Sony Ericsson will tilt more toward U.S., China

According to Sony Ericsson's Chief Executive, Bert Nordberg, the company is open to joint ventures in China's gaming industry, and plans to sell its Xperia Play (their new cellphone-and-videogame device), in the country. Mr. Nordberg, declined to give a timeline for the device's launch in China, but said the handset maker will need at least three months to make preparations.

In recent years, Sony Ericsson, a 50-50 joint venture between Sony Corp. of Japan and Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson of Sweden, has struggled with losses and falling market share in the competitive smartphone race. Its focus now is on higher-end devices, like Xperia Play, running on Google Inc.'s Android OS, in a bid to improve its margins and raise its share of global market revenue. The company unveiled Xperia Play at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona last month.

Xperia Play is a crossover of PlayStation Portable gaming console and a cellphone. This is the first attempt in years by a major manufacturer to combine cellphone and full gaming capabilities in the same product. Mr. Nordberg said he expects the device to reach U.S. stores early April, using network operator Verizon Wireless, and then Western Europe. China is on track to become the company's biggest market for mobile phones around 2013-14, as Sony Ericsson ranked fifth in smartphone sales in China in the fourth quarter, according to Beijing research firm Analysys International.

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Google Opens Android Web Store

Google Inc. launched a new Web-based store for applications that run on mobile devices powered by its Android software, one of several moves by the Internet company to keep up with rival Apple Inc. in the wireless sector.

Google's new app market, available at Market.Android.com, is aimed at letting users discover new apps more easily from their computers, as well as to see recommendations by friends and download apps to their mobile devices. That could help level the playing field with Apple, which has had an edge over Android because it allowed users to find apps and buy them through the iTunes program on their computers.

Google also said developers could create Android apps that charge users for in-app purchases of virtual goods in games, among other things—a feature already available on apps running on Apple devices. Google said developers could set prices for their apps in foreign currencies, which previously they had been unable to do.

Google's new moves come as Android overtook Nokia Corp.'s Symbian as the most widely used operating system globally in the fourth quarter, based on the number of devices shipped. Apple came in third, those studies showed.

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BMW sees car keys not phones as next NFC wallet

The car key is about to go head on with the mobile phone in the battle for which one will become your new wallet.

BMW believes you’ll be paying for things when out an about not with your wallet, or your phone, but with your car keys.

Mobile phone companies embrace not keys but mobile phones, following Google’s move to include NFC (Near Field Communication) support in its latest Android operating system: version 2.3.

While that means company’s like Samsung, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson are adding the functionality to their next generation of handsets already, and many more like HTC and Apple are rumoured to be doing so, BMW feels that it can get in on the action too with a connected car key and its next generation of cars.

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Zeitera joins CONNECTIONS Europe 2010 Sponsor List

Parks Associates welcomes Zeitera, a leader in the market for intelligent content recognition solutions across the broadcast, Internet, and consumer electronics ecosystem, to the newest list of sponsors for the 2010 CONNECTIONS Europe Summit in Amsterdam.

Zeitera is a privately held Silicon Valley startup located in Mountain View, CA. and is backed by experienced technology investors with successful track records in building technology companies. Zeitera's team is comprised of experts with a wealth of experience in image processing, data-mining, building large-scale systems at successful start-ups as well as at established technology companies like Sony, AOL, Google, IBM, and Nokia. Zeitera is headquartered in Mountain View, CA.

For more information about Zeitera, visit http://zeitera.com.

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Clarion and Nokia Team Up on Connected Car Technology

Clarion Co., Ltd., a global leader in car audio and electronics, and Nokia Corporation, the world's leading mobile device producer announced that they are collaborating on Terminal Mode, a technology that will enable a totally new way of mobile devices and car infotainment systems to seamlessly work together. Both companies say this collaboration will further boost the development of next-generation smart car infotainment systems.

Through this partnership Clarion aims to develop the smartphone interface that Nokia and Consumer Electronics for Automotive, as well as to build an application service business for in-car devices utilizing the Ovi Store application service by Nokia. Clarion is also targeting accelerated development and greater commercial dominance of in-car information systems for the Europe and North America markets where Nokia has a strong presence, as well as China and other emerging markets. For more information, click here.

LG and Samsung Phones Lead in Advanced Mobile Entertainment Features

LG and Samsung are the top mobile-phone brands in the U.S. for advanced entertainment features, leading competitors Motorola and Nokia in adoption of phones with support for mobile TV, music, and games, according to Parks Associates recent research.

Among owners of LG and Samsung phones, 12% and 11% reported having mobile TV features, respectively, compared with 8% of Motorola owners and 0% for Nokia owners. Among the four leading brands, Motorola ranks third overall, and Nokia lags significantly in advanced entertainment features. Only 6% of Nokia phones support purchase of music tracks, compared with 22% and 20% of LG and Samsung phones, respectively.