Sony Ericsson "Rachael" Android XPERIA handset unveiled?
Hello, beautiful. Danish phone site Mobil has uncovered "internal documents" on what appears to be Sony Ericsson's upcoming Android-based handset, an XPERIA number codenamed Rachael. Under the hood is a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, HSPA and an 8 megapixel camera. It's unclear how big the touchscreen is, and other details are scarce -- there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, so that's nice, but unless we're severely misguided, there doesn't seem to be a slide-out keyboard tucked away inside this thin chassis.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]



















Do want. :)
Yeah, that thing looks pretty sweet!
As always, the number of dollars they want for the device is sadly not posted.
idiot. did u even read the article. say something useful. i'm scolding so u dont do same moronic act again. here 1st post is the most read post.
af u need to really chill
OK. Maybe I overreacted.
that's why iPhone roooolez,
boooo Micro$oft
Barney: What does Microsoft have to do with this again?
The back of the phone is really pretty.
That's how you know whether a phone comes with a s***ty camera. :P
It does look good, and it's not a "with Google" phone (by the looks of it), so it'll have a custom UI that can hopefully rival HTC's.
Me want...
What does MS have to do with this? The iPhone is nice, their are other good phones, and yes, MS WinMo is horrible, but android isn't.
If my experience with the SE P series is an example, this lovely device will likely cost about $800, lack most US network protocols, but be quite a nice example of where things should go.
I want as well. I develop/design for the iPhone, but Android would be pretty impressive on the SnapDragon!
what exactly is horrible on WinMo phones HTC makes? oh yeah, there are 100x more apps than Android has
It's alright.. there's no flare to it
SE made smartphones? :).
Snapdragon? Who's naming processors these days! Answer me!
I also want one, this phone has the looks. And no waste-of-space physical keyboard. Hopefully that screen is all glass.
@ MrNuclear
Im pretty sure Qualcomm names it.
@Jimbo - Don't stick up for the travesty that is WinMo 6.1. It locks up at least 3 times a day, takes 5 - 10 seconds to repond to button presses, randomly decides to turn itself on and call people.... You could have a million apps for WinMo, and it would still be horrible.
Wishing I could get Android on my HTC.
Man now that's a powerful device !
That's what she said!
Android on a 1Ghz processor is gonna be awesome. Maybe Sony will have its own special UI on top of Android like HTC is doing?
If she called it a "device," she was probably referring to your battery-operated counterpart. (Jk, of course. It needn't run on batteries, but in the spirit of Engadget... ;D)
I'm most excited to see the pleasurably gratuitous technological showing. Having the Xperia label and not having the "with Google" designation, this phone should be pretty damn kick ass. Furthermore, any Android without a chin is a welcome one.
If it ran on batteries and vibrated wouldn't it be a 'he' :/
http://www.coveroo.com/ProductSelector/tabid/102/ver/1/cnm/military/Default.aspx#/ver/1/cnm/military/pnl/dev/mnm/htc/dnm/htc-g2,black
is this the real G2?? i found it while looking for android phones..
That's the Sciphone G2 I believe... rofl.
are you joking? This phone is made by Sony Ericsson the G2 is made by HTC
HTC makes the Xperia phones for Sony-Ericsson.
@Sarig: HTC made the X1 but as far as we know they won't make any more for SE.
Hmm, perhaps I have finally found my next handset?
I wonder if it has an OLED screen, though. That would really be awesome if it did.
I am tempted to say the same - so far I've not seen 1 Android met my "wanted" list of features, but this might just make me forego the slide-out keyboard...
Yes, if only it had an OLED screen to wear out faster.
I hope it has a capacitive touch screen. I might have faith in sony ericcson if this comes out with pretty good reviews.
i can't see a stylus anywhere on the phone (could be my eyes tricking me.. or wishful thinking) so it could mean it's a capacitative touchscreen! woohoo!
