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        Sony Ericsson spins new Windows phone

        Jonathan Angel | Date: Sep 2, 2009 | Comments: 1


        Sony Ericsson has announced its second Windows phone, the high-end Xperia X2. The device features a 3.2-inch touchscreen with 800 x 480 resolution, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, an 8.1 megapixel camera, and a widget-based "Xperia panels" user interface, the company says.

        Now running Windows Mobile 6.5 (like the recently announced HTC Touch2), the Xperia X2 is a followup to Sony Ericsson's original Xperia X1, released last year. Like the Xperia X1, the X2 (right) features both a touchscreen and a slide-out, "wide pitch" QWERTY keyboard, plus Sony Ericsson's "Xperia panels" user interface (see later in this story for details).

        While the X1 already featured a touchscreen with a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels, the X2 gets a camera that has been upgraded from the former 3.2 megapixels to a whopping 8.1 megapixels. Other key additions are an accelerometer and TV output, according to Sony, but the FM receiver that came with the X1 is no longer listed.

        As was the case when Sony Ericsson launched the X1, the company has provided no information about the X2's processor, RAM, or flash storage, except to cite "110MB of phone memory." According to the SE-First.com website, however, the X2 uses the same processor as the X1 -- namely, Qualcomm's MSM7200 clocked at 528MHz. Storage, meanwhile, is expandable by up to 16GB using a microSDHC-compatible expansion slot, says Sony Ericsson.


        Sony Ericsson's Xperia X2 with its keyboard opened
        (Click to enlarge)

        Connectivity includes quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz) and five-band UMTS (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100MHz), with Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access). The phone also includes Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS interfaces.

        Xperia panels

        A feature carried over and enhanced from the X1 is Sony Ericsson's Xperia panels feature, described by the company as "Windows Mobile applications that extend the Today Screen API [application programming interface] in order to provide a full-screen immersive experience." The finger-operable panels can be arranged by a phone's user at will: On the X1, as many as nine of them could be placed on screen simultaneously, allowing their contents to be viewed via live thumbnails.


        The Xperia panels are full-screen applications that can also be displayed via live thumbnails

        The X2 now comes with 14 of the widget-like Xperia panels, and a further 16 are said to be downloadable from the Sony Ericsson website. Default panels are said to include:
        • Sony Ericsson -- provides news, weather, finance, world clock, and shortcuts to communication and applications
        • Media Experience -- allows playing multimedia files
        • Slideshow -- delivers a slideshow of recently taken videos and photos
        • 3D Fish -- a fish tank with 3D fishes, intended to showcase the 3D features of the phone
        • Google -- provides access to Google services
        Sony Ericsson also says it will offer the "Sony Ericsson Panel SDK for X2," a set of tools, Visual Studio plug-ins, and documentation that will let developers create, test, and debug their own Xperia panels. Permitting development of "native" panels, panels written in HTML, and panels that support OpenGL ES 1.1, the SDK will also offer a "panelizer" for converting existing applications, the company adds.

        The Xperia X2 SDK will include the following, according to the company:
        • An Xperia X2 device emulator that runs on Windows desktop PCs
        • Visual Studio templates, for both native and HTML panels, that create basic project containers and preliminary items
        • Developers' guidelines, with overviews, setup information, and walk throughs
        • Panelizer tools
        • An API reference guide
        • Tutorials
        • Sample projects

        Features and specifications listed by Sony Ericsson for the Xperia X1 include:

        • Processor -- n/s, but reportedly Qualcomm MSM7200 clicked at 528MHz
        • Memory -- "Up to 110MB of phone memory"
        • Display -- 3.2-inch touchscreen with 800 x 480 pixel resolution
        • Keyboard -- Slide-out QWERTY keyboard and four-way controller
        • Camera -- 8.1 megapixel with autofocus and "photo light"
        • Wireless:
          • WAN:
            • Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz)
            • Five-band UMTS (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100MHz)
          • LAN -- 802.11b/g
          • PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0 with stereo support
          • GPS
        • Other I/O:
          • USB port
          • TV output
        • Expansion -- microSD slot
        • Battery life:
          • Talk time -- 10 hours GSM, 6 hours UMTS
          • Standby time -- 640 hours UMTS, 500 hours GSM
          • Music listening time -- Up to 20 hours
        • Dimensions -- 4.33 x 2.12 x 0.62 inches (110 x 54 x 16mm)
        • Weight -- 4.05 ounces (115g)
        Further information

        According to Sony Ericsson, the Xperia X2 will be available early in the fourth quarter of this year; pricing was not released.

        For further information on the Xperia X2, see the Sony Ericsson website, here. For further information on the Sony Ericsson Panel SDK for X2, see here.

        For the SE-First.com article mentioned earlier in this story, see here.

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