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Sony Ericsson X10 Mini teardown reveals densely packed, tiny hardware
The crew at iFixit were jonesing for something to disassemble recently, and Sony Ericsson's X10 Mini seems to have been the nearest thing they could lay hand and screwdriver upon. We'll admit HTC has us kind of spoiled with the colorful interiors of its phones, so we were a little underwhelmed by the demureness of the X10 Mini. Everything is packed into the utilitarian logic board, and although you get to decouple the screen and antenna assembly, it's still mostly a thick slab of highly integrated technology. Still, if you want to see a Qualcomm MSM7227 all naked and exposed to the elements, this is your chance. The source link contains all the intimate photography you could wish for.
Super AMOLED vs AMOLED vs LCD in direct sunlight... fight! (video)
By now you know that (one of) AMOLED's Achilles' heel is readability in direct sunlight. But Samsung's been working hard to fix that with its new Super AMOLED technology. Techblog took the display to task by pitting the Samsung Galaxy S (4-inch, 480 x 800 pixel Super AMOLED) against the HTC Desire (3.7-inch 480 x 800 pixel AMOLED) and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 (4-inch, 480 x 854 pixel TFT LCD). It's clear from the video embedded after the break that the LCD still has the edge in the harsh Greek sun, but the Super AMOLED certainly makes a much stronger showing than its AMOLED sib. In fact, differences in visibility between the LCD and Super AMOLED are often indistinguishable, like the picture above. That'll be good news for us just as soon as Samsung can start meeting demand... regardless of what Stevie J has to say. Check the video after the break and be sure to click the source for some more side-by-side pics, including a few taken indoors where that Super AMOLED display really shines.
How would you change Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10?
You may not agree with Sony Ericsson's time table, nor their decision on what flavor of Android to use, but let's face it: you were intrigued when SE told you the Xperia X10 would be its first Google-fied smartphone. To date, the X10 has yet to gain the kind of global appreciation shared by the Motorola Droid, Nexus One or iPhone, but that's not to say quite a few of you haven't ended up with one. We had our fair share of gripes and grins when reviewing the thing, but as you well know, this is no place for us to rehash what we've already explained. Rather, we're curious to know how exactly you feel about the Xperia X10. In what can only be described as the most competitive smartphone landscape in the history of the world, the X10 is going up against some huge players; do you feel that the product SE has delivered is up to snuff? Would you have rather seen a different version of Android from the start? Any issues with the touch panel, camera, or industrial design? Digging those hard buttons below the display? We have to imaging that the X11 is already floating around in someone's mind, and chances are high that they'll be looking in comments for advice on where to turn. No pressure.
Windows 7 tablet roundup from Computex, nay Tabletex
Tabletex. Yep, that's what we're calling this year's Computex since you truly cannot go a few steps on the show floor without stumbling upon a new tablet of some kind. If you've been reading our coverage for the past few days, you know that Intel and Microsoft didn't show up in Taipei empty handed -- both of their booths are incredibly well stocked with new slates. Most of them, which range from early prototypes to quite functional, have 10-inch displays, run Windows 7 Premium and pack Intel Atom Z or N series processors -- in essence they're very much netbooks sans the keyboard panel. There are way too many of them to count, but don't you worry, we've rounded up some details and shots of the most appealing ones on display here at the show. Follow on after the break for a look at some of the newest Wintel tablets. And check the gallery below for a variety of hands-on shots. %Gallery-94267%
X10 MID does 1080p video output on the cheap
A $179, Windows CE 6.0-based MID / tablet may not sound like the most exciting proposition at first, but this so-called X10 MID from a manufacturer that apparently prefers to remain nameless might just pack enough features to at least pique your interest. Chief among those is support for full 1080p video output via the MID's HDMI port, not to mention support for just about every video file format you could ask for to go along with it. Otherwise, you'll get a 7-inch 800 x 480 display (resistive, judging from the stylus), along with a 720 MHz Telechips 8901 ARM 11 processor, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of on-board storage, a microSD card slot for expansion, and built-in WiFi and GPS. Willing to take a chance on it? Then hit up the source hint below to get your order in. Update: Our pals from Engadget Chinese recently managed to get some hands-on time with device, which is made by a company called Kinstone. Head on past the break for a video, and check out a few more pics in their gallery right here.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Sony's Sir Howard says 'when you beat Apple, you're dominating'
Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has always been delightfully direct, and he didn't hold back at Google's I/O conference: talking about Sony Ericsson with Eric Schmidt during the Google TV launch, Sir Howard noted that the Xperia X10 is the best-selling handset in Japan, and that "when you beat Apple, you're dominating -- it's the new definition." Strong words from a gadget titan -- we'll leave it to you to debate their veracity.