*owner of a X1
I don't see a stylus anywhere on the phone (could be my eyes tricking me since it's late and/or wishful thinking) so that could mean it's a capacitative screen!
*owner of a X1*
Could be my eyes tricking me since it's late and/or wishful thinking but... i don't see a stylus anywhere on the phone so that could mean it's capacitative!
*owner of a X1*
damn. terribly sorry about the triple reply!! :(
opera doesn't play well with engadget i guess
sorry :\
Split Personality Disorder?
More like sock puppet malfunction.
i thought android was only capacitive
This sub-thread brought to you by "Sock Puppets Exposed".
Triple post could be blamed on engadget, if all three posts said the same thing. Best to just get a new user name and be done with it. ;)
Doesn't this not have enough buttons and such to be an Android phone? I thought to use Android you need a home button, back button, pick up, end call, some others I'm forgetting and some sort of navigation input like a dpad or trackball.
It looks pretty nice though. Nothing amazing in design, but nice.
that's what I thought. I remember reading something indicating that 4 buttons were required (and that a headphones jack wasn't allowed), so I'm skeptical that this will be running Android :(
BTW - love my ION!
Finally, someone put a media processor into an Android handset!
Hopefully it's packing something more than a 3.2" 320x480 touchscreen.
looks like it'll be wvga.
Almost assuredly 3.5''++++++
It's perfectly possible. Sony Ericsson previously stated that they would skip 1.5 and wait for version 2.0 before releasing their first handset.
One of the features that are supposedly added to Android 2.0 is WVGA (800x480 or 854x480) support.
Of course, we don't know how big the device is...
With the Photoshop ruler (and the larger picture from the host site: http://www.mobil.nu/ArticlePages/200907/04/20090704151734_MDK719/rachael3_s.jpg)
And using the 3.5mm jack as a reference, I'm measuring a screen diagonal of somewhere between 3.75" and 4". [My exact number is 3.83", subject to error]
This thing could be huge!!!
I want the sense UI on it
Seeing as how the Xperia X1 had an 800x480 screen, anything lower would be a downgrade. This does look nice though, and I bet someone could figure out the size of the screen by measuring by how many times the inner headphone jack hole fits diagonally.
I was just about to work out the math on the screen size but then I realized I have a heap of hot dogs to eat, so I'm gonna pass the task on to someone else.
Based on your method and my extremely rough measurements, it's about 71.167 x 39.667 mm.
I wouldn't be surprised if it's actualy running WM and not Android...wait & see...
With that processor WinMo would actually run pretty fantastically I would imagine.
Or maybe Apple licenced the iPhone OS to Sony Ericsson...
@Demo
It has a lot of raw horsepower, but even that won't save WinMo. The Toshiba G01 is a Snapdragon phone running Windows mobile, and based on the youtube, it is just as slow and laggy.
The problem with Windows Mobile 6 (and older) is that it is compiled to the ancient ARMv5 instruction set, and lacks the ability to take advantage of modern ARM optimizations and SoC coprocessors. The Snapdragon has a custom, very powerful NEON media engine implementation, 600+Mhz DSP, and powerful GPU... None of which is natively used by Windows mobile. WinMo doesn't even have dedicated floating point unit support.
On an optimized Android build, however, Snapdragon is absolutely a beast. The next version of Snapdragon that will be available in devices in early 2010 uses two 1.5Ghz cores with full 1080P encode/decode and a graphics chip that is much faster than the PowerVR SGX 530.
Mama mia, hope the screen is bigger than my G1...put on the list bebe
wow thats nice, can't wait to see what its capable of!
looks like the home buttons and search buttons are found on the right side of the device.
and here i was about to drop some money on a unlocked htc magic (trying to find a 288 ram version) and putting sense on it, since t-mobile dropped the ball and releasing the 192 MB version of the device.
oh well i can wait a few more months for this device
Sony needs make this phone and the Satio available to a popular network already so we don't have to spend 800+ just to use one. Who am I kidding I'm stuck with Sprint and they never get nice things. I love the Pre and all but I also love Sony Ericcson.
