Sony Ericsson X10 can do multitouch after all, will get Android 2.1 in September?

So, was all that hubbub for nothing? British retailer mobiles.co.uk -- a wholly-owned subsidiary of giant Carphone Warehouse, for what it's worth -- is claiming a "man on the inside" as saying that the X10 actually can do multitouch after all, despite word from a Sony Ericsson product manager to the contrary. In fact, not only can it do multitouch, but it will do multitouch through a software update in the second half of the year, the source goes on to say. This all ties in nicely with the dude's claim that the X10 will see an official update to Android 2.1 in September, a window that dovetails rather nicely with Sony Ericsson's official line of 2H 2010. Of course, by the time September rolls around, we can only assume that Froyo will be alive and well, so the ultimate question of relevancy for Sony Ericsson's very first Android venture remains to be answered.

[angermeans Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:27PM]

Not to be rude, but I don't see this selling all that well with the X10's big Android borthers HTC EVO 4G and the Verizon Droid Incredible. Not to mention with the Nexus One filling the gaps on ATT and T-Mobile. If you want Android it really wont matter what provider you want cause there is a great phone there for ya.

[mags1979 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:33PM]

@angermeans
USA it's not the world. As an example, consumers in europe don't depend on the carriers to buy phones. Might not sell well in the US, but i'm sure it will sell very well in europe and asia.

[Lubing The Tube Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:53PM]

@mags1979
In the UK, Vodafone and Orange had totally sold out when I went in there on Wednesday. T-mobile had also sold out of the Desire along with Vodafone and only the Legend was available. Android is finally hitting the UK.

[fourthletter Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:10PM]

@Lubing The Tube

Yep my wife waited in a long phone queue to get her's ordered.
Engadget's review was very harsh, SonyEricsson's software skins isn't the greatest (not close to sense on my Hero) but that's the beauty of Android a dose of GDE or PandaHome etc, and your phone runs the way you want.

[F4WMR Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:37PM]

@angermeans

I agree, US is NOT the world. In Canada here, Toronto to be specific, we have no Android love or phone release love in general. Tis X10 has come to Rogers and on contract it is very attractive to a lot of people.

[Plexus Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:43PM]

@angermeans

Today I walked into my carrier's shop with the intention of replacing my HTC Hero with a SE X10 and 15 minutes later I wolked out of it with an HTC Desire.
I'm just so happy I choosed it instead of the X10 it's just too good to even begin enumarating all its advantages over ANY other smartphone currently available.
I sold my Hero some days ago because I knew that today I would be getting a newer Android phone (I thought I would have bought the X10 but I wanted to check out the Legend and the Desire too) , but I had decided to keep my HTC HD2 which I use for business because it has been a joy to use since I got it last september, because it's the best multimedia player/powerhouse I ever came across and because i have already payed for CoPilot GPS.
But if the Desire keeps on amazing me like it's been doing ever since I brought it home, I think that I may well get rid of the HD2 too and keep only one Desire both for business and private use: really, it's that good dudes, it really is.

[huh Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:44PM]

Not all features are equivalent. If image capture is important, the X10 is likely to be the best by a long shot, especially under difficult conditions.

[espentan Posted Apr 16th 2010 4:36PM]

Sold out all over Oslo as well, the carrier independent capital of Norway.
Good phone. Not the greatest perhaps, but good.

[Techie Posted Apr 16th 2010 4:37PM]

I think I'm going to be 6 feet under by the Sony Ericsson release this phone. I waited ages for the X1 only to see a slow smart phone... though the battery life was amazing.

[Ineed911 Posted Apr 16th 2010 4:53PM]

@angermeans

I agree with your original point that this device is not going to do that well. Sony has such a commitment to putting out lackluster product at luxury pricing. It will not sell well (globally) because SE will not make this product better than the competition - that simple. The hardware is fine, but SE is spread too thin to truly develop out this unique UI (another bad idea - take a lesson from MOT already).

