Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 Shows Its Face

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/x1?cc=us&lc=en' target='_blank'>http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/pro.../x1?cc=us&lc=en</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20080211-xperiax1.jpg" /><br /><br />Sony Ericsson's debut Windows Mobile device is not to be dismissed. It packs 400MB (presumably, RAM and ROM combined), a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a high-resolution WVGA (800 x 480) touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, aGPS, an FM radio, a 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera with flash, a Memory Stick Micro slot, USB mass storage support out-of-the-box, and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (800/950/1700/1900/2100) connectivity, all in a high-quality, high-finish metal body. And let's not forget Windows Mobile 6 and a new user interface. Hit the <a href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/x1?cc=us&lc=en">Sony Ericsson web site</a> and <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/10/video-sony-ericssons-xperia-x1-panel-interface/">Engadget</a> for a glimpse of said interface and the device in general.<br /><br /><b>Update #1:</b> Added additional details to the specs list.<br /><br /><b>Update #2:</b> There's some confusion as to whether the X1 supports Memory Stick Micro or microSD, or both. The <a href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/specifications/x1?cc=us&lc=en">specifications page</a> mentions the former. The <a href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/press/pressreleases/pressreleasedetails/key.PressResource.Global_X1-20080210">press release</a> mentions the latter. Which one is it, Sony Ericsson? :?<br /><br /><b>Links:</b> <a href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/x1?cc=us&lc=en">XPERIA X1</a> (Sony Ericsson); <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/10/video-sony-ericssons-xperia-x1-panel-interface/">UI Video</a> (Engadget); <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/feb08/02-10SonyMWCPR.mspx">Press Release</a> (Microsoft PressPass)

[dommasters]

This development is BRILLIANT news! Mine will be on order asap and I'll be writing some mad games for it before the dust settles. Congrats to MS and SE. Between them they have the skills and outlook to creat ultimate devices.

[JKingGrim]

Imate ninety-five-oh-what?? Finally I have another option. This thing looks cool. But I'd have to wait even longer.. But I know someone who works at Sony Ericsson...

But what do they mean by aGPS? No standalone GPS? That would actually be a deal breaker for me.. Will this be at the GSMA congress?

*edit*
I HAS A CTRL KEY ON THE KEYBOARD!!!!!! FINALLY!!! I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOREVER!!!! PLEASE PLEEEEEESA HAVE GPS!
Sorry, I'm a little excited. :D :D :D

*edit again*
Well it has a ctrl key in pictures on this site:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/x1/default.aspx?cc=us&amp;lc=en
Make the smart decision sony. I am so sick of opening the SIP just to copy and paste.

[norti]

We all are excited at this moment :D I'm waiting for more precise specifications and see if we get a PXA310/320 CPU and a large battery in there :)

It'll have aGPS ;)

[JKingGrim]

aGPS is kindof a bummer. aGPS won't work if the phone radio is off or on a phone call. Also, wouldnt a carrier charge if it was aGPS?

This thing is smaller than my mogul. But with a bigger and higher resolution screen. Amazing.

[starstreak]

Yup looked sweet. But I have to see how well the touch worked. One thing I cant stand with my Tilt is dialing. Half the time it doesnt read my presses correctly.

agps- Yup, if its not built-in, not gonna buy it. Rather get the Ultimate phone from that other company. imate or whatever.

[JesterMania]

Wow, this phone seems absolutely brilliant. Owning an N95 now, I have to say the 3mx camera is still a little bit of a bummer but this one's got WVGA and FULL quad-band GSM with FULL quad-band 3G. Over at engadget, the features list also shows "3D games". I don't know what this implies but could it possibly mean that the XPERIA has hardware 3D acceleration as well?

Now, let's see Nokia and others jump onto the bandwagon as well. Time to really heat things up in 2008... :devilboy:

[Duncan]

aGPS is kindof a bummer. aGPS won't work if the phone radio is off or on a phone call.

Not necessarily. *Some* a-GPS devices require the phone radio to be on or available, but they don't need to. Many a-GPS devices continue to function with GPS even if the phone radio is unavailable - just without the 'assisted' bit.

I'd be surprised if Sony Ericsson made the GPS so it won't function without the phone - and with the phone radio it means a much faster and more accurate GPS lock.

[JKingGrim]

aGPS is kindof a bummer. aGPS won't work if the phone radio is off or on a phone call.

Not necessarily. *Some* a-GPS devices require the phone radio to be on or available, but they don't need to. Many a-GPS devices continue to function with GPS even if the phone radio is unavailable - just without the 'assisted' bit.

