Sales of Sony Ericsson's flagship power phone, the Satio, has a lot of the partnership's prospects riding on it, which makes its removal from the shelves of the Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U a major blow to the beleaguered manufacturer.

A high number of complaints and quick returns of the handset by customers prompted a speedy suspension of Satio sales from the two largest mobile retailers, caused by a problem Sony Ericsson has since called a "software glitch", according to The Telegraph.

After making a loss each quarter for over a year, the Satio was primed to reverse SE's fortunes over the Christmas period, and although the manufacturer insists it's giving the problem its "utmost priority", it's unlikely to make it back into the shops in time.

Even if it did, the likelihood is that the handset's reputation will be shot, and all Sony Ericsson can hope for is that the negative publicity doesn't spread to its other high-profile handsets also due for release.