We've been on pins and needles waiting for more info about the Snapdragon-powered
Sony Ericsson Rachael ever since we spotted those early images over the weekend, and while the latest pics are still just potentially fan-made renders, it's the accompanying UI video that we're freaking out over today. Just like HTC's layered the
Sense UI over Android on the
Hero, the Rachael looks to have a polished custom Sony Ericsson interface over its Android build, and we're definitely digging the vibe -- especially the unified messaging interface that displays Facebook, Twitter, email, SMS, and calls all from one screen. It's pretty slick stuff -- let's just hope it's real, and shipping soon. There's also a couple more renders of the funky rear-display
Kiki featurephone, but until we figure how SE intends for humans to actually use it, we're focused on Rachael. Renders and video after the break.
Read - Rachael and Kiki pics
Read - Rachael UI video
posted Jul 8th 2009 12:03PM
It's so beautiful! That stacks method for lists, whoa. I like this more than sense, it's more elegant.
Wow. Kudos, SE.
its clear this Rachael UI is just a pretty version of Android.
i'm liking what i'm seeing from all the manufacturers though, and their use of Android.
ton of interesting phones lately.
It definitely reminds me of Android. A very slick Android. Props to SE.
Proof Sony can make Android their own. Now give me a PSP2 with Android and a XMB-esque UI.
Given all the praise this seems to get from the other comentators wouldnt it be just hilarous if this turned out to be another fake and Sony Ericsson keeps pushing its usual shit out the door? That, my friends, would be the definition of irony ;)
(But Im still praying to god (Josh) that this is real) ;)
The face on the glass effect is so cool. This is really great that SE is able to create an original UI on Android. Windows Mobile turned a lot of customers away from the X1 because of the ridiculous lag, and it seems that Sony has learned its lesson. Since its Android, the Rachael must also be capacitive. Their listening to us, guys!
It does look beautiful, I'm glad that someone can make Android actually look good.
Am I the only one that thinks the UI is just plain ugly?
I hope is not a fake,but here is the thing. The video is over a minute long an the time does not change on the phone at all.
I like androids interface its just kind of plain looking. SE interface looks much more calmed down and elegant then HTCs sense UI.
I guess the race for the fanciest UI has begun. Plenty of cool but extraneous animations and eye-candies await us.
On first glance the screenshot does indeed look very nice but on closer inspection it is a bit sloppy. My main issue with it is that if you are going to simulate what looks like a stack of cards with text on them then you should ensure that the text is positioned correctly. You'll notice that the text's size and angle changes as you go down the stack but it is often not angled parallel to the edges and on some cards is even falling outside of the cards boundaries. To me this just looks sloppy and should not appear in publicity material. Some people may look at this and say "so what" but it just makes me wonder how much care they take of everything else if something as easy to spot as this can slip through.
OMG THOSE ARE HOT
my gf will NOT like Rachael or Kiki :P
mmMMmmmmMMmmm.....
WELL DONE SONY ERICSSON
I don't know which one I like more Rachel or the new Moto ROKR
Nice!
Hopefully it will have a name change before release. I am a bit shy to hold a phone called Rachael.
It's just a codename.
all SE phones have female codenames (mostly WTA Tour players, the Tour is sponsored by SE)
uhhh are you serious? how insecure are you.. :\
Leave it to Sony Ericsson to make an awesome OS into an even better one. Maybe they are turning around.
god i hope so! turning around is def what they need.. i'm a proud owner of 4 SE phones currently x1... can't wait for their new and upcoming stuff this year and next!
Yes, I want to see SE do well again...(currently test driving a W760a)
yes into a better one, but problem with SE is always "when". They have the habit of announcing something nice and early, in prototype form, and leave gap of a couple of months (8+) before launching the device. By then most competitors would have pushed something better out.
Wow @ the UI.
but in the real life - not as smooth.
as seen on the TouchFlo3D UI video demo.
but if it has a Tegra.... think again.
Oh it's "snapdragon"!
Snapdragon apparently.
Oh snap!
I love the internet.
The hardware is there, the UI could definitely be that smooth if they optimize the software correctly.
Snapdragon is a beast! Think of it has a 1.0 Ghz super-charged version of the ARM Cortex-A8. It also has a very good graphics chip similar to a high-end PowerVR SGX, and a 600Mhz DSP. It is easily capable of handling that UI smoothly. Apple had a very smooth UI in the old iPhone, and all it had was a 400Mhz ARM11 and a 60Mhz PowerVR MBX lite.
I'm not an Android developer, so I've never looked at how graphics acceleration is implemented or how the window manager works, but I'm sure it is quite good. Certainly a million times better than the ancient GDI+ plus windows mobile.
Apparently, 2D/3D hardware acceleration is not present on Android yet. Its currently all done via Java in software...
That is one nice and easy to use UI. Good to see them coming back strong also.
WTF is up with that Kiki handset? is it backwards forwards? forwards backwards? upside down? leftside back? Kriss Kross....?
Give us a bone here SE and help us figure this out
Now people across the table can read your text messages, only backwards o_O
at first i thought the keyboard on the kiki looked like it flipped over the touch screen like the old p910i
http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/p910i
Wow. With that UI and that screen, it's amazing.
could it be? SE is finally making something I really want... what the hell is happening to the world?