I'd be surprised if Sony Ericsson made the GPS so it won't function without the phone - and with the phone radio it means a much faster and more accurate GPS lock.Yeah that is a plus that aGPS will get a faster lock and also work in difficult areas such as inside and around tall buildings. As long as carriers dont charge for it, and as long as it can also operate in standalone mode when the cell radio is not available.

[starstreak]

if it uses triangulation I cant see it being that great. I would rather have a good gps builtin. The one in the Tilt is average but I bet its more accurate than that Sony one.

[Hagow]

I gave up on SE, but with this I AM BACK!!! this thing rocks...hope the aGPS works well without cellphone signal. Is there a expected release date at all?

Also needs replacable battery.

[JKingGrim]

if it uses triangulation I cant see it being that great. I would rather have a good gps builtin. The one in the Tilt is average but I bet its more accurate than that Sony one.Assisted GPS uses a combination of satellite signal and tower data processing and triangulation. It gets a fix much faster and is much more accurate than a regular GPS unit. The tilt contains a GPSone chip capable of assisted mode but by default only runs in standalone mode.

[Duncan]

if it uses triangulation I cant see it being that great. I would rather have a good gps builtin. The one in the Tilt is average but I bet its more accurate than that Sony one.

You realise that a-GPS is built in? It's just regular GPS with added server side information collected via the phone.

[JKingGrim]

I gave up on SE, but with this I AM BACK!!! this thing rocks...hope the aGPS works well without cellphone signal. Is there a expected release date at all?

Also needs replacable battery.I think I heard August. And does it not have a replaceable battery? Hmmm.

[Kris Kumar]

Time to switch over to the Pocket PC / Professional WinMo side. This is the first Professional device that has me excited. Have been carrying non-touch screen, WinMo Smartphone, device for a long time now but this device has the potential to break that trend.

[nosmohtac]

WOW!!!!

This thing has got me excited like I've never been excited about a phone before. It's such a bummer that SE isn't showing any CDMA love anymore!

[cab124]

Amazing! The PDA I have been waiting for. Any guesses as to which US carrier will be the first to add this bad boy to their lineup? Also, isn't WM 7 expected during the same time frame?

I just hope my Axim x50v will last until August...

[cab124]

Just wondering.....will this device accept micro SD memory?

[MobilePaddy]

Looking at the specs, it seems that it has support for T-Mobile's up and coming 3g network. I believe T-Mobile is on the 2100 and 1900 band. Can anyone confirm this?

[bearxor]

I was stoked about the specs. Until I got to the partabout it being GSM only.

CDMA please!

[Darius Wey]

Just wondering.....will this device accept micro SD memory?

Doubt it. The X1 specifications page initially listed a microSD slot and a Memory Stick Micro slot. Now it just lists the latter.

Edit: Okay, just posted an update on this in the original post. What a headache. :?

[Hagow]

Sony never changes always proprietory mentality. Is there such a thing as a MicroSD adaptor to Memory Stick? The only bad thing so far.

[juni]

No WiFi? That pretty much makes it useless for me.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Is there such a thing as a MicroSD adaptor to Memory Stick?

Not that I know of - it'd be hard to do, Sony's M2 cards are nearly the same size as MicroSDs.

[Darius Wey]

No WiFi? That pretty much makes it useless for me.

It has Wi-Fi.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=449433#449433

[virain]

I had SE P900 before, I loved design and quality of it. All I can say, I want this X1! BTW what processor does it use? I hope not TI OMAP 200Mhz 0X

[alese]

Great looking device and if it turns out as good in real life as it's specs look like then it is going to be my firs Memory Stick device. I don't like it, but I rearly take my storage card out of my phone so it's pretty much "build in flash" so I really don't care about the format.

[RobrechtV]

The product specifications page (http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/specifications/x1?cc=us&amp;lc=en) says:
SanDisk Micro™ support
Memory Stick SanDisk Micro™ supportBy "SanDisk Micro™" I guess they mean MicroSD? This seems to imply both MicroSD and Memory Stick Micro will be supported. Yeay!

This thing sure looks great, even though the processor speed isn't known yet and "400 mb" is a bit unclear on the memory side (RAM? ROM? both combined?). Also, nice to see wvga screens aren't turning out to be a Toshiba one-off. When my trusted g900 eventually dies of old age, I'll still have options. Once you've had 800x480, you can't go back!! :)

And it does seem to have a ctrl key. Excellent. That was one of the reasons I bought my g900.

