It's Official: Sony Ericsson and Windows Mobile Come Together

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/feb08/02-10SonyMWCPR.mspx' target='_blank'>http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/...0SonyMWCPR.mspx</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Today at Mobile World Congress 2008, Microsoft Corp. announced that Sony Ericsson will deliver a new Windows Mobile phone, the XPERIA™ X1, which blends mobile Web communication and multimedia entertainment, to meet consumer demand for a premium mobile experience for work and play. “People should be able to have phones that deliver what they need throughout the day and stay connected with today’s broad array of on-demand information and entertainment no matter where they are,” said Pieter Knook, senior vice president, Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft. “Our shared vision with Sony Ericsson is to make the concept of ‘One Phone for Your Life’ a reality and finally give consumers the freedom of true mobility.” The XPERIA X1 from Sony Ericsson lets users choose from a dynamic range of activities for work and play backed by the familiarity of Microsoft Windows and extensive availability of Windows Mobile applications and services. To be introduced in the second half of 2008, XPERIA X1 is the first phone to realize the vision of XPERIA, a new Sony Ericsson sub-brand that reflects a premium experience of energized communication."</i><br /><br /><a href="http://pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=56728">Rumours, no more!</a> Sony Ericsson and Windows Mobile are officially an item, with the first device, the XPERIA X1, set to be introduced in the second half of 2008. More on this device in just a moment. In the meantime, drop your thoughts on this partnership in this thread!

[dommasters]

I already said this elsewhere but ... this is BRILLIANT news.

[whydidnt]

It looks great, I love the WVGA screen. But come on, how is this going to compete with a 16 GB iPhone when it has "up to" 400 MB of Memory. Why oh why can't we get a media-centric WM phone with 16-32 GB of built in storage? The best we have is the huge HTC Advantage with an 8 GB Micro-Drive. When you see the size of the 32 GB iPod Touch, it's just more frustrating to see that WM manufacturers continue to skimp in this area, there can't be a technical limitation can there? :evil: :evil: :evil:

[nGage]

... When you see the size of the 32 GB iPod Touch...

What 32Gb iPod Touch? I thought they came in 8Gb and 16Gb. At least with this device you have the option of adding additional storage that could (theoretically) exceed 16Gb. While the iPhone / iPod touch are lovely devices, they have no scope for adding storage. That said, what a shame it is memory stick storage on this thing :cry:

[whydidnt]

... When you see the size of the 32 GB iPod Touch...

What 32Gb iPod Touch? I thought they came in 8Gb and 16Gb. At least with this device you have the option of adding additional storage that could (theoretically) exceed 16Gb. While the iPhone / iPod touch are lovely devices, they have no scope for adding storage. That said, what a shame it is memory stick storage on this thing :cry:

Apple released a 32 GB version of the Touch this last week (I have one in my hands right now!) as well as a 16 GB version of the iPhone. By the time Sony actually releases this it's likely there will be a 3G iPhone with at least 16 GB of Memory if not 32 GB. Unfortunately, all these phones have gone to MicroSD storage for memory, so for the time being we are limited to 8 GB of storage unless you want to swap cards.

With 32 GB of Memory on the Touch, I have my entire music collection, several movies, podcasts, photos, contacts &amp; calendar and still have a couple of GB's to spare without having to worry about swapping cards. If Apple adds Exchange email to the iPhone, and we some decent third party apps when the SDK is put to use, I will most likely jump from the WM ship. completely. This is what convergence means to me, but MS and their OEM's seem to be more concerned about trying to match the UI and adding another feature, rather than making it so their users can truly carry everything with them at once.

[nGage]

whydidnt, WOW! Nice! When I play with my wife's 16Gb iPod Touch I just think how nice it is. I have been using (and sometimes developing for) Windows CE / Windows Mobile pretty much since WinCE 1.0 (Yuck!) and the iPhone in it's first version has shown up the microsoft team in a big way. In all honesty I will probably abandon the platform once the iPhone is released here in Australia. I think MS have had a long time to get it right and they just can't do it. I think the base O/S is good, but the UI stinks. Look at what Palm did for it with their mods for the Treo 750. Now we hear that Windows Mobile 7 will be touch focussed. Yeah right guys, brilliant, can't wait.

(Apologies for the rant, just seemed to flow on ...)

[Janak Parekh]

It looks great, I love the WVGA screen. But come on, how is this going to compete with a 16 GB iPhone when it has "up to" 400 MB of Memory. Why oh why can't we get a media-centric WM phone with 16-32 GB of built in storage? The best we have is the huge HTC Advantage with an 8 GB Micro-Drive. When you see the size of the 32 GB iPod Touch, it's just more frustrating to see that WM manufacturers continue to skimp in this area, there can't be a technical limitation can there? :evil: :evil: :evil:
Being an iPhone owner, I understand your point completely. That said, I presume there will be a 32GB Memory Stick Micro card that one could use with this device, at the cost of additional expense and the fact that 99% of WM media player software sucks compared to the iPod app on the iPod Touch/iPhone. (After all, they just released a 32GB SDHC. Too bad this is a SE device and will likely only have MS...)

--janak

[midtoad]

let's see now... the Xperia will run WinMo6, which ships with Pocket Internet Explorer. About the only more lame in the world than trying to browse in 320x240 with PIE is trying to browse in 800x400 in PIE.

If this thing doesn't ship with Opera Mobile 9.5, or better, it's sure not to give Safari on the iPhone a run for its money.

[urologyhealth]

Will this phone be unlocked and work on ATT or other networks?

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Will this phone be unlocked and work on ATT or other networks?

It'll work on any network that is GSM. As to whether it'll be available unlocked, I'd say it's 100% certain - for everywhere but the US. Whether it'll be available unlocked there is anybody's guess.