It seems Sony Ericsson's new high-end Satio handset is suffering from "issues" as the UK's biggest mobile phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, as well as Phones 4U, have withdrawn the device from sale.

As the Satio is "temporarily" withdrawn from Carphone shop shelves, the chain is also offering to replace handsets for any customer who has experienced problems.

"From time to time we experience issues with new handsets, and their software, which may result in a customer experience that is below our usually high standards. We want customers to have complete confidence and satisfaction in the handsets they buy from us, which is why we have temporarily withdrawn the Sony Ericsson Satio from sale", The Carphone Warehouse says in a statement.

"We are working closely with Sony Ericsson to restock the Satio phone as soon as possible and will offer any customer who returns a faulty Satio an exchange of phone".

Problems reported with the Satio include freezing, crashing, battery problems and issues with the phone's interface.

"Sony Ericsson confirms that it has been made aware that a small number of consumers have experienced software issues with its Satio handset when using certain applications", Sony Ericsson says in a statement.  

"Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U have temporarily removed the handset from sale to ensure that future customers do not have an adverse experience. Sony Ericsson is giving this matter its utmost priority and is working toward solving it as soon as possible".

A Vodafone spokesperson told Pocket-lint that the Satio it offers is a Vodafone variant that's been through testing. The operator says it's continuing to keep a track of the situation, but it is still offering the Vodafone Sony Ericsson Satio for sale.

We've yet to hear if other operators that offer the handset will also be stopping sales or offering exchanges, but we'll update this post as we do.

UPDATE: Sony Ericsson has now issued a bug fix software update.