iPhone competition from Sony Ericsson

[deasine]

Not sure if some of you know, but Sony Ericsson is finally releasing their first touchscreen dominant phone, the X1, part of their new Xperia brand.

Networks:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 900/1700/1900/2100 MHz
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 850/1700/1900/2100 MHz
(World Wide 3G and GSM support)

Size:
110 x 53 x 16.7 mm

Screen:
3" WVGA (800 x 450 Screen Resolution) 65K screen

Key Features:
3 MP Camera with video recording VGA (640 x 480) 30FPS
Microsoft Windows Operating sytem (speculation it will be 6.1 because of late release) with Outlook and Office support
Optical Joystick
Full Qwerty Keyboard
Xperia Touch Panel User Interface
aPGS
MicroSD support
400 MB Internal Memory (speculated)
128 MB RAM (speculated)
First Sony Ericsson phone with direct 3.5 headphone jack and MicroUSB
WiFi

But don't be scared yet since this phone will be avaliable at the end of 2008. Not as sleek as the iPhone, that's for sure. For more phone information: http://www.sonyericsson.com/x1

 

[hexonxonx]

Why do they insist on ruining these phones with flipout keyboards? That makes them thicker.

 

[edesignuk]

Why do they insist on ruining these phones with flipout keyboards? That makes them thicker.

...and a hell of a lot easier to type on.

 

[deasine]

Why do they insist on ruining these phones with flipout keyboards? That makes them thicker.

Well the size is:
110 x 53 x 16.7 mm (x1)
115 x 61 x 11.6 mm (iPhone)

So yes it is a big size difference.

 

[thefunkymunky]

What's the point of having a touch screen interface when the keyboard is separate, kinda defeats the whole point of touch screen.

 

[deasine]

What's the point of having a touch screen interface when the keyboard is separate, kinda defeats the whole point of touch screen.

Very true. I guess the touchcsreen is just for convinience using the navigation system while the keyboard is just for typing.

Sony Ericsson is marketing this phone to iPhone users (those who like nice simple, but fancy user interfaces), which was the only reason I posted this here. The other audience Sony Ericsson is looking for are power business users who want nice looking phones, if you look at all Windows Mobile phones - they are all pretty ugly.

Anyway GSMArena kindly posted some live pictures of the device (in the silver colour form), from 3GSM. I was surprised apple didn't have a booth:

Rumors have it that they are currently using WM 6.0 and not 6.1. sony ericsson is trying to loose the ugly Windows UI.

Black colour:

You got to admit the screen looks amazing. Sony Ericsson has made it clear this device would be avaliable in north america (reason for the North American GSM and 3G supports).

The X1 Touch Panel UI system has many transitions, similar to the iPhone approach. During the 3GSM conference, no one but Sony Ericsson staff, was allowed to touch the device as it was in BETA stages. Here's a youtube video of the phone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAgunHU_wrU.

At many other forums (so many SE fans), they were comparing it to the iPhone. Now I present this phone to iPhone fans and I'm curious to your responses.

 

[tsincaat]

I don't have a Iphone, so maybe this is more of an unbiased opinion. I don't think it looks nearly as sleek or beautiful as an Iphone. I much prefer the simple Iphone interface with larger screen buttons to the very small buttons and windows interface on the sony ericsson. With the full keyboard and buttons below the screen it makes the touch capabilities seem sort of pointless.

Finally, if someone is using apple products on a regular basis I would much prefer an Iphone for inter-connectivity with other apple products and Apple's regular updates.

 

[thefunkymunky]

Is the screen plastic? It looks really cheap and tacky even though the screen definition looks good. For me, the fact it's running Windows Mobile is enough reason not to buy it.

 

[Hudzilla]

Yet another 'iphone competitor' that doesn't even come close, thick,plastic looking cheap design with a fixed keypad that is pretty pointless if its a touch screen?!


...Next...!!!

 

[kdarling]

Yes, touchscreens are exciting, especially to people who never had one. But they're not perfect for everything.

I'm typing right now on a touchscreen laptop. Yet I'm using the real keyboard, of course, as would anyone. I also mostly use a real mouse.

One of the main reasons for having a real keyboard is that it (and your fingers!!) doesn't cover the screen real estate when it's in use !!

Nothing more frustrating than having a popup onscreen keyboard that overlays most of what you want to type into. Or menus, for that matter. Not a great UI idea unless you're forced into it by the lack of a real keyboard.

Real keyboards/keypads are also very nice for games.

 

[Archie-]

An 800x480 screen is sure going to reduce that need for scrolling web pages, isnt it.

This phone was the hit of 3GSM. I expect it will have much better features than even the iPhone 2. Even Nokia's N96 was overshadowed by it.

 

[alFR]

During the 3GSM conference, no one but Sony Ericsson staff, was allowed to touch the device as it was in BETA stages.

lol

It's running WM6, what more do I need to say? My colleague's WM6 'phone crashed its comms stack the other day, the rest of it worked fine (so basically he didn't know it'd crashed!) it just wouldn't take/make any calls until he hard reset it. Useful....

 

[Passante]

snip The other audience Sony Ericsson is looking for are power business users who want nice looking phones, if you look at all Windows Mobile phones - they are all pretty ugly.

snip

It will still be running windows mobile which is butt ugly

 

[kdarling]

It's running WM6, what more do I need to say? My colleague's WM6 'phone crashed its comms stack the other day, the rest of it worked fine (so basically he didn't know it'd crashed!) it just wouldn't take/make any calls until he hard reset it. Useful....

