Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

Sony Ericsson's new XPERIA X1 is a Windows Mobile touch screen smartphone with a unique "Arc slider" keyboard, a customizable "Panels" interface, and a Wide VGA display. The latter measures 3 inches diagonally, so it's not the largest display on a Windows Mobile device. But it displays 800 x 480 pixels, making it one of the highest resolution screens we've seen on a Windows Mobile device. 


The 42-key QWERTY keyboard has an unusual design. As you slide the display up to expose the keyboard, the device tilts slightly to make it easier to use the keyboard and view the display. The display rotates to horizontal viewing mode when the keyboard is in use. (The device incorporates integrated motion sensor technology to auto-rotate the user interface.)


The device has two built-in digital cameras. The main camera is a 3.2 megapixel video and still-image camera with auto and touch focus capability. There is also a QCIF camera located on the front of the device for video-conferencing calls. 


The XPERIA includes a quad-band GSM phone with GPRS and tri-band UMTS data capability. In addition, the device incorporates 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP wireless capability, as well as an integrated FM radio; and is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7200 528 MHz processor, which also has built-in GPS capability. 


The XPERIA has 128 MB of RAM, 256 MB of flash ROM, and additional file storage can be added via the microSD card slot. We feel the 128 MB of RAM is a little skimpy when compared with other recently-released devices. In addition, the next version of Windows Mobile (WM 7) is rumored to require at least 256 MB of RAM. It may be impossible to upgrade devices without at least that much RAM. 


Panels interface and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional 


The XPERIA is a touch screen smartphone based on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional software. In an attempt to overcome the real (and perceived) limitations of the standard Windows Mobile OS, the device includes Panels, a user-customizable nine-panel interface to launch your favorite applications and access news, weather, slideshows, and more. It also includes a Media Experience Panel, which allows you to navigate seamlessly through captured photos and video clips, pictures, photo tags, games, music, videos, and more.


Challenger to the iPhone?


The XPERIA is seen by some as a challenger to the iPhone, offering not only a simple user interface but things the iPhone doesn't have, like the higher-resolution screen, Arc slider keyboard, and a smaller form factor. Unfortunately, any readability advantage gained because of its higher-resolution screen may be canceled out by the smaller size of the screen (3-inch diagonal as opposed to the iPhone's 3.5-inch screen).


The iPhone 3G comes with an integrated 8 or 16 GB microdrive, and definitely has an advantage over the XPERIA in terms of internal storage space. The XPERIA ships with 256 MB of flash ROM, but only a portion of that can be used for file and data storage. You can add up to 8 GB of storage capacity to the XPERIA with a microSD card, but that will raise the overall price. 


Sony Ericsson is promoting the XPERIA as a "game changing" convergent device that blends productivity and entertainment features. The high resolution display, FM radio, and a variety of other hardware features support the entertainment end of things, and Windows Mobile offers plenty of productivity features. 


As this issue closed in early October 2008, the XPERIA was still on pre-order status in the U.S. We'll have to wait until the device is actually in users' hands to see if it's a real game changer. " (Review based on initial descriptions from Sony Ericsson; the final release version may be slightly different.)