet TV powered by Google™, Sony Tablet™ S and Sony Tablet™ P are powered by the Android™ platform. At the Sony Android™ development site, you can download the application development kit for the Sony Tablet™. This site also has a forum for Sony Tablet™ questions and for general information topics. As a member, you’ll be able to access TV applications and even submit a TV app. TV apps will be reviewed by Sony and may then be featured on Sony Select in Android Market™ for Google TV.  And to make discovery of your app even easier, Sony offers its Select App site which highlights new and unique Android applications in a number of categories, recommended for Sony Tablet™ devices. Recommended applications will be spotlighted at launch with more to come in the following weeks and months. The service is similar to Sony Ericsson’s Get apps and Get music widgets, and similar to the Games Recommender on Xperia™ PLAY.

YAHOO!® Widgets development

BRAVIA® Internet Widgets are small downloadable applications powered by YAHOO!® Widgets and provide you access to the latest in news, weather, stock info, and interactive content when your TV is connected to the Internet. At the YAHOO!® Widgets developer site, get developer news on BRAVIA® Internet Widgets. And soon, you’ll also have access to images, examples, tips and techniques to help you create exciting new applications.

…So why not start developing applications across Sony devices

If you’re ready to expand your mobile app development for other Sony devices, why not take some time to look around at all these Sony developer sites. We’d love to see Android™ apps utilising cross device experiences. We’re also aiming to publish articles focusing on the different technologies available when developing for different screens and devices.

Good luck and happy developing!

More information

• Checking out the starting point for anyone interested in Sony Developer services.
• Get started with Sony Android development.
• Discover BRAVIA® Internet Widgets development.
• See our Sony Developer services affiliate page.

Definitely, the CES is not only about the latest gadgets. There is also other interesting things happening, such as Fashion shows (with gadgets included).  Sony Ericsson took part in Fashionwear, a catwalk show at CES designed to showcase the latest wearable tech and concept garments.

On the show , we showed the new Android remote  SmartWatch and stereo Smart Wireless Headset Pro. Our model also wore a garment chosen from the LiveView Design Project – a motion responsive cycle jacket, plugged into the SmartWatch, that allows the wearer to indicate simply by moving their arms.

The jacket’s creator, Alastair Leighton Crawford from London College of Fashion, was in attendance at the show with the Sony Ericsson team.

If you want to know more about the SmartExtras, don’t miss our blog post about the announcement at CES.

Today is Friday and it’s the last day of the 2012 International CES, and it has been an special show for us and I really enjoyed sharing the experience, the announcements and the excitement with you!

During CES, we asked on our Facebook page what would they like to know more about the Xperia S smartphone, so we could make a video about that feature, explaining a little more in depth about it.  People voted, and the feature that our Facebook fans wanted to know more about was the Dual Processor.

So, with a little help of the Developer World guys, Stephen Sneeden, our Product Expert, gave us an overview of the  1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 MSM8260 dual core processor and what it means for the phone and the users.

What feature would you have voted for?

Our colleagues from Sony also did a great crowdsourced video about the multimedia features on the Xperia S that is worth checking out!

Yesterday, the CES 2012 Hot Stuff awards were announced, and Xperia S smartphone was one of the winners, and we are not only really proud but really excited!

The Hot Stuff awards are given by the UK’s leading gadget magazine Stuff, to the 10 most desirable, most exciting and most innovative products to launch at 2012 CES. The awards were decided by the team of  editors from the magazine, and its web counterpart ww.Stuff.tv.

This year, among the winners we could see tablets, headphones with great design, ultrabooks, TVs,  a fridge and even a Vynil player. Want to see the complete list of the winners? Check it here.

This week, Xperia S was also nominated for CNET’s Best in CES 2012 Awards and came as second place in the People’s Voice award, thanks to your votes!

Heard of GLONASS? It’s a Russian radio-based satellite navigation system that both complements and provides an alternative to GPS. GLONASS is fully supported in Xperia S and Xperia ion, and any Xperia™ device with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 or S3 processor and the latest software is capable of supporting GLONASS!  In this article, Magnus Persson from Sony Ericsson explains more about how GLONASS improves positioning and how you can incorporate this feature into your own apps. Read more after the jump.

Hi, I’m Magnus Persson, Positioning Specialist at Sony Ericsson. I recently wrote an article on how indoor maps can save you money and add extra value to your organisation. Now I’d like to introduce another navigation topic called GLONASS.

Have you ever noticed how your navigation application suddenly slows and starts lagging when driving in downtown cities, just when you need precise instructions the most? This is mostly likely caused by the surrounding buildings blocking the view towards the GPS satellites. In order for a phone to calculate a good position, a clear line of access to four or more satellites is needed. If the signals have bounced off a wall before reaching the receiver, it will reduce the accuracy of the position. This is where GLONASS, another version of satellite based positioning system, can help.

What are GPS and GLONASS?

GPS stands for Global Positioning System and is a satellite based positioning system owned and maintained by the US Air Force. The GPS system currently contains 31 active satellites transmitting signals. GPS is used by millions of civil devices to calculate the position.

GLONASS stands for Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema and is also a satellite based positioning system but is owned and maintained by the Russian Space Forces. GLONASS development started in 1976 but it was not until October 2011 that full global coverage with modern satellites was achieved with 24 active satellites. Hence the number of GLONASS-only devices is very limited.

How GLONASS improves positioning

It’s simple math – by supporting both systems in a receiver, the number of available global satellites increases from 31 to 55. Therefore, more geographic locations are able to receive four or more signals from satellites, which in turn means more successful position calculations and also better accuracy of the calculated positions in challenging environments.

Field tests in downtown San Francisco found that the positioning accuracy of adding GLONASS improved as much as 50%. The test were executed with the help of Qualcomm  using two Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman™ smartphones, and 600 measurements were recorded and analyzed per device.

