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SonyEricsson Makes PlayStation Connection

London — A pair of 3G phones unveiled here by SonyEricsson includes a model that uses Wi-Fi and 3G to stream content from a home’s PlayStation3 game console.

In a related announced, both phones — the Aino and Yari — will play back movies side-loaded from a PC after the PC downloads them from Sony’s PlayNow site. The movie service, which will be bundled with these and other select phones, lets consumers watch up to 60 movies a year on the phones. Once downloaded, the movies can be watched as often as the consumer wants for up to 90 days.

The 3G HSPA phones will be available in versions designed for U.S. networks. Those versions will operate in quadband EDGE mode and in 850/1,900/2,100MHz HSPA mode. The company said the phones would be available in select markets worldwide in the fourth quarter but, at press time, did not specify a U.S. launch date. However, Jon Mulder, head of North American product marketing. did say  that “currently we do anticipate that these models will be unlocked in various channels in the U.S. We have yet to announce operator partnerships.”

The PlayStation-connected phone, called the Aino, accesses PlayStation content via Wi-Fi within a home network or, via cellular, from a remote location, Mulder said. It also uses Wi-Fi to synchronize with multimedia content stored on a nearby PC that runs Media Home software from SonyEricsson. Users insert the Aino into its supplied charging stand to synchronize multimedia content.

Other Aino features include 3-inch widescreen touchscreen, included wireless headphones and an 8.1-megapixel camera with photo flash.

The Yari will be the company’s first gaming phone equipped with gesture- and motion- gaming technology outside the Japan market. Users move their body to play instead of pressing buttons, although the phone also features dedicated A/B gaming buttons. Other features include 5-megapixel camera and music player.

Prices were not announced.

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