Xperia PLAY Delayed at Various UK Carriers

Today, Sony Ericsson brought it new Xperia PLAY smartphone to the shelves in various markets around the world, but it seems that things are not looking that great for the company, since it had to delay the launch on the airwaves of various wireless carriers.

In the UK, for example, the smartphone was put on sale via the Carphone Warehouse, but wireless services providers in the country reportedly announced since yesterday that their users would have to wait a little longer for the device to go on sale on their networks.

O2 was the first local carrier to announce the delay, though the company said that it was forced to do so due to a series of software issues that plagued the handset.

Among the other carriers, Vodafone said that the Xperia PLAY would arrive on its airwaves a little later than initially expected, and Three and T-Mobile made similar moves.

Three says that the handset might hit its shelves sometime next week, while T-Mobile UK says that it expects for the device to be released on its network sometime in mid-April.

While O2 said that the Xperia PLAY might be launched on its airwaves later due to certain problems with its software, the rest of the carriers might have pushed the launch back due to low stock.

For those out of the loop, we should note that Sony Ericsson said a few weeks ago that its business would be impacted by the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.

Sony Ericsson already provided an official statement on the matter, saying that the device would indeed arrive at a later date at some retail outlets.

The company was not specific on the length of the delay, but rumor has it that it might be of weeks, and not only a few days.

However, Sony Ericsson announced today that it has made the phone available on shelves in 11 markets, and that it would bring it to six more in about two weeks or so. Keep an eye on this space for more info on the matter.