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Sony Ericsson Developer World launches enhanced Community support and interaction


WEBWIRE

3GSM World Congress, Barcelona, February 14, 2006 – Sony Ericsson today announced the launch of a host of new features enabling a more energizing, dynamic and accessible Sony Ericsson Developer World web portal, facilitating community interaction and closer cooperation with select partners.

“Building on improvements made in 2005 when we removed the login requirement to be able to download docs, tools and code, demonstrating our commitment to freely available technical information, we have now added a number of new features to the web site to nurture an active community and recognize experienced developers’ skills in a better way. This is the result of listening to feedback from the developer community and taking the necessary steps to continue to enhance our developer support services for the benefit of the whole developer community,” said Mikael Nerde, Head of Developer Program and Content Planning at Sony Ericsson.

General design and usability improvements have been made to the web site, simplifying and facilitating community interaction. Added functionality includes the possibility to comment on articles, technical tutorials, developer case studies, tips and code. A forum ranking system and the means for developers to reward each other’s helpful answers by awarding points have also been introduced. Over time and through being an active contributor to the forums, developers will be able to achieve higher ranks, starting as a “Newbie” and building up points to become a “Junior”, “Professional”, “Veteran” and eventually a “Wizard” developer.

At the same time, Sony Ericsson Developer World is modifying its membership structure and removing its two annual, fee-based Core and Core+ memberships. This is done in order to focus on continued educational efforts in emerging technological areas and to satisfy the need of serving a growing number of key development partners.

The new structure only has two levels, simplifying the process for providing technical support and resources, enabling community interaction and working with key partners.

The Community membership is open to the global developer community, giving free and unlimited access to downloading various technical documentation and tools, software development kits, white papers, tips, tricks and code samples, ability to search the forums and Knowledge Base, read forums and articles. There are also a number of additional free services requiring online registration such as interaction and free technical support through the moderated discussion forums, posting forum questions/replies and article comments, and subscription to the popular monthly developer newsletter. Developers in need of dedicated technical support can purchase single or multiple support incidents through the DevShop.

The relationship with Premier Partners (by Sony Ericsson invitation only) is handled by a dedicated partner management team. The company will continue its work with key partners, giving access to premium services such as phone loan program, access to early hardware, software flash equipment, and dedicated technical support. Relationships with key development companies through Sony Ericsson Developer World help the company ensure that a constant stream of applications and content is available for Sony Ericsson phones at launch as well as throughout the product life-cycle via PlayNow™, Fun & Downloads and the Sony Ericsson Application Shop.

Sony Ericsson Developer World will honor its commitment to existing Core and Core+ members until their annual memberships have expired.

The Sony Ericsson Developer World portal was first launched in October 2003 and continuous improvements based on developer feedback, the distribution of one of the best monthly developer newsletters in the industry and personal attention, speed and technical competence when dealing with close partners have made the program extremely popular among professional developers. The number of visitors to the web site has more than doubled in the past year, and the number of downloads tripled compared to 2004.

Additional features and services of the portal will be introduced later this year. The moderated discussion forums steadily increase in popularity, and Sony Ericsson Developer World wants to recognize a few developers in key technology areas who have demonstrated special skills and knowledge of developing for Sony Ericsson phones, and aims to select some “Fellow Experts”, who will gain the same status as Sony Ericsson Developer World’s own forum moderator.

Developer outreach programs like the Sony Ericsson Game Developers Challenge 2004 and educational initiatives in Mobile Java™ 3D development during 2005 have successfully established Sony Ericsson Developer World as a leading technical resource for game developers, and as one of the preferred handset vendors and software developer programs to work with. Building on this success, Sony Ericsson Developer World now contributes to establishing Sony Ericsson as a leader in Mobile Music by creating a Mobile Music eco-system with support of dedicated technical resources for application and content developers. Visit the website at www.sonyericsson.com/developer

Sony Ericsson Developer World is a global support program and web portal totally dedicated to helping serious, wireless developers achieve business success by providing the documentation, tools, training, technical and go-to-market support they need in their development process. Sony Ericsson Developer World helps developers get on the fast track from mind to market, thereby ensuring that a constant stream of fun, useful and innovative content and applications is available for Sony Ericsson phones. www.sonyericsson.com/developer

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications serves the global communications market with innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories, PC-cards and M2M solutions. Established as a joint venture by Ericsson and Sony in 2001, with head quarters in London, the company employs 5,000 people worldwide, including R&D sites in Europe, Japan, China and America. Sony Ericsson is the global title sponsor of the Women’s Tennis Association, and works with the Association to promote the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in over 80 cities during the year. For more information, please visit www.sonyericsson.com

Any product features, specifications or statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual product features, specifications or forward-looking statements are subject to change.



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