Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) denies the launch of its first Windows Mobile-powered handset will be delayed. Weekend reports held the Xperia 1, which drew plenty of gadget fans to SE’s booth when it was announced at Mobile World Congress in February, would be pushed back. But a spokesperson told Reuters: “There is absolutely no delay. The product is on track. We have said it will roll out in Q4 and we are on target to do that.”
In fairness, the gadget maker had officially slated “second half of 2008” for release, though one Sony newsletter went off-message and said mid-September. The handset uses a complicated execution of Windows Mobile 6.1 that tries to make the Xperia both a multimedia and business phone. At the IFA gadget fayre in Berlin, Engadget observed several bugs with the device, adding one Sony Ericsson representative confirmed a launch date as late as January. SE is seen as needing a shot in the arm on handset innovation.