Xperia X10 Mini unboxed, dwarfed by its own peripherals (video)
Sony Ericsson wasn't kidding when they called this one the Xperia X10 Mini. We must admit, it's a cute little guy -- if you'd like to see for yourself, we have the company's own unboxing video for you after the break. This is one of the very first consumer samples that's become available, and there will be some differences between what you see here and whatever lands in the UK and US, for instance. While a USB cable, charger, and stereo headset will come standard depending on market and carrier, extras -- including remote headset, powered stereo speakers, and additional back covers besides the standard black or white -- will differ accordingly. What are you waiting for? Hop past the break to see for yourself. [Thanks, Ernst]
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is likely NTT DoCoMo's best selling smartphone -- ever
Japan's wireless networks have a longstanding, legendary reputation for existing in some parallel plane that's technologically light years ahead of the rest of the world, but that reputation's unquestionably in greater danger today than in any point in the past fifteen years. Why? Though the featurephones offered by NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank, and KDDI are ultra high-spec beasts, they're still featurephones at the end of the day -- and this comes at a time when smartphones are finally becoming true cultural phenomena across the remainder of the developed world (and, in some cases, the developing world). There's no greater evidence of this than the word this week that Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 -- a phone that's been met with lukewarm reviews, including from Engadget Japanese's own Ittousai -- has allegedly become NTT DoCoMo's best-selling smartphone in history, a fact that would seem completely inexplicable in any other market globally. What makes it possible in Japan, of course, is DoCoMo's historically lame selection of true smartphones, a lineup that currently includes localized versions of the HTC Magic, and the original HTC Touch Diamond and BlackBerry Bold. What's more, many of these devices integrate poorly with popular carrier services on account of their super-tight control of the operating systems running across the featurephone lineup, something they've got less control over with a device running Android or Windows Mobile. In other words, when it's reported that DoCoMo had sold 100,000 X10s in its first 20 days -- and a third-party retailer claims that the Magic-esque HT-03A is the next best seller at 80,000 units in 10 months -- it seems plausible, if not likely (and Ittousai agrees). Yeah, even though the localized device has been plagued with performance problems and bugs, incompatibilities with DoCoMo's i-mode push email, and so on. It's hard to say what it's going to take for these guys to make an honest-to-goodness transition to the brave new world of open platforms and freewheeling third-party development, but they're clearly not there yet.
Sony Ericsson's X10 mini meets the FCC
The biggie-sized X10 is now shipping in parts of the world, but let's be honest: every once in a while, you'd probably rather carry around a tiny scale replica of the thing. Of course, Sony Ericsson was happy to oblige with the announcement of the X10 mini back in February -- and now, it looks like we're getting close to finally enjoying some face time with the smallest Android device to come out of a top-tier manufacturer. The version that just scored FCC approval isn't for US sale on account of its Euro-only 3G bands, but at least they'll be the cutest 3G bands you've ever seen.
