Sony Ericsson at 3GSM – intrigues of the year, new strategy

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

Rumors about Sony Ericsson dramatically changing its portfolio strategy have been around for quite a while; the main intrigue was whether the company would be turning out Windows Mobile based devices or not. Even before the announcement that took place the day before the opening date of the Congress, we hadn’t been a hundred percent sure if the maker would actually reveal its top secret project. But inside the club where we were presented with new products, all our doubts dispelled, as the highlight of the event was the debut of Sony Ericsson’s very own WM-powered solution. The next few days will see an avalanche of debates on what a phone like this is for in the manufacturer’s portfolio, and what it spells for the future of UIQ smartphones. There are some interesting thoughts out there, but for the most part, all these guesses have nothing to do with how things really stand, since the X1 is a one-off solution and it would be wrong to judge it while being oblivious to what other products bring along.

Let’s take a closer look at this handset’s specs to find out what it really is, and after that we will be moving on to its competition.

The XPERIA X1 utilizes the side-slider design with an arch-sliding QWERTY keyboard, which makes for a convenient angle between the phone’s thumbboard and its display. At 110×53x16.7mm it feels more like a feature phone, rather than a communicator along the lines of the Nokia E90.