* The number of satellites in average that were used to calculate the position. More satellites usually mean a more reliable and accurate location.

**CEP 68% means that 68% of the 600 measurements are within this distance, in meters, from the reference location. Hence lower values mean better accuracy.

How your app can benefit from GLONASS

Now that you understand the benefits of using GLONASS, the next step is ensuring that your app utilises it. If you’ve already developed an Android™ app using the GPS provider, and if the app is running on any 2011 Xperia™ smartphones, mostly likely it’s already using GLONASS satellites to improve the positioning accuracy and navigation experience. In particular, the Xperia™ arc, Xperia™ arc S, Xperia™ ray, Xperia™ neo, Xperia™ pro, Xperia™ PLAY, Xperia™ active and Live with Walkman™ (along with the latest Xperia™ software) are all capable of supporting GLONASS!

The GLONASS enhancement is transparent and backwards compatible with the existing applications but there are ways to see the benefit of the GLONASS satellites. One way is to download and install the free GPS Test application by Chartcross Ltd. from Android Market. The satellites numbered 65 to 88 are GLONASS satellites that are being tracked.

Screenshot example of Chartcross Ltd.’s GPS Test application.

If you would like to indicate in any way in your application if GLONASS satellites are used to calculate the position you can do so by checking the GpsSatellite objects returned by the getSatellites method. If the PRN value returned by getPrn is between 65 and 88 and the usedInFix method returns true the last position was calculated using a GLONASS satellite.

To save power, the GLONASS receiver is only activated in problematic locations, such as in an urban environment with high rise buildings. Therefore, if you are in an open sky environment where there are enough GPS satellites available to calculate a good accuracy position, GLONASS will automatically be switched off temporarily to enhance the battery lifetime.

So the next time you’re having problems getting a fix on your location, use an Xperia™ smartphone supporting GLONASS to get faster and more accurate location information.

More information

• Get more information on GLONASS.
• Learn more about GPS.
• Read Magnus Persson’s previous navigation post on how indoor maps can save money and add value.
• Find additional location service details on Qualcomm’s mobile content services.
• See the Qualcomm video explaining GLONASS.

Feature image courtesy of ariadna @ Morguefile.

Have you ever wondered what does someone from our customer service team think of the Sony Ericsson phones?  Well, we interviewed one of our Customer service team, Markus Hermansson, about his experience with his Xperia smartphone and how he used it during their day. Check out what he told us.

1)     How do you use your phone to make the most of your day?

I use my Smartphone Xperia arc (or ray) to do a lot. It wakes me up in the mornings (well, it tries to) and provides me with the lovely snooze option.

I get out of bed (eventually), get dressed eat breakfast etc. and then I check my Twitter and Facebook. During the day when working I listen to music a lot. LiveSound phone headphones = quality sound! When at the gym I also listen to music but I use a Bluetooth headset since the wires tend to get in the way.

On lunch breaks and during my other free time I play games (Great Little War Game is my favourite right now) and read some blogs (mainly Fredrik Backman from Café).

I also use the phone for minor bank errands.

When travelling I use Wisepilot so I won’t get lost.
To sum things up I guess I use my phone more than I first thought. I have not even mentioned the obvious things like calling, texting and taking photos so far and that’s of course something I do too.

2)     What’s the most entertaining thing your Xperia^TM has ever done for you?

It must be the music, without a doubt. Whenever I travel by bus/train/airplane etc, work or just want to escape from the noises around me, I just plug in my headset and tap play.

3)     How does your Xperia^TM entertain you on the way to work?

I walk to work each morning (takes me about 20 mins) and I usually like to enjoy the silence in the morning but every now and then when the traffic noise is too loud I listen to music. J

4)      If you had one tip for Xperia^TM users, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to personalize the phone. There are tons of great apps in the Android Market that can be useful and entertaining. Don’t be afraid to get yourself involved with all the features. Explore them all and see what you like.

5)     Which Xperia^TM do you have?

Currently I’m using Xperia arc but I’ve just switched to this from Xperia ray. The bigger screen is simply better for gaming. J Apart from the screen and the camera I think ray could be one of the best smart phones on the market. I love it and I will probably go back to it if I run out of fun games. J

6)     What’s the most common question you get asked about social media?

“What exactly do you do? What is there that can be done for a whole day five days a week?”

I guess people underestimate the power of social media. Old media is still what most people are used to. Who wants to read a newspaper nowadays? It holds yesterday’s news.

Everyone is online, and if they’re not, they should be.
It is 2011 (almost 2012) and people Google to find answers. We should be there so our presence and work is what they find when they search.

On Monday, at the 2012 International CES, we also announced  some really cool  SmartExtras: SmartWatch, Smart Wireless Headset Pro, and Xperia SmartTags.  On this blog post, I will tell you about SmartTags, a really useful complement to our recent phone launches, Xperia S and Xperia ion.

The SmarTags are small NFC enabled tokens that work with any NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled smartphone, including Xperia S, and how they work is really simple: you just need to touch your NFC enabled smartphone to a SmartTag, and it will launch a pre-configured action or series of actions. For example, you can activate the alarm and your mute your phone by touching the SmartTag by your bed, or launch your calendar or email and increase the volume of your phone with the SmartTag on your office desk.

The actions can be personalized to your needs, depending on what you want your phone to do on a certain situation, so your life is made easier.

Near Field Communication is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish  radio communication with each other by touching them or bringing them close to each other, enabling data exchange between devices, and can be used for many things, for example for payment systems. The guys from Developer World prepared a great post about what does NFC mean and how it can be used, so if you want to know more about this technology, don’t miss the post here.

For more information about Xperia SmartTags, including features and phone compatibility please visit the SmartTags product page.