Sony Ericsson announced today that it has teamed up with sportswear giant Billabong to bring a mobile device that better suits surfers and other athletes. If you can find the Xperia Active in its limited and select markets, you will have access to specially suited software, media, and games that will make any sports enthusiast happy to own one. Unfortunately, no word was given on any specs of the device. Let’s just hope it’s at least water-proof. 

London, UK – February 3 , 2012 – Sony Ericsson today announced an expanded global strategic alliance with Billabong, a brand that promotes an authentic lifestyle and the true values of core boardsports (surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding and wakeboarding), which connects the Xperia smartphone brand to a new and highly influential consumer audience and extends to a retail offering for smartphone users. At the center of the partnership is the XperiaTM active Billabong Edition smartphones designed with extreme sports enthusiasts in mind.

“Billabong brings a new, enthusiastic and engaging audience who are early technology adopters and influencers in the areas of sports and technology,”said Stephan Croix, VP Head of Global Marketing Creation for Sony Ericsson. “This partnership is a perfect fit with our brand and the XperiaTM range of smartphones.”

The XperiaTM active Billabong edition is an ideal smartphone for extreme sports enthusiasts who can capture all of the excitement up close and personal. This tough, scratch-resistant smartphone is packed with technologies such as wet finger tracking and has received some of the highest marks in dustproof and water resistance categories (IP67). Click here for more information on the Xperia active.

“The partnership is an expansion of our long term relationship with Sony and an extention of an Asia Pacific alliance developed with Sony Ericsson in 2011,” said Scott Wallace, Billabong’s International VP of Strategic Partnerships & New Media. “Our customers are very tech savvy and their top interests include music, photography, social media and, of course, action sports. Each of these interests can be captured or experienced through the XperiaTM active and we are working on some exciting apps and accessories that should add to the user’s experience. The first to benefit will be the athletes at our major international events who will be testing the XperiaTM active device in conditions as diverse as the snowfields in Austria, surfing the big waves of Tahiti and even skateboarding in Singapore.”

The partnership extends beyond the XperiaTM active as Sony Ericsson and Billabong have also co-created exclusive content for additional XperiaTM devices. The XperiaTM active Billabong Edition will feature preloaded Billabong screenscavers, videos and Billabong LIVE, a mobile app now available in the Sony Ericsson channel in Android Market, and the Xperia TM PLAY will boast an exclusive surf game, Billabong Surf Trip.

Sony Ericsson XperiaTM smartphones will be featured in major Billabong events worldwide. In addition, Sony Ericsson has more to offer its retailer and operator partners with this unique alliance which gives way to an amplified retail strategy with assets, such as merchandise and event access, which will be used in retail promotions.

Via: Android Guys

Sony is playing fast and loose with our hearts lately. On their German Facebook page they have posted this picture to go along with the picture they posted earlier this week. The woman is holding a fairly slim black slate sporting the Ericsson logo on the back. Sony’s post on the page reads (translated):

The Xperia journey continues! Next stop, next week – the new Xperia smartphone Xperia is …….?

It cannot be anything other than the mysterious Nozomi that we have seen captured by spycams. It will most likely be under the name Xperia Ion after a trademark filing by Sony was discovered a while ago, but what will Sony do to break ground with this phone? We have seen them come out with complete Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs already, will this be the first non-Nexus phone to launch with ICS in the States? Next week Sony will tell us everything.

Via: Engadget

Ice Cream Sandwich is being worked on by almost all of the major carriers. The flagship phones are getting updates eventually, and each company is coming out and telling people when they will be out. We have already seen a few official builds come from Huawei and promises from Sony, and now LG is lining up their schedule as well.

The second and third quarters of next year is when we should be seeing LG’s highest caliber phones be getting the bump to ICS. The Optimus LTE, Prada 3.0, Optimus 2X, and the Optimus 3D should all be seeing Google’s newest iteration of Android. Ready for your newest deserts LG owners?

Via: BGR