Sony Ericsson seems good and ready to launch its first application store. Since everyone else is having a store of their own, why should Sony Ericsson be any different? But the company has taken a totally different approach on this one. Instead of creating a dedicated app store it decided to add the apps to the PlayNow arena. The service is used so far for music distribution and starting this month for movie rentals too. Is Sony Ericsson copying Apple’s iTunes?

The future apps will be available in 13 countries and it will run on about 38 Sony Ericsson phones when the app store is ready to be launched. The first apps you can expect will be Java- or Symbian-based but who knows what Sony Ericsson is preparing for later this year when at least an Android phone is expected. Developers will be able to submit their apps starting with July 1 and the store will therefore be launched at a later date.

via businesswire

Tags: App Store, Apple, Arena, iTunes, Mobile News, Mobile Software, playnow, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson has at least one more trick up its sleeve before going under. The company is getting ready to launch its mobile movie content business this June. It’s not an app store but it’s still a similar service. The new movie downloads section will be part of the existing PlayNow Arena service. Using the new service you will be able to download videos to your PC at first and then you’ll be able to bring them to life on your smartphone. The movies will be available to play for 90 days after being purchased so you will have plenty of time to enjoy them.

Unfortunately the whole selection process might not really suit your needs. You will be able to choose from 15 movies at any time and up to 60 movies per year with certain phones. The service will be available at first on the W995 and customers in Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK will get it this June. No news about prices yet but we’ll be waiting for the official launch to tell you more.

via playnowarena

Tags: Arena, Mobile News, Movies, playnow, Portable Devices, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson, videos, W995

The LG KM900 Arena finally has a price. The Arena will apparently sell for 599 Euro in the Netherlands which probably means the handset will have the same price tag all over Europe. That’s the price without a contract of course, so if you don’t want to pay about $810 on the Arena you should probably wait for carriers to release it for a subsidized price. The phone will be available sometime in the following weeks in the Netherlands and other markets.

via PortableGear

Tags: Arena, Europe, KM900, LG, LG, Mobile News

The LG Arena, that flagship phone we’ve seen launched a while ago, has cleared through the FCC. More than one million units have been pre-ordered already in Europe and Asia while the North American market has been left wanting. The KM900 didn’t have any support for that North American HSPA but luckily all that has been changed. According to the FCC, the KM900QA will be ready to suit the needs of U.S. customers, having support for 850 and 1900 MHz HSPA bands. So are you going to order an Arena soon? Anxious of playing with that new S-Class 3D interface?

via FCC

Tags: Arena, asia, Europe, fcc, KM900, LG, LG, Mobile News, usa

After a stellar reception in Europe, with over 1 million handsets preordered, LG seems to be looking Stateside to provide a new home for its Arena KM900 cell phone.  The touchscreen device has recently passed through the FCC scanner (called as the KM900QA) and considering its 3G operating frequency of WCDMA 850/1900, this should appear in AT&T’s lineup in the near future.  Looking under the 3-inch WVGA touchscreen and S-Class 3D interface, the Arena KM900 has a host of other features including 8GB of onboard iNAND flash memory, a 5-megapixel camera, and WiFi.

We will have to wait and see if the Arena can create the same kind of magic here in the States as it did Europe.

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Tags: Arena, Cell Phones, fcc, KM900, LG, LG

With preorders already crossing the 1 million mark, LG’s Arena could already be termed as a success in the footsteps of other LG superstars like the Chocolate and the Shine.  The KM900 was first spotted at MWC 2009 and the Korean manufacturer seems to have lost no time in releasing it barely a month after its first appearance.  It’s the Europeans this time around who have the first chance to experience its expansive 3.0 WVGA touchscreen display that can handle DivX videos with aplomb, the cool 3D S-Class user interface, 8GB of internal memory with further expansion up to 40GB via microSD, its auto/manual focus 5-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and watch their favorite online videos at 3G speeds or on a WiFi connection.

