Research Triangle Park, N.C. - Stating that "market conditions have changed very rapidly and action must be taken to ensure that it can remain competitive in the dynamic and fast-paced telecommunications industry," Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), the manufacturer of communication devices, announced that it will reduce its workforce worldwide by 2,000 people.

London - Cell phone maker Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson on Wednesday introduced PlayNow, an unlimited mobile music service powered by Omnifone that is due to launch with Telenor in Sweden later this year.

Stockholm - Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson on Friday announced the launch of PlayNow Arena in Scandinavia, a mobile download store offering music, games and applications, Dow Jones reports. The service launches with 1 million tracks from Sony BMG, Warner Music, EMI and others. Sony Ericsson plans to expand the service to other European countries later this year, and make it available globally in 2009, eventually offering a catalog of five million songs.

Cannes, France - Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) on Monday announced deals with 10 record labels that will add over 5 million new tracks to PlayNow, its over-the-air mobile music download service. New signings include Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone. The service was initially introduced in 2004, and is now available in 32 countries. Sony Ericsson also said it has added 250 new mobile games to the PlayNow service, from publishers including EA Games, Gameloft, THQ and Glu Mobile.

Research Triangle Park, N.C. - Sony Ericsson on Wednesday released its W580i Walkman phone in the U.S., which will be sold at AT&T stores as well as from Best Buy, RadioShack and Amazon.com. The slider-style phone includes the Walkman 2.0 media player, up to 4GB of memory, a 2-megapixel camera and features such as music ID software and Shake Control, which lets users skip through songs by flicking their wrists.

Emeryville, Calif. - Gracenote, a provider of music identification and other digital media services, announced on Thursday the launch of its Mobile Music 2.0 platform, which will power mobile music search and discovery services on handsets from makers including Sony Ericsson. The service will let users identify CDs via their PC, and transfer songs to their mobile phones, as well as search for music and get recommendations on their phones, and purchase tracks from mobile music stores. The first phones to support the service -- the Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman and K850 Cyber-shot, are slated to ship in the fall.

New York - Responding to reports that the company filed a U.S. patent application for a device that would integrate a mobile phone into the Sony PSP handheld game system, Sony Ericsson said it is not poised to launch such a device, Reuters reported.

San Francisco - Sony Ericsson has filed for a patent on the design for a next-generation PSP handheld game system that will double as a mobile phone, Wired News reported. The smaller device features a screen that can be rotated to vertical and horizontal views. The patent filing includes a screen-capture schematic that shows a game on-screen, with an overlay that reads: "Incoming call received. You'd like to suspend game to answer call?"

Tokyo - Sony Ericsson this week introduced a new music-enabled Walkman handset model in Japan that features a built-in FM transmitter, for beaming songs to nearby car stereos or other radio receivers. The Sony Ericsson W525 features a 2.7-inch widescreen display and 2GB of memory.

London - Sony Ericsson on Tuesday introduced two new handsets in its Walkman music phone line, which to date has sold over 20 million units. The W880 Walkman phone, at 9.4mm, is the slimmest handset yet to be released by the company, and comes with a 1GB Memory Stick Micro and 2-megapixel camera. The W610 Walkman phone also features a 2-megapixel camera, along with a 512MB Memory Stick Micro, TrackID music recognition application, and the ability to record tracks off of FM radio. Sony Ericsson said the W880 is slated for release in the first quarter, while the W610 will ship in the second quarter of 2007.

Las Vegas - Sony Ericsson on Monday introduced several new Walkman phone models, including the W880 Walkman, which is slated for release in the first half of 2007. The company also debuted the W200, an entry-level music phone model that features up to 1GB of storage, which will ship in the second quarter. Sony Ericsson said that it has sold more than 15 million Walkman phones since first launching the product line in August 2005.