Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 hands-on, sorta

So here's the scene. We're at the Digital Experience show, trying to get our hands on a powered-up Sony Xperia X1. Sure, we found a unit that wasn't powered up, but that does you -- and us -- no good. Sony told us to come back in 15 minutes, so we grabbed some press kits, made a round of booths, and came back.

Sure enough, when we came back the X1 was powered up, but the nice booth lady tried to tell us that things weren't working just right and the unit was stuck on the config screen. After some jiggering, we determined the little X1 was just stuck on the touch screen calibration, and we were cruising through menus within minutes. It's pretty clear this unit wasn't ready for primetime -- you'll even see some HTC test apps in the below gallery -- but we were impressed by the screen's resolution and brightness. Windows Mobile 6.1 showed it face often in the UI, but the phone app and general utilities were looking good.

Overall, the X1 is a pleasure to behold -- it's one sexy device. That said, we'll have to wait how Sony Ericsson's user interface shapes up and just look at the pretty pictures in the gallery until mid-September.

Gallery: Xperia Hands-On WIth Power

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[Andrew @ Jun 26th 2008 9:16AM]

I hate to say it, but I'm less impressed each time I see this. I'm much more excited for the Touch Pro. I understand it's not completely finished yet, but the exterior doesn't even look good compared to the new HTCs.

[philr8 @ Jun 26th 2008 9:38AM]

Agree. I was intrigued by this when the first shots were leaked, but uh, not really anymore. It looks.... old.

[David @ Jun 26th 2008 10:54AM]

Yeah, this version doesn't look that hot, I prefer the gun metal black one....with touchFlo 3D intstalled.

I gotta say though, HTC after making a lot of devices where looks took a back seat to function, have really struck a balance with the Diamond & Touch Pro. Those are some very capable devices and purdy too.

[apeguero @ Jun 26th 2008 12:16PM]

Wow! I really think Sony should've kept this one cooking in the oven a little longer. Right now it looks well under-done. Also, WM6 - YUCK! Had enough of that Mobile OS already.

Sony is going to shoot this one down unless it puts out a model much closer to it's prototype very soon.

[roach @ Jun 26th 2008 12:36PM]

Yeah...the silver version looks dated.

They should stick with the black one

http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/forums/media/81978/sonyericssonxperiax1phone.jpg

This and Garmin phone are two candidates for my next phone. Iphone..nah...my hatred for itunes prevents me from going that route.

[DP @ Jun 26th 2008 10:05PM]

I knew from the beginning this device would be over hyped. It's all about the Touch Pro, baby.

[Daniel @ Jun 26th 2008 9:17AM]

Umm. Where are the hot tiles? And the pretty interface? This looked much better a few months ago.

[Hellios @ Jun 26th 2008 9:19AM]

Looks nice but the "failed video call" screen made me sick. Please let this screen be just a beta design!

[patsy @ Jun 26th 2008 9:32AM]

Good grief, I so agree! WM usability is still a steaming pile of cr4p., and I use it every day. Why the hell have a dialog with radio buttons (which are finicky as hell to hit right with the bare finger) and then OK/Cancel buttons requiring TWO clicks, if you could do the same thing with individual buttons for each option, requiring just one click. Size the buttons right and you don't even need a flippin' stylus. While I have ideological objections to the iPhone, Apple sure came up with a great minimalist interface that can be so easily fat-fingered. At least at the surface, I don't know if they ever dump you into messy screens with tiny radio/check boxes.

[patsy @ Jun 26th 2008 9:37AM]

Just wanted to add that I think the WM6.1 sliding tiles are a step in the right direction, with stacked tiles that each can have a number of pages. Easy to navigate with just a d-pad and possibly even a touch screen via swipes. It's conceptually somewhat similar to Android's two-dimensional icon grid where you have a horizontal icon bar at the bottom and each icon can have its own set of vertical icons stacked on top. It's just annoying that WM6.1 drops you oh-so-quickly into dialog-and-scrollbar hell.

[naz @ Jun 26th 2008 9:21AM]

Shame about a OS but hopefully there UI has improved it alot so it can almost match the quality of the hardware

[mike @ Jun 26th 2008 12:27PM]

Doubtful. It's Sony. They've never known anything about Software. It's a hardware company.

