The wait for Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1 is almost over

[Guest PPCInformer]

Well its about time we heard some good news about the Sony Ericsson's highly anticipated device, the Xperia X1. It has a great specification and a cool new User Interface, and we started hearing about the device a while back with no release date in sight.

Here is a quote from reghardware.co.uk..

In a recent promotional email, retailer Expansys said that the phone’s “release date is set for week 41 (Oct 6-12)”. Expansys also said the "arc slider" handset will cost £590 ($1100/€740), SIM-free. The launch date is still open to some interpretation, though. An Expansys spokesman told Register Hardware that although it’s received “a couple of demo units through from Sony Ericsson”, he still didn’t have a confirmed release date - despite the email.

On the plus side, the spokesman added that the arrival of demo units is a sure sign that the handset will be available to customers in the near future.

Not long now... :D

[Guest ripnet]

Well its about time we heard some good news about the Sony Ericsson's highly anticipated device, the Xperia X1. It has a great specification and a cool new User Interface, and we started hearing about the device a while back with no release date in sight.

Here is a quote from reghardware.co.uk..

Not long now... :D

heh my guess would be mid november / early december then...

anyway, HTC have just upped the bar with the touch pro... extra 160 pixels width, or pukka 5 row keyboard???

g

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Nice tho the TP is, the SEX1 is far more stylish. Let's hope the keyboard is good!

P

[Guest Syphon Filter]

Nice tho the TP is, the SEX1 is far more stylish. Let's hope the keyboard is good!

P

Stylish because it's curvy? I'm not convinced.

I dunno the monolith esque look of the Touch Pro is pretty slick.

[Guest gavken]

Stylish because it's curvy? I'm not convinced.

I dunno the monolith esque look of the Touch Pro is pretty slick.

I agree the Touch Pro is much more stylish. The curvy keyboard is just a gimmick. Also the Xperia 1 is going to be huge in comparison

Gavin

[Guest Mechanicaldan]

OH...decisions, decisions. Touch Pro, Xperia X1, this is so hard to pick between. They are so similar. The SEX1 is just slightly longer, but you get a longer screen. This is so good for HTC though, as they get revenue from both and the Diamond.

Is there a way to build a 2 columned table in the forum to compare all the features of the TP and SEX1? Found one:

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer&a...06&id2=1117

Advantages Touch Pro

TV out

Accelerometer

More RAM

slightly smaller

slightly cheaper?

more dedicated keys on keyboard

secondary camera

Advantages Xperia X1

Bigger screen

Quad band GSM all the time

Additional UMTS1900

3.5 mm jack

slightly lighter

more room betwen keys on keyboard

more battery capacity

Wow, this really will come down to personal preferences depending on what's important to the owner. If one is a global business traveller, I'd go with the SEX1 because of the additional frequences, bigger screen, and bigger battery. Otherwise, my choice right now is the TP because of the accelerometer, second camera, more keys, and 'standard' size screen which should cause less issues with 3rd party programs.

Edited August 15, 2008 by Mechanicaldan

[Guest Monolithix]

Think I still prefer the SEX1 over the TP, and Nov/Dec is nicely near(ish) to my upgrade time!

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_compariso...C-Touch-Diamond

[Guest deadphill]

Is SEX1 a deliberate marketing ploy?

And I thought this was a family site.

Shocking, absolutley shocking. Tut. :D

Cheers

Phill

[Guest Monolithix]

I hadn't even noticed :D

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

*chuckles*

:D

P

[Guest PPCInformer]

one more confused guy . I dont know which one to get. but the the array of new Accelerometer applications I might pick the Touch Pro. TV Out isnt that on both these devices ?

[Guest l3v5y]

The SEX1 (why not officially call it that?) has a worse keyboard.

Also, the SEX1s "Panels" really isn't that great. And it won't work on QVGA DAMNIT! :D

[Guest richair]

The SEX1 (why not officially call it that?) has a worse keyboard.

Also, the SEX1s "Panels" really isn't that great. And it won't work on QVGA DAMNIT! :D

The keyboard got some really negative press on the pre-production models. I hope (for SE) that they have done something about that in the production-model.

Now, about those Panels... At first I was really skeptical about them, but I have kept an open mind. But right now, there is just too little info about the applications.

I see it as sort of a fancy task switcher. You can switch easily between your media player and the internet application for instance. Task switching in TouchFlo3D seems rather more cumbersome (please enlighten me if I'm wrong).

The thing which bothers me about the Panels, is how fast you go into the standard WM 6.1 interface, meaning you need to get out the stylus. I'm looking for one-handed use 95% of the time.

Mind you, TouchFlo3D does seem to be all that either, but is does come across as a more complete user-friendly package.

BTW, what did you mean with "it won't work on QVGA"?

