Sony Ericsson's X1A surfaces in Best Buy's inventory

It looks like the long, slow road to a domestic street date for the XPERIA X1 could be coming to an end with the phone's recent entry into the inventory system over at Best Buy. Of course, we're taking all of this with the proverbial grain of salt, but looks like the X1A (as it's known in North America) might actually hit the shelves on December 7 of this year, with a retail price of $799.99. There is no word on a possible contract price yet, and with all of the other options out there (Touch Pro and G1 come to mind) SE might have a tough time selling this one to consumers whenever it does see the light of day. We'll have to wait and see.

[Killian @ Nov 10th 2008 4:23PM]

I guess there might be a few people still waiting for this phone, who didn't already give up and buy an iPhone

[Phoenix @ Nov 10th 2008 4:36PM]

More likely to have bought a Touch Pro...

[NineT9 @ Nov 11th 2008 5:12AM]

I'm actually glad the phone is so expensive... Means less people will have it when I buy it :D

Everyone has the iPhone now, just like the RAZR when it came out :/

[aaron @ Nov 10th 2008 4:25PM]

$799.00 !!!! Yikes.

[a ham sandwich @ Nov 10th 2008 5:21PM]

i know. it went right through my heart too. :(

[EmoChicksAreHot.....Seriously @ Nov 11th 2008 12:52AM]

Um...i gotta eat first...and pay my bills....and pay for my car payments....etc

If i have something left over ill be sure to get my hands on this.

[jdechko @ Nov 10th 2008 4:30PM]

This is the #1 phone on my list (before the touch pro and (distant 3rd) iphone), but I'm still waiting to see if this gets picked up by AT&T. I have hopes that if it does, it should be priced similarly to the Fuze.

[kjb434 @ Nov 10th 2008 4:33PM]

My guess is that ATT getting the Touch Pro (Fuze) will mean it won't get the X1 (sigh).

Both phones are great devices with a nice spec sheet.

[jdechko @ Nov 10th 2008 4:43PM]

I know, but I'm still hoping.

[boku @ Nov 10th 2008 5:00PM]

i thought the T-mobile 3g uses the 1700mhz band.. cause thats what the G1 uses.. and the x1a doesnt have that band. it uses HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100.. unless t-mobile also uses the 1900mhz band. /shrugs

[noyp @ Nov 10th 2008 8:19PM]

T-mo has the 2100mhz band, but I'm willing to bet it's the European band which is a few mhz off from T-mo's Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[B.Cherry @ Nov 10th 2008 4:32PM]

Man, I hope this is true! Because everytime I ask AT&T or T-Mobile they have no clue what the Xperia X1 is! As for the price, I don't know. If anythin', Best Buy will be good that way I can walk-in, buy it, and get a warrenty. I might wait after X-Mas to for a price drop. $500 USD is all I'm willin' to drop on this phone!!! Like 'ol dude above me, "at least $400 with a contract. " It's already bad enough we're lookin' at $80+ a month for service...


I just don't know if I can really lay down that much money... I'm gonna' need to cancel Bangbros, Reality Kings, and Brazzers for a few months. That or break up with my girl friend. Decisions decisions...

[Cal @ Nov 10th 2008 5:31PM]

I think you should break up with your girlfriend because even with her you still seem to really need all of those porn sites. lol sounds like someone isnt getting any

[B.Cherry @ Nov 10th 2008 6:14PM]

Lmbao!!! I get plenty dude.Trust. All them websites I piece up among homies, no homo, and I download them and share them with limewire and other free sites. So next time you downloadin' a HQ yorno from limewire, bittorrent, rapidshare, megaupload, etc., be thankful. And this goes for all of you!

[inxperia @ Nov 10th 2008 7:04PM]

Dude, are you that big of a dumb ass that you don't have any original thoughts in your head?
http://www.inxperia.com/forums/news/391-xperia-x1-arrive-best-buy-december-7-a.html
Copy and paste peoples comments from inxperia to engadget?

Wow.

Lame.

[Matt @ Nov 10th 2008 8:27PM]

It's in the subclass Unlocked Hardware, which means that BBY is selling it as an unlocked phone, rather than with a carrier contract. Unless sony lowers the price on the phone, you're unlikely to see a significant (if any) price drop on it. Whether it gets picked up by AT&T is another question, but my money says they won't dilute their inventory with this one since they just picked up the Fuze...