[juni]

No WiFi? That pretty much makes it useless for me.

It has Wi-Fi.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=449433#449433

Not listed in their own specs though:


Networks:
* GSM 850
* GSM 900
* GSM 1800
* GSM 1900
* EDGE
* HSDPA
* HSUPA
* UMTS 850
* UMTS 900
* UMTS 1700
* UMTS 1900
* UMTS 2100

[Darius Wey]

The product specifications page (http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/specifications/x1?cc=us&amp;lc=en) says:
SanDisk Micro™ support
Memory Stick SanDisk Micro™ supportBy "SanDisk Micro™" I guess they mean MicroSD? This seems to imply both MicroSD and Memory Stick Micro will be supported. Yeay!

The X1 product page was updated a number of times throughout the day, and somewhere in between, all references to "SanDisk Micro" and "microSD" were dropped. So it would appear that the X1 only sports a Memory Stick Micro slot.

The downside here is you'd have to purchase a new Memory Stick Micro card, if you don't have one lying around. However, USB mass storage support out-of-the-box means you can pretty much purchase the card, pop it in once and forget about it. You won't have to worry about picking up a Memory Stick reader for your PC and popping the card out just to transfer files from your PC to the card.

This thing sure looks great, even though the processor speed isn't known yet and "400 mb" is a bit unclear on the memory side (RAM? ROM? both combined?).

If the X1 lacks an integrated GPU and the user interface is as smooth in real life as it is in the promo video, then it'd more than likely have a very capable CPU.

Edit: It has a 520MHz Qualcomm CPU.

As for the 400MB of memory, it is indeed unclear. It may be a 128MB RAM/256MB ROM or 64MB RAM/320MB ROM split, but enough guesswork. We'll find out soon enough. :)

[Darius Wey]

Not listed in their own specs though:

That snippet only lists cellular network connectivity.

Scroll down to the bottom of the specifications page and you'll see "WLAN" under the "Connectivity" section. Wi-Fi is also advertised in Microsoft's press release.

[Duncan]

The product specifications page (http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/specifications/x1?cc=us&amp;lc=en) says:
SanDisk Micro™ support
Memory Stick SanDisk Micro™ supportBy "SanDisk Micro™" I guess they mean MicroSD? This seems to imply both MicroSD and Memory Stick Micro will be supported. Yeay!

My memory card reader uses the same slot for SD cards and Memory Sticks - which would suggest some degree of interface compatibilty between them - and the potential for a single card slot on a PDA to take both kinds of card.

[efjay]

Just bought an 8GB microSD card for my Artemis and would rather not buy a card format that can only be used in one device. Without microSD support I will have to pass on this.

[JKingGrim]

Just bought an 8GB microSD card for my Artemis and would rather not buy a card format that can only be used in one device. Without microSD support I will have to pass on this.I also just got an 8gb micro, and I think I must agree with you on this one. If I go with the Ultimate 9502 it will be the first new device I purchase that does not render my old flash memory useless.

[Hagow]

I just got a 8gb MicroSD too but this device is too sweet to pass if it really lives up to the specs. I will purchase a new card if this is infact THAT GOOD!!!

[PdaAddict]

I think this is great news for all of us. Sony has been the innovator in many areas and most likely we will see a device that can play a good quality video as well as other multimedia features many of us wanted for a long time. Anything that challenges the dominance of HTC is great news for us, end users. HTC can keep their "business" oriented Kaiser with QVGA screen to themselves. What kind of spreadsheet can you see on a QVGA screen anyway? And for e-mailing, sorry to say this, but Blackberry is still No#1. Bye bye HTC.

[Rod3]

I guess you know that HTC is supposed to be the manufacturer of the Sony?

[Hagow]

From my understanding HTC is the manufacturer of the X1. What this means is HTC is more than able to make a featured packed device but just chooses not to probably due to their market strategy. With Sony now in the picture HTC will probably come out with more innovative devices. I will not be surprised to see HTC selling the X1 but HTC branded or something very similar to the X1 after all they are the ones who made it.

I can't wait for this, hopefully my Trinity will last me till then. I was considering the Polaris but now X1 hands down.

I hope it lives up to all the specs...mostly the aGPS can be used standalone.

[netboy]

u can always depend on Sony to give u kick ass products!
i love my sony 4.5" umpc running xp and vista dual boot!

[bearxor]

The problem with HTC has never been hardware or features. They excel in that area.