If you try to translate what it says from danish into english it states at a certain point that the "pressure-sensitive screen is just great" so it means it's not capacitive,
also as you can see on the back it says XPERIA and Sony ericsson.. not GOOGLE.. so it will most definetely have a propretary version of the os
If you read the correct translation under the danish text, it says "The touch screen seems to be quite large".
All I can say is.... WOW!
Now THIS is what we all want, Android and SnapDragon.
Freaking Sa'Weet!
Was thinking that a Tegra Android device would come out first, but it looks like Snapdragon FTW. Both are going to be great in the smartphone & PMP market.
Well they've been mentioning that 18 android devices should be dropping this year and the year is halfway over with... things may be heating up in very soon.
To me WebOS and Android, both open source platforms are going to be the future and is exciting to see the developments in these devices
Is Android done with keyboards? Seems like every new Android phone these days is without one.
coz thats the fad these days.
They are done with keyboards, because people like their phones thin and sexy. Slide out keyboards add mechanics, weight, and volume. Apple was certainly not the first handset to be sold without a keyboard, but they were the first to do it right. They were the first to drop the number line across the top, and space the buttons in such a way that you can type with your fingers much more easily. Few people really have trouble using it, most people actually prefer it.
Frankly, most of the complaints about the iPhone are only complaints that tech nerds who read gadget blogs would complain about. (I do include myself in that stereotype.) Most people don't care about SD card slots, Slide out keyboards, or user changeable batteries. How many people do you know that really walk around with a spare phone battery in their pocket? One thing that they would complain about would be MMS messaging, and thats not Apple's fault. Another is flash support, and that might be Apple's fault but I haven't seen it really done well on any phone yet.
I'd like to point out that the source website is not Dutch (looks more like Swedish or something).
This would be an awesome phone if it indeed comes with Android. I have an Xperia loaded with HTC's user interface and it's great, but I've come to the conclusion that I don't really need a hardware keyboard and the resistive screen isn't great (having to use your nails all the time isn't great). I like Windows Mobile, but Android looks even better.
your right they said it was Danish not Dutch two completely different places
Languages aren't places...
Sony, LG, Moto and the like really need to get on the band wagon here. Really, if four years ago someone told you that the mobile handset market would be dominated by Apple, Google, Palm, and RIM (all North American companies) would you have believed them? Nokia is at least trying. Sony, LG, Moto, and all the other companies that used to be cool have nothing even worth looking at right now.
" the mobile handset market would be dominated by Apple, Google, Palm, and RIM (all North American companies)"
Please log off and go shoot yourself!
What about samsung, their adroid phones are looking nice and the omnia series is good.
Uh...I'm not even going to point your mistakes here.
You my good sir must be a tech noob...
No, this guy is right. Obviously he doesn't mean overall marketshare, he means who has all the hype and most popular high-end smartphones.
Apple, Palm, Blackberry, and HTC are the only ones even competing it seems like...
"Nokia continued to dominate the handset market, although its share dropped from 39.1 per cent to 36.2 per cent year on year, while Samsung maintained second place and improved its market share to 19.1 per cent, with sales of 51.4 million units.
Motorola regained fourth place after dropping to fifth in the fourth quarter of 2008, overtaking Sony Ericsson."
http://www.v3.co.uk/vnunet/news/2242579/mobile-phone-sales-continue
So you can see, no Apple, no Google (???), no Palm & no RIM.
this will be my first android phone if launched before HTC Hero.
What about the Samsung Galaxy i7500?...
i`ll never buy a samsung product in my life. have had enough bad experiences with that brand.
WinMo7 plz
I once dated a girl named Rachael, she rocked my world too.
I know her, she cheated on me with some who couldn't spell his name.
