Sony Ericsson Xperia sales slowed by manufacturing delays

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications isn't shipping as many units of the Xperia X1, its flagship Windows Mobile phone, as originally planned because of manufacturing delays. Hardest hit are Sweden, Germany and the U.K., the countries in which the phone was first launched, a company official said.

More phones are expected to go on sale in Sweden in the next couple of days, and more shipments are also expected in the U.K. and Germany during the next couple of weeks, said the company's Nordic public-relations manager Gustaf Brusewitz.

The company said the manufacturing delays were caused by a lack of certain materials.

"We don't want to go into detail regarding which materials are causing the problems," said Brusewitz.

More people have been added to the project to reduce the delays, he said, declining to give further details. Sony Ericsson is working closely with its manufacturing partner HTC, he said.

Plans to sell the Xperia X1 in other countries won't be affected by the delays, despite the initial shortage of phones, according to Brusewitz.

It will still go on sale as planned in European countries such as Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and Norway, and also Asian markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong. "Phones are shipping now," he said.

The company also still plans to launch the phone in other markets, including the U.S., during November, Brusewitz said.

The Xperia X1 first went on sale on October 10, after its announcement at the Mobile World Congress in February. It is a slider phone, with a 3-inch display, touch navigation and a qwerty keypad.

For surfing the Web it supports Wi-Fi and HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access).

Like most other high-end phones it also supports navigation using A-GPS (Assisted Global Positioning System).

IDG News Service

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