Sony Ericsson has yet to make this public, but we've learned that the flagging handset maker has caved once more to the pressures of the modern phone market place. If you'll recall, 450 employees were nixed from the company's payrolls in September of last year, and now the entire Research Triangle Park facility is being shuttered. In an internal announcement made this morning, SE is fixing to close four total sites: RTP in North Carolina, a smaller Miami facility and operations in Kista (Sweden) and Chennai. All told, 2,000 employees will be trimmed, with severance packages being offered to those who qualify. As of now, the departing individuals have yet to be chosen, with employees in RTP given the opportunity to apply for jobs elsewhere (likely in Atlanta or California). We're told that the cuts will happen "in stages," with project teams being assembled as we speak to work out the logistics. Frankly, we aren't as shocked as we are saddened to hear the news -- SE has refused to keep pace with the other handset makers, and its decision to wait until next year to ship an Android device is indicative of the choices that have kept it in the shadows these past few years. Here's hoping this restructuring effort actually gets things headed in the right direction.

Update: And it's official. SE will also be shutting down small offices in Seattle and San Diego, with its North American headquarters shifting from RTP to Atlanta and its research and development operation transitioning from RTP to Redwood Shores, California.

Sony Ericsson UK's got a new pre-registration page for the Xperia X10, and along with it what appears to be a brand new, February 2010 expected launch. It's hard to say for sure, but as far as we can tell this page is new, and last we heard the target window was a much broader "first half 2010." Can't say we're anymore excited about this than before, but far be it for us to get in the way of a truly die hard fan community. At least you have a better idea of when to break the bank now.

[Thanks, Matej]

Though it may not have the most elegant name in the world, we've got to give Sony Ericsson's Aino credit for at least one thing: it's officially launching in the US, unlocked, just a few short months after being announced. You'll be paying a stout $599.99 for the privilege of putting one in your pocket, but in exchange, you'll get an 8.1 megapixel sensor, Remote Play support, tri-band HSPA, and WiFi on a 432 x 240 display. You're not just getting the phone for that outlay, though: SE also throws in a stereo Bluetooth headset, dock, and an 8GB microSD (yes, microSD, not Memory Stick, mercifully) card. It's still showing as backordered on SonyStyle's website, but you should be able to find this in stock both online and in Sony's stores across the land very shortly. Follow the break for the full release.

The T707 has become Sony Ericsson's gold-standard midrange fashion flip for 2009, and in light of the fact that T-Mobile USA has been turning a new leaf with these guys lately, it only makes sense that they'd want to bring a version of it onto the network, right? Indeed, the TM717 remix that we've seen in the FCC already has now been officially revealed as the Equinox, featuring a 3.2 megapixel camera, integrated FM radio, support for HSDPA, and a trick motion sensor that lets you control certain phone functions by waving your hand over the front. It'll be hitting "select" T-Mobile retail locations plus the corporate website tomorrow, but anyone holding out until the 31st and visiting the grand opening of T-Mob's latest LA location will have a chance to meet diehard Sony Ericsson fanatic Maria Sharapova (pictured, along with a T707) and participate in a lookalike contest. Conveniently, we were looking to go out on Halloween as Maria Sharapova anyhow, so this works out swimmingly.

It could be argued that Sony Ericsson owes the world some love after it built up its last event only to introduce a single, solitary A2DP headset, but we might finally get what's coming to us in just a few days' time. It looks like November 3 is the date SE has chosen to unleash the first volley in its Android strategy on the world, likely the XPERIA X3 (or X10, or whatever the heck they decide to call it) with that wild Rachael UI that we've been tracking for a few months. How do we know? Well, it does line up with the latest and greatest rumors -- but more importantly, digging into the event page's HTML source reveals several mentions of Rachael by name, so... yeah, that's pretty much a lock. Should the unannounced Dragon and Sholes / Droid both be shaking in their boots already?

[Via se-blog.com]

Obviously, not every part of Ericsson (or Sony, for that matter) knows what's going on over at Sony Ericsson HQ -- though they share names, joint venture Sony Ericsson is a separate company, by and large, joined to its corporate parents more by ownership than by mindshare. Still, though, you can't help but find it interesting that Ericsson Labs' official Twitter account is tweeting about a story on Softpedia echoing recent rumors that the Android-powered, Rachael-skinned XPERIA X3 will finally bow next month. In the most sensational version of the conclusion-drawing that's about to occur, we'd say that Ericsson just underhandedly confirmed the story, the product, and the product's name -- and in the least sensational version, a dude in one division of a largely unrelated company is simply throwing out a story that he finds interesting. Considering the rumored specs on the X3, we're hoping its the former -- and realistically, we might only have a few more weeks before we find out.

