On A Crest Of A Wave: Sony Ericsson Announces Collaboration With Surf-Stars Billabong

Sony Ericsson has announced that it will be releasing a new version of the Xperia Active, in collaboration with surf brand Billabong, designed for ‘extreme sports enthusiasts’.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Active Billabong edition has a feature set identical to the Xperia Active, meaning that it will be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a 1GHz processor and 5-megapixel camera, just like its older brother.

However, it’s the durability features that made the Xperia Active so interesting and unique – and a good fit with those ‘extreme sport guys’ that it’s aiming for.

First of all, the new kid on the block is dust proof and water resistant to IP67 and includes wet-finger tracking. This ensures the touchscreen can still be used even when wet – which is quite helpful when taking your mobile deep-sea diving!

Secondly, features unique to the Billabong Edition of the Xperia Active include: new screensaver, videos and the Billabong LIVE app, whilst the Xperia Play will also get the exclusive Billabong Surf Trip game.

Stephen Croix from Sony Ericsson said: “Billabong brings a new, enthusiastic and engaging audience who are early technology adopters and influencers in the areas of sports and technology.

“This partnership is a perfect fit with our brand and the Xperia range of smartphones.”

Unfortunately, the device doesn’t feature a shark attack warning system. One for the future eh chaps?