The problem with HTC is that they refuse to innovate in software. This is why something like the HTC-built Treo 700wx blows away any current HTC phone from a usability and speed stand. Even though it has a slower processor, the 700wx runs circles around the Mogul when you ask it to do things. That's because the OS was optimized on the device. The Mogul wins out in the feature catergory, however.

HTC needs to realize that they need to do more to their devices than load on Windows Mobile and install your programs on top of it.

[Eriq Cook]

Schweet! I haven't been this excited for mobile device since the original Compaq iPAQ back in the day. I can't wait for this to be released. It looks HOT.

I've always wanted Sony to do a WinMo phone and it looks better than I would have anticipated.

[Menneisyys]

I've also posted some comparative (!) pictures of the new device to http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&amp;title=mwc_more_s_e_xperia_x1_info_aamp_photos&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1

(Sorry, this time, I can't cross-post if there because I'm on a VERY restricted and expensive connection.)

[deanhatescoffee]

Looking at the specs, it seems that it has support for T-Mobile's up and coming 3g network. I believe T-Mobile is on the 2100 and 1900 band. Can anyone confirm this?

T-Mobile (in the US) operates only on the 1900 frequency, whereas AT&amp;T operates on both 1900 and 850. The 2100 frequency is only used in Japan and South Korea. I really hope this comes out on AT&amp;T so it can compete directly with the iPhone (and so I can get one ;) ).

[yet_another_guest]

[...] The 2100 frequency is only used in Japan and South Korea. [...]

nope :evil:

good old europe uses WCDMA 2100 as well.

[cab124]

Does anyone know what the difference is between "Sony" and "Sony Ericsson?" Did Sony buy a company called Ericsson at some point in the past?

Just wondering...

Thanks!

[JonnoB]

Does anyone know what the difference is between "Sony" and "Sony Ericsson?" Did Sony buy a company called Ericsson at some point in the past?

Just wondering...

Thanks!

It is a joint venture. I love Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson)

[bearxor]

Does anyone know what the difference is between "Sony" and "Sony Ericsson?" Did Sony buy a company called Ericsson at some point in the past?

Just wondering...

Thanks!

Wow, the fact that some people don't know who/what Ericsson is makes me feel OOOOOOLLLLLDDDDD.

[deanhatescoffee]

[...] The 2100 frequency is only used in Japan and South Korea. [...]

nope :evil:

good old europe uses WCDMA 2100 as well.

Wow, good to know. Which countries? My understanding was that most European countries used the 1800 and/or 900 GSM frequencies.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Wow, good to know. Which countries? My understanding was that most European countries used the 1800 and/or 900 GSM frequencies.

All of them. And UMTS/HSDPA frequencies are different from GSM.

[norti]

Additional specs on the X1:

Chipset: Qualcomm MSM7200A / 528 MHz
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=cpu&amp;id=a7200a

Memory:
128 MB RAM
512 MB Flash ROM (ca. 400 MB accessible for user)

OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

There is a short presentation on the device here:
http://www.terminal.hu/cikk.php?page=1&amp;article_id=109586

Full review soon (as on the site) :)

[JKingGrim]

Additional specs on the X1:

Chipset: Qualcomm MSM7200A / 528 MHz
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=cpu&amp;id=a7200a

Memory:
128 MB RAM
512 MB Flash ROM (ca. 400 MB accessible for user)

OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

There is a short presentation on the device here:
http://www.terminal.hu/cikk.php?page=1&amp;article_id=109586

Full review soon (as on the site) :)Full review soon?? On that site? what language is that? I wanted to translate..

[Duncan]

Full review soon?? On that site? what language is that? I wanted to translate..

As it's a .hu domain I'd hazard a guess it's Magyar (Hungarian).

[JKingGrim]

Full review soon?? On that site? what language is that? I wanted to translate..

As it's a .hu domain I'd hazard a guess it's Magyar (Hungarian).I thought it might be Hungary. I used this site to give me utterly terrible translations:
http://www.translation-guide.com/free_online_translators.php?from=English&amp;to=Hungarian
Doesnt look like there is anything new there though.

[norti]

Yes, that's Hungarian. They have a test device :)

I will post a short summary in english here, when it is available :) Or Menneisyys will do if he finds out more :)

[alanjrobertson]

Nice promo vid on the SE X1 site - looks like its following a similar theme to the Sony Bravia colours/bouncy balls ads!

Can't wait to see the full reviews when this is out :)

[JKingGrim]

So what happened here? Do they still have the test unit or did SE snatch it back? Were they ever supposed to get it in the first place? I wonder if someone got a slap on the wrist for it..