[Game_playa @ Nov 10th 2008 9:46PM]

LOL, you got owned by inexperia himself!

[mike @ Nov 11th 2008 3:00PM]

thats funny, i have brazzers , too i cracked it if you want it, i also have vivid. lol

[John @ Nov 10th 2008 4:34PM]

i freaked out when i saw the width, then realized no, that's the box...

[Nal @ Nov 10th 2008 4:40PM]

I want to know which carrier it's going to. Since it's a.. what do you call that.. GSM phone? It's either T-Mobile or AT&T right? I sure hope it goes to T-Mobile for their cheaper pricing.

Anyway, AT&T already has the Fuze (aka Touch Pro), why do they need another one? Sprint has the Touch Pro and the Diamond, AT&T with Fuze and BB Bold, Verizon with the Storm, Touch Pro, AND Omnia, and what does T-Mobile have? The G1? Come on, more variety!

Not that I'm pro T-Mobile, I'm just pro-cheaper plans. I'd actually prefer it if the X1 came to Sprint, since I'm here already.

[B.Cherry @ Nov 10th 2008 4:59PM]

I'm not an AT&T fan, but AT&T has rollever! Therefore, the minutes I pay for every month, I get to keep! Unlike the rest of the carriers. That, and T-Mobile barely rolled out their 3G! G1 one owners aka Beta Testers! Let's not forget that T-Mobile data plan went up recently! Oh yeah, and I can't forget that I will be able to get a family plan with my iPhone. AT&T FTW. Well, it looks like it's gonna' be a great '09 after all...

[dandmcd @ Nov 10th 2008 5:41PM]

It appears this is the SKU for an unlocked version, not for any specific carrier if you look at the class and subclass on that RSS screenshot.

[Brian @ Nov 10th 2008 6:12PM]

@B. Cherry

Rollover is a gimmick. I have ATT and I have and I quote from my account
"MINs Remaining
As of: 11/10
Anytime: 663
N&W: Unlimited
M2M: Unlimited
RO: 5,339"
Okay thats almost 6000 minutes and if you do the math 5339/60=89 Hours!! thats more than 3 days strait on the phone! Mainly there's two reasons for that, 1 I text all more than I talk and its a family plan so we get a bazillion minutes anyway and they expire in december so technically you don't get to keep the minutes forever.

[B.Cherry @ Nov 10th 2008 6:28PM]

@ Brain

At the end of the year, all your minutes don't expire all at once! Trust. Let's say that your plan started on Jan '08. Come Feb '09, you'll still have rollover minutes left over minutes from Feb '08 to Dec '08. Come Mar '09, you'll still have rollever minutes from March '08 to Dec '08. And so on...So all they do is deduct a month after a year. That, and your still gettin' new rollover minutes each month if you have any left over at the end of the month. No sure if I explained it well enough, but you'll see what I mean in dude time...

[n3rd @ Nov 10th 2008 7:14PM]

my life goes by in dude time too

[Smalls @ Nov 10th 2008 4:41PM]

Oh man, I've been wanting this. I've let the iPhone and G1 slide right by to purchase this bad boy.

[pcmike @ Nov 10th 2008 4:47PM]

With the FUZE coming out tomorrow, who in their right mind would wait till the 7th of December to spend $799 on this? Buddy of mine just left to go buy a Fuze tonight from a friend at an AT&T store. Can't wait...

[Lowest Ranked @ Nov 10th 2008 4:56PM]

Heaviest. Phone. Ever.

[Valicore @ Nov 11th 2008 1:05AM]

Seriously lol. 1.7 pounds the box is. Hopefully there are just lots of extra goodies and a light phone as opposed to a 1.5 pound phone.

[sandra @ Nov 10th 2008 5:01PM]

To much, to late sadly, out of all the phones coming out this year the X1 was my 1st choice, I love that WVGA screen, but since SE dragged their feet on getting it out and apparently didn't even put any effort into getting a carrier to carry it they lost me since this time tomorrow i'll have the Fuze (touch pro) for $500 less than what the X1 is gonna cost when it comes out which is still a month away.

[moe @ Nov 10th 2008 5:20PM]

its still number one in north america. only the htc hd beats it and its europe only

[Ineed911 @ Nov 10th 2008 5:21PM]

At $800, why even bother release this in the US?