The LG Arena is available now across major European markets at an undisclosed price in choices of silver and black titanium colors.

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Tags: Arena, Cell Phones, KM900, LG, LG

LG might really have a winner cell phone on its hands. That’s the LG Arena KM900 which we’ve seen just prior and during this year’s MWC. The phone isn’t available just yet but it’s up for pre-order. And LG is reporting that 1 million KM900 phones have already been ordered by various carriers around the world. Isn’t that great or what? The arrival date and pricing details haven’t been officially or unofficially introduced yet so we’ll just have to keep on waiting for them.

Other famous LG handsets include the Chocolate, the Shine and the Viewty which have all sold over 10 million units. Will the Arena set a new record?

via Telecoms Korea

Tags: Arena, KM900, LG, LG, Mobile News

If you watch the video above and have a little experience with cell phones, you don’t need to read anything about the LG Arena KM900. It’s probably one of the best phones we’ve seen so far from LG and it can easily stand tall in front of the iPhone or the Storm. Or the Pre or the G1! Did I miss anyone important?

The most interesting feature so far is that new 3D user interface. It’s totally new and from what we’ve seen in the official video, we totally like it. Dr. Scott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company said about the UI:

What really makes ARENA special is its intuitive 3D S-Class UI, which is unlike anything that has appeared on a phone before. We surveyed consumers and found that they were unhappy withcurrent interfaces. They wanted a simple, fast and fun way to use multimedia and other features,but also an experience that was dynamic and interesting. We’ve done this so well with our brand new S-Class UI that it will set new standards for handsets in both functionality and fun.

There’s multitouch support, which, combined with the 3D UI leads to an impressive control support. Scroll through menus, drag you fingers against the touchscreen and get the expected result. The cube layout will get you 4 home screens, each one with different shortcuts on it.

Now that we’ve explored the UI, let’s check out the most important of Arena’s features:

• 3-inch touchscreen WVGA display
• Dolby Mobile sound
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and video recording
• 8 GB of internal memory
• 32GB of storage space via microSD slot
• 3G HSDPA and WiFi connectivity
• A-GPS and geo-tagging

The only questions that remains now is about pricing and availability dates although we hope to get those details soon.

Tags: 3D, Arena, KM900, LG, LG, Mobile News, MWC, Portable Devices

LG Electronics will unveil a new flagship multimedia cell phone at the upcoming Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona Spain. The new LG phone, called “the Arena,” features a user interface based around the concept of a three-dimensional cube, with each face of the cube displaying different user functions. To change from one screen to the next, the user simple turns the cube on the handset screen. Four main icons provide quick access to functions like phone calls and e-mail.

Since the release of the highly successful iPhone by Apple, cell phone manufacturers have been competing to offer the most innovative new graphical user interface (as opposed to the standard text lists of functions on an ordinary phone). The Arena KM900 is expected to be officially unveiled at a news conference on February 16th.

Tags: Arena, LG, LG, touchscreen

LG seemed ready to officially launch the Arena KM900 ahead of the expected MWC announcement. And the company did launch the device. We’ve seen yesterday official photos of the smartphone, which were leaked by LG UK, and now we have the official specs:

• Tri-band GSM/UMTS/HSDPA 7.2 Mbps connectivity
• 3 inch 800 x 480 WVGA 262K color touchscreen display
• 5 megapixel camera with DVD quality video recording
• FM Radio
• Mobile TV
• A-GPS support
• Wi-Fi
• “S-Class” 3D interface

And LG seems very confident of that “S-Class” 3D interface:

A cube-based layout provides four customizable home screens for direct access to all features. Music, movies, pictures and more are within reach, thanks to intuitive, touch-based 3D menus. The rich 3D graphics give S-Class a life-like look that makes it natural and easy to navigate.

Tags: Arena, KM900, LG, LG, Mobile News, MWC