Nah, cool stuff SE and the phone isn't half bad lookin' either
Man, it's too bad I gotta wait until I get home to check this. Darn freaking network restrictions.
Rachael looks nice. And is good in bed to boot! Hooooooooo!
Please please please come to the US!
Is it just me or does this resolution seem to be a bit higher... perhaps VGA or WVGA maybe?
WVGA apparently.
I thought Android was limited as far as its resolution support went. Did that change?
SE said a while ago that their first Android is going to use Android 2.0 (Donut), which supports WVGA.
That also means that you shouldn't expect this too soon...
I'd love to see some hands-on videos showing how the OS handles the higher resolution.
According to sources out their 2.0 is due before summers end
"Android 2.0 Donut Will be Released by the End of the Summer
Donut, The follow-up update to the CupCake 1.5 Android release, should at least be aiming to be completed by August 3rd, 2009. Why? The HTC Lancaster, the first Android phone for AT&T, is tentatively scheduled to debut on August 3rd. Whats important about this is that it has a QVGA 240 x 320 resolution screen vs the HVGA 320 x 480 resolution on the G1 & Magic. QVGA is ONLY supported in the upcoming Donut release as all versions prior just support HVGA." -Googleandblog.com
along with an android market overhaul
The Android Market will get a much needed overhaul in both presentation and usability. A more refined search and sorting is needed along with expanded categorization. It should get an Amazon like “would you like this” based on apps you already have and are searching for. Also some sort of improved web interface to break the reliance on checking apps outside your phone at Cyrket. -Googleandblog.com
It's nice that you like that but trying explaining the need for elegance and stacks to a 70 year old woman, FAIL.
lol
I like some of the ideas I have seen thus far in this UI and some things I don't... but it looks good overall... There will be so many versions of android by xmas time.. I wont know what to pick ... huawei is up next with there own version..
If they have that horrid keyboard. Huawei will NOT be a choice.
But with Snapdragon (which I have been waiting for all my life)
This is a number one pick for me. Although I will miss the rooting...but with this nice UI *which is why I have rooting for the Sense UI* I won't need it.
you are right .. this is cream of the crop so far on hardware.. but lets not get ahead of ourselves.. i will not make a purchase until xmas and there is a lot more android devices yet to be revealed....
Only thing that would sway me from this is a device with comparable specs...a hardware keyboard while still keeping slim...and made by HTC (so XDA can get to rooting for me).
But HTC will never make a chinless device for Android...so that dream is crashed.
I pray this is real so I will have something to buy. I will go back to ATT for this (because we all know this will NOT be a Verizon or Sprint phone)
Already wanted it from the second I saw it but daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn now thats a shexy UI, Can't wait to see how this thing pans out!
now I am confused! I don't know what to buy HTC Hero or this?
exactly what I was thinking
But...but...it's not an iPhone so it must suck, right?
Wha?? How dare you. I'm calling Steve Jobs on you!
Obviously sony knows what they can handle with the powerfulness of the device, what a great way to show it off.
And this is over android? even better, so an established community, even better.
Wow, no mention of the phone that cannot be named. It seems to show up in every article. If someone even dares mentioning that phone, I'm going to get Voldemort to destroy you.
If this phone is released before September I am getting one for sure
Dammit. The iPhone got a mention.
We were so close but Jordan had to blow it.
Must say this really is a nice pack of eyecandy.... Looks awsome...
But as awsome as it looks here, i think the road a lot of manufactures are heading with this whole "Looking better than the others with more 3D effects" might not be as nice in the everyday situations?
Looks really nice in these videos, but takes forever to load some sms's or mails if these slow 3Ds are gonna show me the way?? Am i wrong here?
It uses Snapdragon, so ya, you're wrong.
Hush...
Think you got me wrong...... Didn't mean the phone wasn't able to run these menus smooth.. Ment the freaking 3D effects is taking over and taking a ton of time to load because they are running smooth and slow like on the video...
But the thing is...that is what's selling phones today. It's not the specs...or even the hardware for real (although it does play a part). It's mainly how your phone looks when you turn it on.
As many has stated...there are TONS of phones that can do what the iPhone do and better. With bigger processors, more RAM.
But it's the beauty, simplicity, and mainly name that sells it.
Google has the name...this is the beauty...only thing missing (from what I've seen) is the simplicity. But some people also give up simpliciy for looking "cool" and "in"
Maybe i'm getting old, but i still prefer common sense in the UI over gimmicks like this.
It's not just you. What's the point of sacrificing functionality for looks?
Count me in as well. The UI certainly looks mighty impressive and bling-ey (really, wow!), but makes terrible use of the screen real estate. Only 6 contact/event cards shown at the same time, on a supposedly 4" WVGA screen? That's simply ridiculous...after the first few days of phone honeymoon, I guess many people will wish for something more efficient, even if it is a bit less pretty.
Well the geeksphone one is now out of my purchasing options. The UI on this looks far better then the newest Hero Roms i've tried so looks like i'll be saving up for one of these now.
