Is ‘Xperia’ Sony Ericssons rumored P5i or is it a webservice?

On the 10th of January Sony Ericsson filed for trademark protections for something(s?) called ‘Xperia’ at the US patent and trademark office, also known as the USPTO. Xperia was referred to ‘cellular or mobile phones featuring the capacity to function in any number of extra ways beyond just as a phone’. As the Sony Ericssons trademark application leaked to the Internet community a new wave of rumors started, most of them claiming Xperia should or could be the Sony Ericsson P5i.

We’ve previously reported on the yet to be announced Sony Ericsson P5i in our posts ‘First glimpse of the Sony Ericsson P5i?‘ and ‘Sony Ericsson P5i with a new UIQ 3.2 interface?‘. If this baby ever sees daylight it will certainly be Sony Ericsson’s best smartphone up to date. Rumors are the P5i will feature a 5 megapixel camera (which would explain the model number), Wifi, GPS, HDSPA and HSUPA (for faster upload speeds indicating better support blogging and uploading images and videos to online services such as YouTube and Flickr?), a huge 2.8 inch VGA display (480×640 pixels) and a slider form factor.

The big question now is of course is Xperia a device, a product line or could it even be a service?

Only people involved in the Xperia project can answer that question. We don’t intend to add rumors (various forums on the Internet got that covered) but we can always speculate and investigate. In order to do so, we need to take a look at Sony Ericsson’s trademark application which is available to everyone online at the United States patent and trademark office.

When doing so, we soon realize that the above mentioned trademark application concern two somethings! One having the international class 9, which means some kinds of apparatus or instrument (goods) and one having the international class of 38, which basically means some kind of telecommunication service (more info on international codes here).

This basically tells us the Xperia is indeed an apparatus or device of some kind and that Sony Ericsson also wants to protect a service likely related to this device. It could also be a product line of devices, such as the Walkman series.

The specifications tells us the device features some cool stuff such as a camera, instant messaging, Internet browsing capabilities, radio, games, music, video, uploading to online journals, walkie-talkie (push-to-talk), printing services, GPS, city guides, remote control of PC’s and multimedia presentations, memory card, wireless access, TV-out functions, audio-out and perhaps streaming audio features. However, it does not mention any specifications of any kind, but considering all the features this device has, we can easily come to conclusion that this is a high-end device.

The telecommunication service seems to be some kind of website used to transmit sounds, music, pictures, videos and data. This sounds very much like Nokia’s multimedia portal Mosh. First I thought this could be Sony Ericsson’s music portal, but this is not it (and it’s more likely Sony Ericsson will join some other service provider) as users are also expected to share, not only download and also not only multimedia but also data (such as software).

Looking at this, we can be pretty sure Sony Ericsson is about to release two cool things in the near future. A very interesting smartphone or series of smartphones and some kind of web based service that allows users to share music, videos, pictures and software with each other. The future will tell if this will involve the Sony Ericsson P5i which is expected to be announced sometime in Q2 2008.

Excerpts from USPTO application:

‘International Class 009: cellular or mobile phones; cellular or mobile phones featuring the capacity to function in any number of extra ways beyond just as a phone, namely, to function as a camera, to perform instant messaging, to conduct multimedia messaging, to access and communicate with e-mail, to access and communicate with the Internet, to access and communicate with Intranets or private computer networks, to access and communicate data, to function as a radio, to record, play, transmit, receive, and/or manage music, to record, play, transmit, receive, edit, and/or manage audio or voice, to record, play, transmit, receive, edit, and/or manage video, to create, view, transmit, receive, edit, and/or manage photographs or pictures, to upload, view, transmit, receive, edit, and/or manage graphics or images, to play electronic games, to upload photographs and text onto online journals or web logs also known as blogs, to manage a calendar and contact information and otherwise function as a personal digital assistant (PDA), to function as walkie-talkies, to effectuate mobile printing, to perform satellite navigation, to view electronic city guides, to function as a remote control for computers and run multimedia presentations, and/or to transmit video, sound, and/or data to websites; downloadable electronic manuals in the field of cellular or mobile phones; memory cards and sticks for cellular or mobile phones; personal computer cards that enable computers and laptop computers to gain wireless access to, and communicate with, e-mail, the Internet, Intranets, or private computer networks; computer application software for cellular or mobile phones; downloadable computer application software in the field of cellular or mobile phones; downloadable ring tones, graphics, games, audio and video clips, all downloadable to computers and cellular or mobile phones via the Internet; camera devices adapted for use with cellular or mobile phones; devices that allow images from cellular or mobile phones to be shown on televisions, display screens or computer monitors; devices that allow audio from cellular or mobile phones to be heard on stereo systems; audio speakers for listening to music or audio from mobile or cellular phones; combination amplifier and speaker system for listening to music or audio from mobile or cellular phones; radio transmitters; computer games for use with cellular or mobile phones; accessories for cellular or mobile phones in the nature of headsets and devices for hands-free phone use; accessories for cellular or mobile phones in the nature of chargers, batteries, cases, covers, holders, docking stands, and cables; and printed circuit boards

International Class 038: telecommunications services in the nature of transmission of sound, picture, image, video, and data signals, such transmission enabled by means of the Internet and wireless technology, provided in response to commands from computers and cellular or mobile phones; transmission of sound, picture, image, video, and data signals to personalize or enhance cellular or mobile phones, such transmission enabled by means of the Internet and wireless technology, provided in response to commands from computers and cellular or mobile phones; telecommunications services, namely, providing a website that enables transmission of sound, picture, graphic, image, and video signals to the website, where the signals may be edited and then transmitted to computers and cellular or mobile phones; and providing information on calling plans and services of others in the field of cellular or mobile phones’

[Source: trademork.com]