The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is one of the most-anticipated newsmartphones to come from Sony Ericsson in years. Previous smartphonesfrom the company focused on their P-range, with the P900 and itssuccessors perhaps the most well-known. Although these have always beenwell-regarded, I've also found them a bit too fiddly to use. You eitherhad to rely on stylus-based hand-writing recognition, which onlyrecognized a single character at a time, or a keyboard so small only a5 year old child could use.
The Xperia X1 changes all that, as it comes with a slide outkeyboard similar to other manufacturers' smartphones (such as HTC'srange or the Nokia E90). Better still, Sony Ericsson have had the goodsense of stuffing the X1 with every conceivable feature they couldthink of!
Read on for a sneak preview of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 in action.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 smarpthone preview
From the outside, the Xperia X1 is a great looking smartphone, witha huge display and just a few buttons on the bottom. OK, so it's not asaesethically pure as the iPhone, in that it's not all touch-screencontrolled, but the beauty of this design is that the buttons enableyou to access often-used features with just one click no matter whereyou are in the X1's menuing system, one of the buttons is atouch-sensitive mouse, you get the added advantage of a physical QWERTYkeyboard that slides out from underneath the phone, and you still getthe benefits of a touchscreen as well, as the X1 also offers this as afeature (pause for breath!)
So, yeh, I like the Xperia's physical form a lot.
User Interface
One of the key features that Sony Ericsson are shouting loudlyabout the Xperia X1 is its use of Panels. These are new user interfaceelements that act as individual windows onto specific apps. You canthink of them as dynamic thumbnails onto the apps underneath them. Forexample, you get a dedicated Google Panel that lets you search fromwithin it, and a FaceBook panel showing your personal newfeed that'sdynamically updated as your friends change their status or post on eachothers' walls.
The aquarium panel is a great new feature. Different aspects of thephone are represented by different coloured fish that move about intheir panel. For example one fish will change colour if you havevoicemail, while another changes colour for email, etc. This is areally novel and fun new way of interacting with the user. It can't betoo long before someone develops a panel that recognizes not only acaller, but also the tone of the voice from their voice-mail, andrepresents them in a panel using a cartoon avatar. Picture a horsebraying angrily, for example, if your wife's left a nagging voicemail,or a puzzled donkey if your bloke's phoned you asking what he did withthe car keys for the 16th time in a week!
Sony Ericsson want developers to create third party Panels forXperia X1 users, so expect many other services to appear over time,giving the X1 even more appeal.
Xperia X1's key features
I've already mentioned that Sony Ericsson have stuffed the X1 full with features, and I wasn't joking! Just check out this spec:
* Quad band HSDPA/HSUPA
* WiFi
* Bluetooth
* aGPS
* 3.2 Megapixel Camera
* Qualcomm MSM7200A CPU, 528Mhz
* 800x480 Touchscreen
* MicroSD
* MiniUSB
* 3.5mm headset jack
* 110 x 53 x 16.7 mm
* 145 grams
* 1500 mAH Battery
All this on a gloriously crisp 800x480 touchscreen. Superfastdownloads with HSDPA, glorious screen and great keyboard - mobile Websurfing should be a dream (although you will have to put up with MobileInternet Explorer, as the X1 is uses Windows Mobile underneath).
As far as battery life goes, Sony Ericsson claim you'll be able toget an unbelievable 6 hours of talk time or browsing time from it,which is unheard of for a phone with this amount of power.
Summary
This little glimpse into the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 has hopefullygiven you a taste for what's to come. You can find out more over atWMExperts, who have tonnes of great pics of the X1, plus answers tosome key questions from eager fans. The Xperia X1 is designed to be aworld phone, and Sony Ericsson are apparently hoping it'll sellstrongly in the US in particular. Expect it some time close toChristmas 2008, so better get saving now!