[kentavos @ Jun 26th 2008 9:24AM]

What's with the monster sized space bar? What a waste of space. Sure for real typing on a real keyboard, a larger keyboard makes sense.

But on a phone, where you're typing with your thumbs, who cares?

[w @ Jun 26th 2008 9:29AM]

engadget, can you please stop using the lame and terrible iphone camera to shoot hands-on?

thanks.

[Astrostream @ Jun 26th 2008 9:39AM]

Fuck you. Don't tell them what to do and what not to do.

[josh @ Jun 26th 2008 9:44AM]

Hey w, this was actually a Panasonic FX55 using macro mode in very poor lighting conditions. The iPhone's camera wouldn't have even lit up a candle at that show. You're welcome for the new shots, by the way.

[Syphon Filter @ Jun 26th 2008 9:49AM]

@josh

what exactly in those shots is new?

[w @ Jun 26th 2008 9:55AM]

hey josh, sorry but when i got the feed and then saw the pics, i couldn't help myself but bitch a little.
but yeah, thanks...

[w @ Jun 26th 2008 9:57AM]

@Astrostream

i gave a suggestion in form of a question, you're the one trying to tell people what to do.
can you please fuck off, now?

thanks.

[Neeko @ Jun 26th 2008 9:30AM]

Shame on you SONY.. I really dont understand how a company can showup at a trade show and NOT HAVE A WORKING DEMO of you product.. Whats the point in even showing it at all?

[Ken @ Jun 26th 2008 11:36AM]

You don't work at a tech company do you? Sales will swipe anything out of engineerings hands to show the world, regardless of how premature it is.

[Syphon Filter @ Jun 26th 2008 9:34AM]

I would say the only thing this has over the Touch Pro is the extra res on the screen. Also Bengal Boy has a massive thread/review of this thing, he's been using it personally and thats been going for weeks now. He's a bit of a cowboy but has some very thorough impressions up.

I wonder how much SE bloat will be loaded onto this device once it does hit production/the street. HTC devices tend to be pretty bloat-free (unless you class the new UI's as bloat). I'm still leaning towards the Touch Pro.

[xstream @ Jun 26th 2008 1:03PM]

the higher res is the main feature but the X1 is also lighter

[Jeremy @ Jun 26th 2008 9:38AM]

engadget - can you please check and see if you find 1700 MHz listed as supported on the device?

[xValentine @ Jun 26th 2008 9:39AM]

I haven't seen an actual photo of the Black X1.

Why oh why...

[maveric101 @ Jun 26th 2008 2:07PM]

link someone posted above:
http://www.pocketpcaddict.com/forums/media/81978/sonyericssonxperiax1phone.jpg

i think the black looks more modern and really just better.

[Abhinav @ Jun 26th 2008 9:44AM]

Can't wait to get my hands on this :P

[chickenator @ Jun 26th 2008 10:00AM]

*yawn*

[fred @ Jun 26th 2008 10:04AM]

The Sony people need to run a tighter presentation. Yeah this might not be the biggest CE show on the planet, but when you product is on display, there is a darn good chance that the person walking by, as proven in this case, may be working for a major tech news site.

And there is an army of people that want to tear this phone apart for reasons that we are all aware of, and they will eat this story up.

Get on the ball, Sony!

[bogdatov @ Jun 26th 2008 10:05AM]

Interesting ... I just took my old T-Mobile MDA with sliding keyboard and 320x240 QVGA screen and compared it to X1 in LANDSCAPE mode

For whatever reason, even X1 has VGA ... but if I go to "Start->Programs" I have 4 icons horizontally and 3 icons vertically on my MDA with QVGA.
And X1 has 6 icons horizontally and 3 (1) vertically. With VGA resolution.

I was under impression that VGA screen will give me MUCH more real estate :(

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 26th 2008 10:06AM]

WTF...they still dont have a working device and what happened to the much hyped xperia panels??? werent those working too??

so...this device's UI is nothing but plain WM 6.1...with xperia panels sitting on top...huh lame...Diamond's UI looked cooler on top of WM 6.1

this device sure is loosing the hip it created first hand

[ScOObyDoo @ Jun 26th 2008 10:28AM]

There is one thing I just don't understand.