September for 2.1? Just sad for you die-hard SE fans...

[Alan Strangis Posted Apr 16th 2010 5:19PM]

@angermeans: In the interview here, the president of Sony Ericsson US says that the refreshed X10 (and 2.1 update) will hit "Christmas season"... (about 2 minutes in)...

http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=3698

[KingFaisal94 Posted Apr 16th 2010 6:28PM]

@angermeans Sony Ericsson is not for the US market. Their is no Incredible or EVO in the GSM world.

[angermeans Posted Apr 16th 2010 6:35PM]

@angermeans I owe you guys an apology I guess I really didn't take into account that what goes on here in the US isn't always what goes o all round the world. I meant no disrespect.

[vkelman Posted Apr 17th 2010 2:04AM]

@fourthletter,
Something tells me, that while this phone wouldn't be most popular among techno-geeks, it might be very popular among people who loves social sites, among music-lovers and photo-lovers.
After all, it's a powerful phone with large beautiful screen and real photo camera.

[one2gamble Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:28PM]

someone should ask them why this phone wasnt out 6 or 8 months ago when it should have been.

[chaos Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:36PM]

@one2gamble It's so beautiful though. Sigh. Now to decide between this or the incredible.

[Edobe Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:43PM]

@chaos Beautiful hardware is beautiful.

[airbag888 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:45PM]

@chaos Bigger Screen here

[N900 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:51PM]

@chaos If you're going to choose the Incredible, you might as well pick the Desire. It's GSM, essentially the same thing as the Incredible but with a 5MP camera, and IMO more elegantly designed than it's sister. If you like a 4 inch screen and can wait for 2.1, then I'd say jump for the X10. And if you're on CDMA Verizon, then the Incredible is for you.

[Gutsy Gibbons Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:57PM]

@N900 hey N900 I'm still waiting for that firmware upgrade and you're off recommending other devices, what a hell.... ;P

[Wello Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:02PM]

@N900 Desire and Nexus One has some multi-touch problems. If you play a lot of games then these phones are not for you.

[chaos Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:28PM]

@ Wello
I think that problem has been sorted out for the Incredible. Early reports confirm this on androidforums.

@airbag888 & @Edobe
The hardware is beautiful no doubt. The incredible is not ugly (not stunning either) but it's internal 8GB storage is really a plus. You can add a 32GB sd card as well = :o.

Either way, it's great to see how far Android is progressing in such a short time. It will force Apple to upgrade their hardware/software. Competition FTW!!!

[hero785 Posted Apr 16th 2010 4:07PM]

@chaos
I believe we have, up here in Canada,we can get this thing right now. I was wondering what your opinions are guys because I'm trying to hold out until summer and see what droid makers and apple have up their sleeves before I step up from my iPhone 3G!

[chaos Posted Apr 16th 2010 5:28PM]

@hero785
The rumored iphone HD and Moto Shadow are also very tempting...

[normanb20 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:30PM]

I'm interested in seeing how they are going to address the skins fragmentation issue with froyo

[Lord Vader Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:56PM]

@normanb20, I predict lightsabers will be involved. As most "issues" are easily solved by them

[normanb20 Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:16PM]

@Lord Vader
Is today an anniversary of star trek or something? Your username and comment make me think so

[needmoregigs Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:27PM]

@normanb20

It's Star Wars.

[normanb20 Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:52PM]

@needmoregigs
Was that an episode of star trek?

[Lord Vader Posted Apr 16th 2010 4:49PM]

@normanb20. You anger me nerd

[Alan Strangis Posted Apr 16th 2010 5:17PM]

@normanb20 : No, it was one of the original Doctors.

