Sony Ericsson launches beta version of WebSDK

It has to be said that Sony Ericsson was slow to get in on the whole smartphone and app store craze, but it was a big step forward when it revealed it was working on a unique toolset developed in partnership with the PhoneGap open source community.

Coined WebSDK (not to be confused with Palm's WebOS, of course), this collection of tools has just been made available, and will allow developers to create applications for Sony Ericsson's range of both Android and Symbian handsets.

"With the Sony Ericsson WebSDK our focus is on bringing all the capabilities of web technologies to mobile applications and giving web developers wide access to easy-to-use tools and mobile phone platforms," Sony Ericsson's Christopher David explains.

"We are driving this initiative together with the PhoneGap open source community and invite developers to join us as we offer advanced mobile devices and a clear monetisation path."

The first devices that will benefit from the WebSDK platform, the Xperia X10 and Satio, will soon be available, and both are proving quite popular with critics.