HTC announced the Touch Diamond in MAY and it is already on store shelves, with a pretty stable and fast OS.

SE announced the Xperia X1 back in January, and it STILL isn't available.

I'm curious what is causing the delay, whether HTC are just not working hard enough, or whether SE are just too inexperienced with WinMo devices to get one out on time...

[Syphon Filter @ Jun 26th 2008 10:53AM]

Maybe HTC are dragging their heels, with the Diamond already out and the Touch Pro due in a couple of months they will snap up market share, leaving only die hard SE fans to buy the Xperia.

Makes good business sense. Ferrari release their engines in their cars first, before they give them over to Maserati right?

PS. I made my analogy up, just taking a guess :~P

[hugoliva @ Jun 26th 2008 10:34AM]

As time goes by the X1 looks more and more like Meizu's M8.

[KevinJ @ Jun 26th 2008 11:02AM]

What the frack???? I've been waiting and waiting for this thing. Yeah it has 800x480 screen but all this waiting and seening that the OS is buggy makes me want to re-consider just getting a iPhone 3G or whatever else will be out before Sony. Sony you out there, send me one please at get me out of my misery of my old Moto V600!

I thought this thing was comming June of 08 and now I'm hearing limited September of 08 and likely means January of 09 when most people can get their hands on it without paying almost $1k. Then for service providers to pick it up means and provide it at a contract discount June of 09! What the frack.

[Rob Bourne @ Jun 26th 2008 11:13AM]

Nice to see more X1 coverage, but sad to see it's a little weak.

I have to agree with others when I say I'm leaning more towards the Touch Pro lately.

[therpham @ Jun 26th 2008 11:22AM]

I had been excited about this phone but it looks like they might not get their act together well enough to make the phone worth getting over a Touch Pro or iPhone. If they're still having trouble with the interface after showing working but buggy stuff a few months ago, that doesn't give much hope.

[TheJalAbides @ Jun 26th 2008 11:23AM]

Josh, what did you think about the keyboard's tactile response? Was it as piss-poor as BGR made it out to be?

[Elkin @ Jun 26th 2008 11:35AM]

WINDOWS? why? whyyyyyyy...

[Abuzar @ Jun 26th 2008 12:07PM]

Because it gets the Job done.

Man when the Xperia was first announced it looks great, but when it is compared to the new HTC devices it's UGLY.

[Jash Sayani @ Jun 26th 2008 1:22PM]

Windows Mobile is in great demand in the US.

And Windows Mobile 7 will be out in just a month.. With lotsof cool features !

[Ken @ Jun 26th 2008 11:39AM]

One critical thing Sony seems to be missing here is an interface. I'm no fanboi, but I will admit that Apple has shown the world that the interface makes or breaks the product. If Sony developed this phone with prime emphasis on the interface...

[Jash Sayani @ Jun 26th 2008 1:20PM]

The keyboard is just adorable !!!!!

[TheJalAbides @ Jun 26th 2008 1:25PM]

She must be. They definitely didn't put her there for her technical prowess.

[virain @ Jun 26th 2008 1:37PM]

With every new review of X1, I incline more and more towards Samsung Omnia. Sad, I did love my SE P900 very much, even it wasn't a WM device!

[Phoenix @ Jun 26th 2008 1:41PM]

No. It won't be. if it is I will commit suicide.

[Phoenix @ Jun 26th 2008 1:42PM]

...meant to be a reply to jash

[Anthony Hau @ Jun 26th 2008 2:36PM]

Is the booth lady hot? Any pic of her?

[miro @ Jun 26th 2008 7:42PM]

Every time I see this phone, it seems to take a step back. We initially saw the Xpanels or whatever they're called. Now we see a barely functioning phone. And the booth lady didn't know the phone was stuck at a config screen? You'd think Sony Ericsson would want someone with SOME knowledge repping the phone.

[loujob @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:36AM]

you guys just need better reviews. Check out bengalboy's review with hundreds of pictures and videos of the phone.