[normanb20 Posted Apr 16th 2010 5:40PM]

@Lord Vader
Dude I just don't like battlestar gallactica

[thewelshbrummie Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:36PM]

The timing simply couldn't be better, I unboxed my X10 90mins ago. This is execellent news, though a 5 month wait is longer than I'd like.

btw I've not had any problems typing with the keyboard - not quite as easy as an iPhone but pretty close

[allston232 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:38PM]

september? September?.. I'll get my EVO 4G by then. Possibly, a new, or two new versions of Android will be out by then.

[gunboatD Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:42PM]

this is good news, but the more obvious question is WHEN WILL THE DAMN PHONE BE AVAILABLE IN THE US?

[poisonivy Posted Apr 17th 2010 2:34AM]

@gunboatD

I thought it was already available in the US? Someone over at Howardforums mentioned that they got their X10 in New York.

[jimmy1 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:42PM]

Not selling so well with Desire out eh?!

[airbag888 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:44PM]

So sick of Sprint's exclusive HTC EVO 4G, been waiting for Supersonic forever and the stupid thing is CDMA only, what a let down.. I guess the X10 is as close as it gets hardware wise for people running UMTS/GSM

[rowehc Posted Apr 16th 2010 4:11PM]

@airbag888 CDMA and Wimax. Which is better then gsm.

[airbag888 Posted Apr 16th 2010 11:37PM]

@rowehc im not arguing which tech is better. The problem is all (cmon) the geeks around the world have been waiting for the Supersonic and well only those in the US with a Sprint a/c get to play AND there's no telling when an equivalent UMTS/GSM version will roll out if ever.

[MaTdg Posted Apr 18th 2010 1:02PM]

@rowehc Might be true, but for us europeans for example, a CDMA phone is useless.

In fact, I rather have GSM and freedom of plan and carriers than CDMA and bound to 1 carrier with limited choice of plans. IMHO it's a little price for a huge freedom.

[jkr284 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:48PM]

I bet you all (sportsmans bet!!) now that the x10 update will also have some Playstation Network features aswell!

Loving my x10 atm, its one hell of a beast even without 2.1/2.2

[Gutsy Gibbons Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:27PM]

@jkr284 I gotta ask, how responsive is the screen? I've read a review on swedroid claiming the poor choice of a less responsive screen running at 37Hz makes it a bit laggy typing messages fast on the keyboard and sometimes requiring multiple presses navigating in menus. The reason why I'm asking is that SonyEricsson acknowledges this same problem here in this article (google translate from a swedish site androidguide)

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fandroidguiden.idg.se%2F2.14476%2F1.306662%2Fsony-ericsson-forklarar-bristerna-i-x10&sl=sv&tl=en

[JONNNathannn Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:50PM]

I don't understand why upgrading takes months and months. How hard is it to get these updates onto the device...are these companies just being lazy?

Google...you need to make it easier for a manufacturers to perform upgrades. Narrowing down the 3 or 4 versions of Android out there is one thing, but making them transition faster and easier is another. Make it happen.

[Steve B Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:02PM]

@JONNNathannn
Google really can't do anything about it. Android is so open that Google has little control over what companies do with it. This means that companies can implement custom UIs, which always take a longer time to get updated than Android itself.

[JONNNathannn Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:07PM]

@Steve B

But even Vanilla android phones, from the Droid to the Samsung Moment, take a long time. I don't see why it has to be so complicated.

[JONNNathannn Posted Apr 16th 2010 3:08PM]

@Steve B wouldn't let me reply to you so replied to myself, heres one for a notification

[Gutsy Gibbons Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:52PM]

thx engadget more posts about Ericsson, yaay Sweden...... :P

and of course tiny credit to Sony, thank you for naming the devices with names like Satio, Idou, Aino, Lego, Maemo, MeeGo, oooh no...

[Ardroid 01 Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:53PM]

Does anyone even care about this phone anymore? I mean seriously how long does it take to launch a single phone? In the time that SE took to launch the X10 HTC have launched around 10 Android phone flavors.

Ridiculous.

[Hussain Rahim Posted Apr 16th 2010 2:57PM]

In September?

So theyll be 3 version back by then?