10-02-2008: Very unexpectedly Sony Ericsson did a huge announcement tonight with the Xperia X1. A device that totally focuses on the "User Experience". The X1 will make the smartphone market go nuts.
By: Tim Wijkman
The newest high-end device of Sony Ericsson is not the P5i that has been circling the rumour circuit for months now, but a totally new and unknown but not less spectacular smartphone: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. The name of the device was spotted in the rumour world some day and the concept also came by, but the introduction took so long that everyone actually though that the device did not exist. Today the device came forward in a stunning presentation.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
In the period between 2002 and 2004, the main focus was on being in touch everywhere. In the period between 2005 and 2007 the focus has changed to mobile entertainment such as music, photos and games. Between now and 2010 this will even go further when Sony Ericsson may decide, to the being online everywhere and at any time, a total program of entertainment and a firm pressure on "User Experience". Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1 is placed in the new-born "hot topic" User Experience. A smartphone with a special appearance and a unique user experience that has never been displayed ever before.
We can state that Sony Ericsson opens a new door with her "Xperia range". The User Experience already starts with the design of the device. At first sight the device looks like a regular compact PDA phone that can be opened with a lightly bended slide due to which a full QWERTY keyboard is revealed. Not one other QWERTY slide device comes close to the design of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 and a comparison is just because the device operates on Windows Mobile. In every opinion the device is unique.
Keyboard Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
The Xperia X1 combines mobile internet and entertainment in one device. The device operates on Windows Mobile but this does not instantly show because Sony Ericsson has placed a unique and beautiful layer over the Windows platform. Just as with HTC, this layer functions as an extra shell over Windows, deeper functions are placed in the Xperia theme but it is clearly visible that Windows has had something to do with the device. However, that does not make the device any less special.
Earlier we mentioned the full QWERTY keybpard. The keys feel delightful and the same as the keys of well-known communicators of a competitor of Sony Ericsson. The keyboard of the XP1 opens in a very special way with a small angle, due to which the display is something diagonal when the keyboard is used.
Slide mechanism Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
The Xperia layer over Windows Mobile uses the so-called "Xperia panels" in which shortcuts can be placed as the user wants. The graphical view and animations in and between these panels do not make you think that a Windows Mobile device is the technical background of the X1.
Besides a full keyboard, a gigantic 3 inch colour display that has a resolution of 800 x 480 (Wide VGA) pixels is embedded into the device. There has not been a single other Windows Mobile device with such a screen resolution ever before.
Because of the power of the Windows Mobile platforum, internet and e-mail are comparable to internet and e-mail on a regular PC. When we are adding a 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio, a GPS receiver and the optical joystick navigation, the device is made a Windows Mobile device that is thought about in detail and a device that is finished from top to bottom.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 could become a huge competitor of the Apple iPhone due to its appearance, functionality, design and finish of the interface. A fact is that this entirily finished device has a great gadget factor but that it will also be a functional, userfriendly and ergonomic device.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 will only come to the market at the second half of 2008, maybe it could be a good tip to place the device on your list for christmas already. The salesprice has not been announced yet, but Sony Ericsson said the following about the price: "The X1 is a high-end device and the price will be comparable to the price you would like to pay for the functions of the device."