Bad news, good news, and potentially great news time, folks. First with the bad: Sony Ericsson posted another loss for its fiscal third quarter, to the tune of 164 million euro (about $244 million US), blaming a large chunk of that on a drop in sales. Sales dropped year-over-year 40 percent to 1.6 billion euro, and unit shipments comparably down 45 percent. That's the bad, now what's good for SE is that its secured more financial backing to reshape its future into something more profitable. External financing totals a reported 455 million euro ($676 million US), 255 million of which is already in the company's position and 200 million as a two-year backup. SE also managed to beat analyst estimates, losing less than anticipated, and that's gotta induce some bittersweet smiles in the corporate boardrooms... oh, the potentially great news? Well, SEMC blog has boldly announced that the Android-imbued Rachael (a.k.a. XPERIA X3) is due out this November, same specs as we heard before and two color options, Sensuous Black and Luster White. Unfortunately, we're not seeing exactly where this news is coming for, so until SE speaks the magic words, we're considering it a rumor for now -- but we're hopeful.

[Via GSM Arena; thanks, Gillz and Christo]

Read - Rachael in November?
Read - Sony Ericsson 3Q loss widens
Read - XPERIA X3 in the wild

Hey, Britons: about a nice three-pack of "wow!" to start your week off right? We'd like to direct your attention over to Vodafone, where three particularly notable handsets that we've been following in recent months are now in stock and ready for delivery. The HTC Tattoo represents the new low end in Android fare, bringing a resistive QVGA display and a 3.2 megapixel cam to the table -- it'll go out the door for free on a £25 monthly plan. Heading over to the Windows Mobile side of the trailer park, the GM750 is a Voda exclusive loaded to the hilt with that newfangled WinMo 6.5 everyone's been talking about these days; it comes loaded up with a 5 megapixel camera and, like the Tattoo, can be yours for nary a penny on a £25 plan. Finally -- get ready -- the Symbian-powered Satio from Sony Ericsson is ready for your consumption, all 12.1 megapixels of it, for just another 10 quid a month. We'll take all three, thanks.

[Via Electronista]

Read - Sony Ericsson Satio
Read - HTC Tattoo
Read - LG GM750

So the bad news is that we're not seeing a lick of North American 3G listed in the FCC filing for Sony Ericsson's upcoming Xperia Pureness, that totally crazy candybar with the transparent display. The good news, however, is that we have absolutely no idea what you'd need 3G for, considering that a see-through screen doesn't really lend itself to hours upon hours of rich streaming media or web browsing; yes, sure, you could tether, but would you seriously subject a work of art to the shame of being cabled to a far less visually stunning laptop? Nah, we know you wouldn't -- and that Aura of yours doesn't have 3G, either, so it's pretty much par for the course. We're encouraged by FCC certification, but let's hope the Pureness actually makes it all the way to Sony Style's online store as an unlocked piece -- and furthermore, let's hope it undercuts the Aura by hundreds (nay, thousands) of dollars.

Are you a "connected socializer" or a "sharing optimizer" who's "motivated by the combination of affordability, style, and high-end features"? If so, good news: T-Mobile's directly targeting you with the release of its Sony Ericsson Equinox, a tweaked version of the T707 that we've seen in the FCC as the TM717 not long ago. Big features on this one include a 3.2 megapixel cam, a trick multi-colored pulsating light up front that can be assigned to individual contacts, and support for gesture controls, but don't get too excited just yet -- you'll have to wait until October 28 to enjoy this lovely little gem, it seems.

Vodafone UK never seems to have a shortage of exciting new models in the pipeline; right now they've got no fewer than eight biggies listed on their Coming Soon page, and while we wouldn't necessarily categorize every last one as "exciting," there are a couple doozies in there. Besides the HTC Tattoo that we mentioned earlier, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 is following on a month later in November holding down Windows Mobile 6.5 with its positively mind-bending customized home screen. Also notable is the Samsung "Genio," known globally as the recently-announced Corby -- Samsung intended it as an entry-level full-touch phone for the younger crowd, and to that end, Voda looks to be selling it on prepaid. It's gotta be a tough call deciding what to buy next for subscribers, but if you ask us, that's a positively awesome problem to have.