[Guest richair]

Advantages Touch Pro

TV out

Accelerometer

More RAM

slightly smaller

slightly cheaper?

more dedicated keys on keyboard

secondary camera

Advantages Xperia X1

Bigger screen

Quad band GSM all the time

Additional UMTS1900

3.5 mm jack

slightly lighter

more room betwen keys on keyboard

more battery capacity

I really like the accelerometer in the Touch Pro. The applications are a bit "playful" still, but there are interfaces in the making, with which you can scroll by using the accelero for instance. I don't know if this will be very user friendly, but it's fun none the less.

Now, is it absolutely sure the SE X1 doesn't have an accelerometer? There has been mention of a "motion sensor", but this does not have to mean a full accelerometer.

An other thing which was already mentioned, the screen compatibility. I like that the SE screen is larger, but it would be a total let down if you can't run certain software on it. Does anyone here has experience with this? For instance on a Toshiba 800x480 pixel phone?

[Guest l3v5y]

The keyboard got some really negative press on the pre-production models. I hope (for SE) that they have done something about that in the production-model.

Now, about those Panels... At first I was really skeptical about them, but I have kept an open mind. But right now, there is just too little info about the applications.

I see it as sort of a fancy task switcher. You can switch easily between your media player and the internet application for instance. Task switching in TouchFlo3D seems rather more cumbersome (please enlighten me if I'm wrong).

The thing which bothers me about the Panels, is how fast you go into the standard WM 6.1 interface, meaning you need to get out the stylus. I'm looking for one-handed use 95% of the time.

Mind you, TouchFlo3D does seem to be all that either, but is does come across as a more complete user-friendly package.

BTW, what did you mean with "it won't work on QVGA"?

Panels is not a "Task Swithcer" as such, but more of a launcher. You select a different "Panel" and get a different program, or a different today screen setup or something like that.

TF3D does not have it's own task switcher, but HTCs Task Manager (top right of the screen, where you'd normally see an X button) allows for quick app switching.

TF3D is a much bigger leap from the WM UI than panels, and for one handed use, the smaller dimensions of the Raphael are preferable.

By "It won't work on QVGA" I mean I've been trying (and failing) to port panels to QVGA devices. I can get bits of it to run, but the scaling doesn't go too well, and some parts just don't work at all!

[Guest richair]

TF3D does not have it's own task switcher, but HTCs Task Manager (top right of the screen, where you'd normally see an X button) allows for quick app switching.

TF3D is a much bigger leap from the WM UI than panels, and for one handed use, the smaller dimensions of the Raphael are preferable.

I agree. One thing that does strike me as a possible problem (on either Xperia or Touch Pro) is the location of the Task Manager. When you say it's in the top right corner, I could not reach it with my thumb (I usually use the phone with my left hand).

Generally, I have noticed (having played with a Touch Diamond recently) that it is hard to keep the phone in your hand in one location. It seems you have to sometimes switch positions in your hand to reach everything with one hand. It probably takes some getting used to. I quite like that don't have to move around so much on a non-touchscreen Smartphone :D

By "It won't work on QVGA" I mean I've been trying (and failing) to port panels to QVGA devices. I can get bits of it to run, but the scaling doesn't go too well, and some parts just don't work at all!

Cool, I wouldn't mind to try out Panels, even if I decide to buy a Touch Pro. I hope you (or some one) succeeds. Did you try to run it on VGA instead of QVGA?

[Guest l3v5y]

I agree. One thing that does strike me as a possible problem (on either Xperia or Touch Pro) is the location of the Task Manager. When you say it's in the top right corner, I could not reach it with my thumb (I usually use the phone with my left hand).

Generally, I have noticed (having played with a Touch Diamond recently) that it is hard to keep the phone in your hand in one location. It seems you have to sometimes switch positions in your hand to reach everything with one hand. It probably takes some getting used to. I quite like that don't have to move around so much on a non-touchscreen Smartphone :D

Cool, I wouldn't mind to try out Panels, even if I decide to buy a Touch Pro. I hope you (or some one) succeeds. Did you try to run it on VGA instead of QVGA?

I guess the TD/Raphael are designed more for right handed use (when one handed at least)

I haven't tried it on VGA, as I don't have a VGA device and it wouldn't play ball with the VGA emulator.

I've just had a thought though, the WM6 SDK contains a WVGA emulator image, so I might be able to get it up and running there, and then tweak it for VGA/QVGA.

After using Touch screen devices, I never want to be stuck without a touch screen again! :D

[Guest wingnutLP]

Does anyone know what if any hardware buttons the X1 has on the sides?

I tried the official SE site with no luck and all the reviews I ave seen don't mention the buttons.

The Diamond was a real let down in this respect :D

I don't think I could do without the OK, power/sleep and volume on a WM device...