Don't even go there. The iPhone is infamous for overheating when it accidentally gets into a tight loop checking emails, for touchscreen failures requiring phone replacement, for "crashing" back to the homepage when too much is going on (nice feature, but frustrating to newbies), and for generally getting into modes where a reset is needed.

For that matter, ever seen lots of people reinstalling (restoring) WM to fix a glitch? Nope, but it's common Apple advice for their phone's OS.

Basically, there's nothing to brag about, stability wise, on either OS. Some owners never have a problem on either. Some have lots on both.

 

[Archie-]

It will still be running windows mobile which is butt ugly

I dont know - these apps look pretty good. Sony Ericsson have always been known for their style. Using WM means they get style AND function.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

If I didn't have an iPhone, I would, without a doubt, be using a Sony Ericsson, perhaps even this one. They make some really great phones.

 

[billpaxton]

yuck windows!

 

[Hudzilla]

I dont know - these apps look pretty good. Sony Ericsson have always been known for their style. Using WM means they get style AND function.

http://x.msmobiles.com/portal/images/events/mobile-world-congress-2008/sony-ericsson-xperia-5.jpg

This shot has made even more adamant that it is one UGLY fone, the outside of the screen looks so plastic it looks like a babies toy.

Truly dreadful

 

[gloss]

It's a far more feature-heavy phone than the iPhone is, at least until the SDK releases, and it caters to a different crowd.

The iPhone is a 'smartphone-lite'. This is a business-oriented, full-featured, top-of-the-line smartphone. Things may very well change once the SDK is released and more robust functionality is available on the iPhone, but as is they're targeting different markets.

For what it is, I think this is a rather beautiful phone. It's not as minimalist as the iPhone, but then again, not much is.

 

[deasine]

I was a little disappointed when I saw the plastic of the nav buttosn and around the screen, but I don't think the screen is plastic though. It is most likely glass: and Sony Ericsson does use glass for their phones, such as the T650i, where it uses "mineral-glass", a scratch resistant glass according to Sony Ericsson.

I just noticed some of the renderings didn't include the 3G Video Call Camera and the Brightness Sensor.

Feature wise (maybe not the Windows Mobile), the camera, video recording capabilities, and presence of world wide 3G blows the iPhone away. Looks wise, it has a long way to go. But then compared to the other phone companies portfolio, this is at least a step closer (see the N96 below). No phone company AND computer company ever had the "sleek" look except for Apple.

And yes this was the hit of 3GSM. Thank god Sony Ericsson was the first to hold their conferences (though Samsung advertised thier SOUL flagship) and show off this year's devices. This phone basically took all the attention from Nokia when they announced their really ugly N96 (reused the N81 design).

And note it's not touchscreen. But it can attract iPhone users as it does uses Symbian, has a 5 megapixel camera with Sony Ericsson X1 Video recording capabilities, duo-slider, and 16 GB of storage.

 

[kdarling]

The X1 has a slick front-end UI, sort of a cover-flow for apps:

Short YouTube video

It's supposed to come with WM 6.5, an interim touch friendlier bridge to WM 7.

I also like having hard Send/End buttons. Not everything should be touchscreen, which is why the iPhone has hardware volume and ringer switches.

 

[RemyX]

This shot has made even more adamant that it is one UGLY fone, the outside of the screen looks so plastic it looks like a babies toy.

Truly dreadful

The front of it apart from the screen is made of brushed metal, as are the keys and the rest of the body. So do a little a research before trying to make your jesus phone sound better.

The phone isn't bad, it's the best looking windows mobile phone i've ever seen. And sony isn't trying to market this as an iphone competitor. Just that everyone sees a new touchscreen phone and all of a sudden its an iphone competitor. The specs on it are really good as well. 3.2 megapixel camera, flash, records video at 30 fps in VGA resolution, aGPS, and the best part it's suppose to use a pretty good high capacity battery. Still wouldn't pre-order this phone until i see how this "new" version of windows stacks up though.

 

[kdarling]

For what it is, I think this is a rather beautiful phone. It's not as minimalist as the iPhone, but then again, not much is.

The iPhone is a pretty device. Unfortunately, with its slick body and glass screen, we almost all end up covering it with a case to keep it safe and usable.

Kind of defeats the artistic intent.

 

[Consultant]

Keep in that that these competitors ALWAYS list features on their best, most expensive models, WITHOUT PRICING, and it's always in the future. You can't compare iPhone of today with something that will be released 6 months or 1 year in the future. You have to compare future iPhone with these knockoffs.

There are already a number of knockoffs, none of them matches the iPhone in term of price / benefit.

The iPhone is a pretty device. Unfortunately, with its slick body and glass screen, we almost all end up covering it with a case to keep it safe and usable.

Kind of defeats the artistic intent.

Obviously you NEVER used an iPhone before. Why don't you get one and use it before making uneducated comments? The iPhone is as sturdy as they can make it without it cost much more.

See stress test.
http://www.pcworld.com/video/id,545-page,1-bid,0/video.html

 

[Archie-]

There are already a number of knockoffs, none of them matches the iPhone in term of price / benefit.

I thought it was the iPhone that had problems with value for money.

You buy one of these, its subsidized by the network, so automatically cheaper. You've got 3G, so you can tether easily. It has GPS built-in, so it can provide navigation. It has corporate push e-mail, calender and tasks, so it has blackberry-like functions. All of these functions are easy to use, so do not benefit much from Apple UI magic.