[Via CoolSmartPhone]

"Put your ears in control." That's the best clue we've got about the stuff Sony Ericsson plans on showing next Monday, when it'll be holding a webcast at 11:00AM GMT+1 to "see how the way you listen to music changes forever." Given that PlayNow Plus is still a big up-and-coming push for the company, the announcement could be entirely software and service related -- but we know we've got some Android goods in the pipe that need to get shown at some point, and let's be honest, there's always room for another miscellaneous Walkman-branded phone or two in the lineup. We''ll know what's what soon enough.

[Via Mobile Phone Helpdesk]

Unlimited music services have been met with generally mixed reaction around the world, but Sony Ericsson's still interested in getting down in the trenches and duking it out with Nokia for supremacy in a battle of Comes With Music versus PlayNow Plus. The company is now taking its service to Holland through a partnership with T-Mobile's local outpost, launching on the W995 slider for €9.95 a month (about $14.50) when paired with an internet plan (starting at €9.95) on a two-year deal. The good news is that they're chucking in the first six months of service for free, but the bad news is that it's not entirely clear what happens to your downloaded music when you cancel the subscription -- odds are it vanishes into thin air, but we'll stay optimistic until it launches next month and we hear the details.

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Monday, September 7, 2009:

• Samsung's got a version of the Jet for its domestic Korean market, the clumsily-named "Haptic AMOLED." Unlike its international cousin, the Haptic AMOLED packs a T-DMB tuner (as just about all Korean phones do) and it's available in spicy pink and white shades for the usual carriers SKT, KTF, and LGT.
• Did you know that AT&T used to have a stake in the Indian wireless market? Yeah, us neither, but they did prior to the Cingular merger -- and rumor has it they're looking to get back in by buying a chunk of state-owned operator BSNL, ostensibly because the market -- which is still in a heavy growth phase -- is seen as a powder keg waiting to explode.
• This one's been going around for a few days, and with the carrier's full-court press on Android, it makes total sense: the Bluetooth SIG is reporting that the Samsung T939 Behold2 for T-Mobile will feature "Google Mobile services," which would fit in with an earlier user agent profile leak. [Via Cell Phone Signal]
• There's a new Samsung i8910 HD firmware that's starting to hit some regions, and it's a good one -- it features an all-new 3D task switcher and a built-in weather forecast widget for TouchWiz. [Via PhoneArena]
• Surprise, surprise: Toshiba is relaunching the mighty TG01 with Windows Mobile 6.5 next month, a move that was fully expected all along. If anything, there'd be riots had this not happened.
• Sony Ericsson's Panel SDK for the X2 is now available, featuring new "Panelizer" tools to convert existing apps into panels in a few easy steps -- and starting in the next few days, devs will be able to submit their work for inclusion in the PlayNow arena.
• Vodafone has launched a range of eight new self-branded devices that'll be available in time for the holidays this year, and as usual, they're positioned squarely at the lower end of the market. Some of them like the E71 ripoff 1240 (pictured) are straight-up KIRFs, while others like the "Crystal" member of the 533 Catwalk Collection are trying to ooze fashion and style without killing the wad of cash stuffed in your pocket. Whether they've succeeded in doing that... well, that's another question altogether. [Via Unwired View]

Hate or love their software, their usability, or their distribution model, it's hard to argue that Sony Ericsson (and Ericsson before it) hasn't usually had a keen eye for design. Ed Hardy, on the other hand... well, that's open to debate -- but like it or not, the two world are colliding thanks to Carphone Warehouse division mobiles.co.uk over in the UK. It seems the retailer has an exclusive on an Ed Hardied version of the W595 slider that's currently on pre-order, offering the same specs as its more buttoned-up sister -- QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel cam, HSDPA -- but the shell's been traded out for a truly unforgettable mishmash of artistry that's sure to leave an impression on anyone who sees the phone glued to your face. It's no more wild than the Bob Sinclar W508, really, so pick your poison.

[Via mobil.cz]