It was only a few days ago when we learned that one of the flagship handsets delivered to the market by Japanese-Swedish mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson had been pulled from shelves by retailers in the UK, namely the Satio, and now a second device from the company, the Sony Ericsson Aino, is reported to experience some problems with its touchscreen interface. It seems that Aino too comes around with a series of software issues, though not as big as those with Satio, and the handset is still on sale in the UK.

According to a Sony Ericsson spokesperson, the issue with Aino seems to be related to the handset's touchscreen display, and problems have been reported only by a small number of users. Moreover, the said official also stated that the units affected are part of the handset vendor's Christmas line-up, and only customers in the UK have been affected. “Obviously we are working as quickly as possible to solve it (the issue),” Sony Ericsson spokesman Mattias Holm reportedly stated.

An official statement from the handset vendor on the matter states the following: "Sony Ericsson in the UK confirms that it is aware of a reported software issue regarding the Aino handset and using the touchscreen interface in particular. We are working as quickly as we can to solve it. Aino is still on sale in the UK and this issue affects only a very small number of handsets."

The problem with the company's two flagship mobile phones are expected to greatly influence its device sales during the holiday season, and even beyond that. “Aino and Satio are Sony Ericsson's key products for the final quarter,” said analyst Geoff Blaber from British consultancy CCS Insight. “These problems couldn't come at a worse time -- just as the market approaches the highest volume weeks of the year. They have days not weeks to fix these issues.”

However, Sony Ericsson does not see this as a major problem and says that its brand hasn't been affected. “At the moment, we don't see any damage or harm done,” Holm said. “It is a contained issue affecting only a small number of consumers.” Even so, one should already be aware of the fact that the company has had a series of bad quarters lately, and that the Satio and Aino are two of the mobile phones that were expected to help the maker regain its position on the market.