NICE!, I'm glad I have resisted buying an 3GS or Omnia HD thus far!
Well, don't want to scare anyone, but I just ran the numbers in Photoshop, based on the 3.5mm jack internal width:
I get a 2.0"x3.5" screen, for a diagonal measurement of ...... 4.0 inches !!!
Pretty freaking outrageous, if true.
For someone else to check, my raw Photoshop numbers (ruler in inches format):
(3.5mm jack -> 0.132)
Horizontal screen ->1.923
Vertical screen->3.382
Diagonal screen->3.885
I ran the numbers again, on the larger picture from the Mobil host site: http://www.mobil.nu/ArticlePages/200907/04/20090704151734_MDK719/rachael3_s.jpg
On a much higher res picture, I get screen dimensions of: 48x85mm or 3.83" diagonal.
Either way, I think we're looking at a very large screen.....
"unless we're severely misguided, there doesn't seem to be a slide-out keyboard tucked away inside this thin chassis"...
Good... I've used 2 PDA style phones in the past and hated the physical keyboards on both. They were a pain to use and made the phone bulky and feel all wobbly when up against your ear! I recently bought a replacement PDA/Smart Phone and specifically looked for one without a physical keyboard, the phone's more compact, more solid, and typing using the screen works fine. The Sony looks great, it's about time they released a good looking phone.
That phone is damn sexy. I would leave my iPod Touch in a heartbeat if I had that (as long as it has storage space/microSD slot, WiFi, email, and Verizon picked it up)
....
OH WHO AM I KIDDING?
Verizon with Sony Ericsson? That's like cutting someone's arms and legs off and saying that person is naturally like that. :(
(and why am I bashing my favorite cellular company? bbl need a shrink)
Alas, Motorola is done.... I knew thee well.
A new research from trend research agency Trendsspotting provide evidences on Android hype across the globe.The research claims the future growth of Android will be from Netbooks, not from cellphones as it was anticipated earlier.Meantime 18- 20 Android based handsets are expected by year end , this model from SE is one of those !
http://www.trendsspotting.com/blog/?p=1315
@ iKurt 7: Dumb ass fanboy.
Unfortunately here in the US, we're limited to phones offered by our carriers... I picked up a new iPhone 3GS because it was the best available on AT&T's network. Dammit... please get some of these sweet Android phones AT&T!!!
I'm a week away from getting an XPERIA! I'd choose an XPERIA over any phone any day
If this is true, then that means i dont get the XPERIA, and must wait 6+ months for this phone to get released :(
You realise that this IS an XPERIA right? The phone you're thinking of buying is the X1, XPERIA is a sub-brand under Sony Ericsson. XPERIA is not A phone, it is a series. Sorry but it gets annoying.
@Spooner,
Actually, I think the good ol' USofA has the best selection of phones right now. Sure we miss out on some gimmicky things like Mobile TV, but I would rather have a full web browser.
Are you retarted? I'm not a sony fanboy but this looks WAY better than iPhone 3Gs. Yes the 8 megapixel does mean better quality along with the snapdragon processor and the fact that it's android based.
Is that white circle a flash or is just decorative?
XPERIA perhaps is better without a qwerty...Individually I love qwerty, however...
That is so sexy! Want it now!
Oh look...
No chin!
Raffy.A
samsung galaxy i7500 doesn't have a chin either.. only HTC have the chin syndrome
I've been waiting for SE and HTC to make a great phone with Android. HTC has done it and now SE has HOWEVER, the real problem in this phone will be 2 fold. #1 RLS DATE.. in my mind TBA 2011 because SE sucks balls when it comes to releasing anything within a reasonable time period. #2 Price Point, because of the massive financial loss, SE is going to try and suck every consumer like vampires but for whatever reason they won't understand it does not generate sales to overcharge people.
stylus?
Is this going to be the successor of my WM 6,5 custom build Xperia?
- Probably!
Not bad