David Wenham! Faramir!
If those previous pictures were correct, Rachel's running a screensize of 3.8" or more.
This could be the first killer Android handset.
Hopefully it doesn't take as long as the original Xperia to appear.
Did anyone else notice that they made David Wenham gay in the text page. Thought that was kind of funny.
"I didn't think you were actually going to pawn my jewelry!"
Haha yeah I paused that when I read "Yeah, I love him too!!!!!" lol
Give me the HTC_ime.apk for that Hero keyboard...and it's a done deal. If this is on T-Mobile...first day purchase.
If it's on AT&T...I will seriously go back to them for this. That's how good this is.
Or maybe it's just because it's a Snapdragon powered phone. =]
Damn it, this UI just made my Palm Pre look LAME.
To me...it just made my rooted G1 with Sense UI look lame...
The phone point blank makes the G1 look lame, LOL
thats some sweet UI right there. hopefully it will be coming out soon :) but it will probably pack a buck :(
I love the facebook message from Liv Tyler at the end of the video:
"I didn't think you were actually going to pawn my jewelry!"
Yeah, translucent stacks of pictures with white, borderless text slanted at all angles on them, incredible. Looky pretty, worky shitty. Hopefully it can be switched to something readable.
Hum, I don't know. Unlike the Hero, this looks like a lot of style over substance.
* The animations are too slow: they look nice on the first time, about the third time you'll be screaming for it to stop. Just look at how long it takes for contacts to go to their final position when selected.
* Simple re-skinning of common Android interface: the Apps window and the keyboard are just another skin for what Android currently offers, and in my opinion it's even worse the original. The keyboard is the main offender here; it looks like they just asked "some dude" to make another keyboard, and he just drew some rectangles with rounded corners and threw a simple two-color gradient on them.
* Inconsistency: why are there two different views for SMS? When you get to them you see a nice side-alternating view with thumbnails for avatars, but when you go to send a message you see a very spartan text-only view.
* And more inconsistency: when you see an Android phone, you know you'll get notifications on the top left. But here it seems they were moved to the top right, together with the battery display. Why, exactly?
HTC changed a lot of the Hero's interface in order to improve and strengthen Android interface weaknesses. But here all I see are changes for the sake of change itself. So far, I'm not impressed.
I totally agree. So much pointless eye candy. The interaction design and real-world usability are suspect.
You know the simple solution for that....
Don't buy it
=|
The keyboard thing is a moot point, seeing as you can easily get a new one from the market OR grab an .apk and just add it yourself
(me personally, I'll be putting the Hero keyboard on any future Android device I get)
Everything else is just your personal dislike. Which I'm not knocking...because you are clearly entitled to that.
But it's nitpicking at best. The point of Android is that anyone can make it look like anything.
Why have consistency when you're allowed to deviate from the normal.
Choice is the key point of Google. They believe choice will drive everything.
You have two Android phones...two different styling.
As long as one is picked, i'm sure Google and the stockholders don't care what it looks like.
I'd say, in response to the missing comment section in our recession antidote, Engadget should give everyone a Moxi.
Its not missing, its in the Engadget HD article.
Looks good
I don't know how useful all that eye-candy is, but I do like being able to view all content associated with a person (i.e., SMS history, emails, Facebook, etc) from their profile.
I love it. and I don't need a keyboard. On screen is fine with me and saves volume.
I didn't realize that Android could have such a nice UI put on top of it. It's so responsive in comparison with my bro-in-law's Xperia X1 Windows Mobile UI; it could be that 1 GHz Snapdragon that's doing that magic, though. Still, definitely would consider this phone whenever it's released. I wouldn't even mind switching carriers to get this...
Well also notice that this is not a real demo on a real phone. Nor has this been confirmed to be real.
But if Snapdragon can operate Android like it does WinMo 6.5 on the Acer...we will never have to worry about slowdowns again.
That's IF it comes with some good RAM to back up that 1Ghz speed...
Sony could have the answer to HTC's dominance in Android devices (like there was really any competition before though). Really, I love this UI. I might seriously contemplate an Ericsson running Android when I need to upgrade my phone. Looks amazing.
I hope they give the Xperia 2 the same look.
Dam in I was going to pick up a Hero next week!
On the Kiki the keys is lightning up in front. If you see in the middle the nr 5 key have a little dash. You see it very good on the green image.
i like everything i see except for Sony Ericsson's custom virtual keyboard. Hopefully they will improve that before launch because it looks a little hard to use. Otherwise, this looks excellent. Hopefully SE will get some carrier deals here in the United States so that this phone doesn't become overpriced and forgotten like the X1. But yeah I've always secretly been rooting for Sony Ericsson and I hope they really come through with this.
I'm naming my kid esther chung
Looks cool.. but I'd rather have the sense ui on it or another one that gives more functionality.
my question is: is this a with google experience phone? in other words can you change the ROM on it?
Android + SE hardware + SE cool easy-to-use interface = 10000x win
Good looking UI and I definitely consider it if it comes with AWS. However it needs at least 288MB of RAM otherwise it will suffer.
Don't like this UI one bit, the interface on the hero is miles ahead of this.