Sony Ericsson lifted by strong sales of the W995

Sony Ericsson has been boosted by strong sales of the W995 as it prepares to unveil an Xperia-branded Android handset.

Retail sources have informed Mobile that the W995 has been ‘flying off the shelves’ in its first month of release, after Sony Ericsson gave the device a £5m marketing push.

Sony Ericsson has been counting the costs of the W905’s software problems and the X1 Xperia’s underperformance, but the manufacturer looks set for a better second half of the year.

Sony Ericsson’s marketing manager, Dave Hilton, told Mobile: ‘We are very pleased with the way the W995 has sold, it proves there is still a strong market for people who don’t want a touchscreen, and that there is still an appetite from slider phones.’

The W995’s success looks to be followed up by an Xperia-branded Google Android phone, after a video of the device, codenamed ‘Rachael’, was leaked onto the internet.

'Rachael’ is anticipated to have the highest screen resolution ever to be found on a mobile, and will offer an eight megapixel camera, wi-fi, GPS, 3G and HSDPA all on board. The screen size is large at four inches.

In addition to ‘Rachael’, Sony Ericsson is expected to release at least one Google Android handset in the UK before the end of the year, and will also release several new handsets under the ‘Xperia’ sub-brand.