Advantages Xperia X1

Bigger screen

Quad band GSM all the time

Additional UMTS1900

3.5 mm jack

slightly lighter

more room betwen keys on keyboard

more battery capacity

I would add slight curve on the slide should put the screen at a better angle for typing.

Edited August 19, 2008 by wingnutLP

[Guest richair]

Does anyone know what if any hardware buttons the X1 has on the sides?

I understood that the X1 is supposed to have a dedicated button for toggling between portrait and landscape. This would make sense if the X1 lacks a tilt sensor. Then again, one would use a device like this in landscape with the keyboard extended anyway, so why bother with a button...

The Diamond was a real let down in this respect :D

I don't think I could do without the OK, power/sleep and volume on a WM device...

I agree the Diamond could use some more buttons, but it does have a power button, dedicated volume buttons on the side, and the OK key is represented by the "Back" key, which is not your classical-smartphone-like-back-key it appears.

[Guest tjex]

I understood that the X1 is supposed to have a dedicated button for toggling between portrait and landscape. This would make sense if the X1 lacks a tilt sensor. Then again, one would use a device like this in landscape with the keyboard extended anyway, so why bother with a button...

Currently using the X1 and with the version that I have, the only way to toggle from portrait to landscape is to open the keyboard

One thing I found odd is that there is no flash. There is an LED that is quite bright and that can be turned off or on. The focus is neat though, you can move it with your finger and decide what should be focused on.

The keyboard isn't bad, a little hard to use but you get the hang of it quickly. It lights up quite nicely too. There are four led's, two on each side that are use for status (battery, msgs, email, etc.) and uses different colours for each.

I haven't installed a Flow like app yet, so it means as I currently got it, you do need to use the stylus to navigate. Not in all panels though.. The fish one is interesting, but at the end of the day, in my opinion, gimmicky.

The screen is outstanding!! I have Opera running on it and sites are coming across beautifully

Hope that helps :D

[Guest richair]

Currently using the X1 and with the version that I have, the only way to toggle from portrait to landscape is to open the keyboard

Cool, how did you get a hold of it? Or you a beta-tester for the phone? Can you confirm there is no accelero in the X1?

The keyboard isn't bad, a little hard to use but you get the hang of it quickly. It lights up quite nicely too. There are four led's, two on each side that are use for status (battery, msgs, email, etc.) and uses different colours for each.

In what sense is the keyboard hard to use? Is there enough feedback from the keys?

I haven't installed a Flow like app yet, so it means as I currently got it, you do need to use the stylus to navigate. Not in all panels though.. The fish one is interesting, but at the end of the day, in my opinion, gimmicky.

So, from your experience, the current Panels-interface is not one-hand-friendly out of the box?

Nice to have some actual experience in this topic :D

[Guest tjex]

Cool, how did you get a hold of it? Or you a beta-tester for the phone? Can you confirm there is no accelero in the X1?

Not a beta tester, but got it as a 'gift'. No, there is no accelero on the X1

In what sense is the keyboard hard to use? Is there enough feedback from the keys?

The keyboard is a little hard to get used to at first. Keys are plastic and don't depress much but do the job. I've had the phone for a week now and can type quite rapidly on it. It lights up quite nicely so using it an night is pretty easy.

So, from your experience, the current Panels-interface is not one-hand-friendly out of the box?

Well, they are useful but I would say you still might need a stylus depending how you got them configured. You can mess around with the layout to an certain extent. The only panel you can't change is the original wm6 screen.

Though my understanding is that they have it open to developer to create custom panels, such as a facebook one etc.. It does come with a google one for example.

Nice to have some actual experience in this topic :D

Glad I ca be of help, let me know if you have any questions.

[Guest richair]

Glad I ca be of help, let me know if you have any questions.

Don't get me started :D.

One question I still had is, how is the compatibility of the WVGA screen with third-party software? I don't know if you use a lot of that stuff, but my concern would be that some software does not run out of the box on widescreens. Do you have experience with that?

For instance, have you tried navigation software, such as TomTom?

Cheers!

[Guest S710demon]

http://smape.com/en/reviews//Sony_Ericsson...IA_X1-prev.html

Review of the SEX1. Pretty interesting I would say.

[Guest tjex]

Don't get me started :D .

One question I still had is, how is the compatibility of the WVGA screen with third-party software? I don't know if you use a lot of that stuff, but my concern would be that some software does not run out of the box on widescreens. Do you have experience with that?

For instance, have you tried navigation software, such as TomTom?

Cheers!

I'll try it this weekend and will let you know but from what I hear, it's works really well.

EDIT: Got it working and it looks good, works flawlessly. I switched the view to landslide and I personally think it's the best way to view it. Now to find how to attach this phone in the car.

Edited August 24, 2008 by tjex