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Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 Android Phone A Winner

Today Sony Ericsson introduced its first Android phone, the Xperia X10. Based on the spec sheet, it should be a smash hit. It runs Android 1.6 (Donut) and will have a massive, four-inch WVGA display (480 x 854 pixels). The X10 will be the first in a series of new phones to run Sony Ericsson's home-brewed UX user interface. Let's dive in for a detailed look.

This is the type of phone that Sony Ericsson needs to deliver if it expects to get back into the smartphone game. The X10 looks like a winner, based on the press release. It has nearly every feature a hardware company could think to cram into a device.

First, it runs Android 1.6 and the new UX platform from Sony Ericsson. UX is all about delivering content to the end user in a way that is personal. Perhaps the most important aspect of the new user interface is that it includes home-cooked applications from Sony Ericsson. The Timescape application sounds a lot like Motorola's MOTOBLUR, in that it offers users one location to find all their messages, including texts, Facebook, Twitter and email. Mediascape is another application, and it helps users find, organize and consume media. Sony Ericsson says that Mediascape is hooked into services such as YouTube and its own PlayNow apps store.

On the hardware side of things, the Xperia X10 is a monster. The huge display out-classes even the Motorola Droid (4 inches compared to the Droid's 3.7 inches). It supports nearly every radio technology known to mankind, including quad-band GSM/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and an FM radio.

It features an 8.1-megapixel camera that has auto-focus, image stabilization, flash, face/smile detection, geo-tagging, touch focus and 16x zoom. That's a lot of photographic power to put into a smartphone.

Because it is an Android phone, it comes with all the requisite Google services, such as Gmail, Search, Maps, Calendar, Talk, YouTube and the Android Market. For corporate users, it also supports Exchange ActiveSync.

Other highlights include an accelerometer, gesture controls, 3D gaming, video streaming, and Android's WebKit browser.

Sony Ericsson said the Xperia X10 will be available in select markets in the first quarter of 2010, with a number of new UX-based devices shipping in the first half of 2010. If Sony Ericsson can get this phone right, it should put Sony Ericsson back on the map.

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