Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Headed To AT&T Or T-Mobile?

The last few days have been busy ones over at the Federal Communications Commission. It recently approved two versions of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Android device -- one for AT&T and one for T-Mobile. Will either actually sell it?Sony Ericsson first announced the Xperia X10 in early November. From the looks of the spec sheet, it hits all the right stops on its way to gadget nirvana. One thing that was unclear when first announced, however, was which networks it will support. Now we know. The FCC has cleared to different variants of the device for use in the U.S. One includes support for AT&T's 850/1900MHz 3G bands, and the other includes support for T-Mobile's 1700MHz 3G bands. Sounds like a win-win for U.S. customers, right?

Well, maybe. Right now, neither AT&T nor T-Mobile has said they'll sell the device. Also, the device is so spec'd out, that the price tag will be pretty high if it is sold unlocked (without carrier subsidies). If there's a feature that smarphones need to have, the X10 has it. I think that Android's mindshare has grown enough in the last year that that won't be a problem, but a hefty price tag is always a concern. Can either AT&T or T-Mobile bring it to the U.S. at a reasonable cost? We'll find out some time in the first quarter of 2010.

If you're blurry on the specs, the Xperia X10 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 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.