Sony Ericsson is finally catering to development. As many people believe should always be the case, Sony will now being offering an unlockable bootloader on some their new upcoming models. Which means the Xperia Play, Arc, Neo, and Pro will be eligible. Although there will be certain requirements that have to be met, like the phone having to be SIM unlocked.
If you’d like to find out whether or not your phone has an unlocked bootloader, simply see if it connects to the “Fastboot” tool that comes with the Android SDK. If you can connect the bootloader can be unlocked.
Of course unlocking the bootloader may also void the warranty of your phone. As far as precautionary measures go Sony has stated that flashing a custom ROM that has not been put through their tests could possibly brick your device, although we us flash addicts know these risks. It is recommended that “standard” users not unlock the bootloader.
It’s nice to see Sony embracing the Android experience and allowing the full range of customizations we all love. Sony has stated that they are more than willings to listen and work with the open development world, and more information on these new offerings will be available later this Spring.
Source: Sony Ericsson Developer Blog