[Unregistered @ Nov 10th 2008 5:38PM]

just because you can't afford it, it doesn't mean NOBODY can.
:( sadly, I'm in your group. But still, people can and will buy it. As for the date of release, it's funny, I was just looking at another website that has it listed for $885 then has a note at the bottom that says "this product is expected to be in stock on thursday, 27 November 2008" in big red letters.....

Negrielectronics.com is the site BTW..

[Brian @ Nov 10th 2008 5:57PM]

I cant wait!! My dad would kill me if i asked for a new phone so I guess I will have to mow some lawns for oh.... the next few years! Okay thats an exaggeration, but if you think about it (MATH WARNING!) say on average $30 per lawn about 3 per day that would put me at best $90 per day and $630 per week so that would put me at 9 days to get $810. Not so bad but the one bad thing.... most all of the people in my town has a lawn service to do the work for them so that puts me out of luck. But that means that i would have to mow my own lawn for $30 once a month starting in the spring (I live in Jersey so we get snow) so from now I will need to wait 12 months to get this phone. But I could shorten that time by say a month or two if I shovel snow (thats if we get any). Hmm.... I hate being a poor high school student. :/

[B.Cherry @ Nov 10th 2008 6:54PM]

Man, I hope they take the time to work out the kinks! At least come with frequent firmware updates and add need features if possible. You know, like the PSP and PS3. And for $799, I might just have to get a Best Buy credit card with no interest for 18 months and take my time with it! Of course with hopes that Best Buy will fall off like Circuit City and file bankrupt, go out of business, and I'll never have to pay them back! Just thinkin' outloud on that last sentence...

[thedesolate1 @ Nov 11th 2008 7:17AM]

Is that even possible? don't start giving me some ideas. I hear Circuit City has some nice payment plans for LCD TVs.

[Justin @ Nov 10th 2008 7:18PM]

I am still trying to figure out who is going to buy this thing...

[mercurysunblast @ Nov 10th 2008 7:18PM]

Damn I want this phone...But I could only ever buy it if it was HALF that price. :(

[mrbrown @ Nov 10th 2008 8:50PM]

i wonder if this will be a online only offering. i have noticed on bestbuy.com that they have a few phones that are unlocked.
who knows until dec. 7 tho right?

[Sridhar3 @ Nov 10th 2008 9:17PM]

I thought the X1i was the unlocked version?

It's beautiful but friggin' expensive.

[alex @ Nov 10th 2008 10:41PM]

Even me, a member of http://www.talksony.com where everyone loves Sony... I think that is ridiculously expensive!

[chop @ Nov 10th 2008 11:18PM]

ehh for you guys saying its expensive its not so bad...

*remembers dropping 8 large on the n95 the day it came out in HK/Europe*

sigh...

[Sam Zebian @ Nov 10th 2008 11:37PM]

this is a major let-down for me.... I bought the iphone to hold out for the Experia, but fucking $800 is ridiculous. I spent a little less than that on my netbook, I'm not willing to lose that much on a fucking phone. this is ridiculous!

[Apple Fanboy @ Nov 11th 2008 1:39AM]

That's a great example Sam Zebian. But.. I spent $35,000 on my car so I guess $800 is a bargain! For those of you comparing it to the AT&T Fuze why don't you try comparing both unlocked prices? First hit on google $50 price difference. https://www.onthegosolutions.com/product.asp?itemMDL=ATT_FUZE No official announcement has been made yet. Even the touch pro (fuze) was available before the carrier subsidized models were released.

[Raheem @ Nov 11th 2008 3:53AM]

I recently used the X1 and I have to say it looked lovely, but upon using it, it was very thick, plasticky and clunky. The OS repeatedly froze up and took several tries to get it to start working again. There is even an egg timer that you have to wait about 3-4 seconds for when you want to see the clock in full screen (clock has to refresh?!).

Design - 9
Usability - 4
Overall - 6

[GH1 @ Nov 11th 2008 7:10AM]

I own this phone and the first thing you need to know is that the first time every app runs, it runs slowly. After that, it runs fairly quick and smooth. Plays full-screen video downloads with no re-encoding. The only crashes I've had are when I've downloaded dodgy home-made apps off the net and tried to run them.