Sony Ericsson X10 family to get Android 2.1 in 'Q4 2010'
The Xperia X10, one of the big mindshare-grabbing devices of the smartphone world, made us wait a cool six months between its November announcement and wide retail availability in April. One of the secret hopes while all that waiting was going on was that perhaps SE would surprise us and upgrade the dusty old Android 1.6 base installation to a fresh and creamy Eclair (2.1) or even a frosty Froyo (2.2) treat shortly after launch. Time to lay those dreams to rest, dear friends, as Sony Ericsson has come with an official schedule for upgrading the firmware on the Xperia X10 and its X10 mini and X10 mini pro siblings, which places the Android 2.1 delivery in the fourth quarter of 2010 -- and knowing the company that probably means closer to Christmas than Halloween. All we can say is you'd better really like that UX platform a great deal, because it'll be the only thing you'll be seeing for quite a while on Sony Ericsson's Googlephones.
Xperia X10 Mini coming to Vodafone soon?
Weight: 88 grams. Talk time: 4 hours. Pictures and video: right here. We told you everything there was to know about Sony Ericsson's diminutive Xperia X10 mini during Mobile World Congress, but we didn't know when and where it might arrive. According to the image at right, the answers are "soon" and "Vodafone," respectively; Cool Smartphone tells us the pic was plucked from Vodafone's May catalog. Assuming it's the real deal, expect Robyn to land on European branches this summer for an undisclosed price, and appear in teenybopper music videos next fall.
Caption Contest: Justin Bieber is an eenie meenie miney mo lova... of the Sony Dash
Here's a little inside baseball on why yours truly typically works alone at night: when in control, I give writers some, erm, creative mandates. Such as watching an entire Justin Bieber / Sean Kingston music video to contribute to this caption contest... but not telling them when exactly the Sony Dash and Sony Ericsson X10 make their respective cameos. Blatant abuse of authority? Probably, but as we sow, so shall you reap. The unfortunately US-only music video (and a picture of Kingston totally geeking out on subpar smartphone technology) after the break. Nilay: "Is there a widget that alerts me when I'm not a trending topic?" Ross: "You don't need to roll the dice... there's already a widget for that." Chris: "It's small, fits in any decor, and makes a great gift for mom. The Sony Dash also appears in the video." Joanna: "The stars, err, prepubescent boys are just like us: they'd rather play with tech than party." Richard Lai: "This Sony Dash should make.believe I've reached puberty." Sean H: "Not trying to rewind... I've just got to turn down the color temperature, it's ruining my tan." Sam: "Meh, by the time I reach puberty this thing is going to be obsolete." Tim: "I'm glad you're not a real Chumby. This way I'm still the cuddliest thing in the room." Thomas: "Who the hell is Justin Bieber?" Paul: "And I was like baby, baby, baby ohhh, baby, baby... oh, were we supposed to come up with something funny here? [Thanks, Kristopher Piersiak]
AT&T scheduled to get Sony Ericsson X10 in week 30 of this year
We've just gotten word from a trusted source that AT&T is currently signed up to get Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 in fiscal week 30 of 2010, which represents the tail end of July and the beginning of August. Naturally, those plans can change -- AT&T has been known to drop Sony Ericssons from the lineup at the last minute, after all, and there's no way they could have that week 30 time frame locked in with certainty this far in advance -- but it seems at least plausible considering the fact that an 850 / 1900MHz 3G version of the device exists (we've tested it) and that AT&T's significantly ramping up its support for Android this year. Of course, the relevance of an Android 1.6-powered X10 in the third quarter is an open question, but sadly, it could very well be the top-of-the-line Android device in AT&T's roster even that far down the road. We'll see how this plays out.
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.
Apple iPad vs. Dell Mini 5 / Streak... fight! (Bonus: smartphone pile-on!)
Occasionally we've had strangers -- very likely non-Engadget readers -- coming up to us and ask, "Sorry mate, but is that the iPad?" To which we reply, "No, it's the Dell Mini 5." This may sound like a silly boo-boo to make, but there is this common misconception of the iPad being just "a bigger iPhone" while not knowing how much bigger it is (despite our best effort). To clear this up once and for all, we've brought the two devices in question together -- the Mini 5 / Streak smartphone on the left, and the iPad on the right. Now it's up to you guys to spread the love. As a bonus, we also threw in various phones -- HTC HD mini, Nexus One, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, and HTC HD2 -- to pile on top of Apple's latest toy, just to kill the Sunday afternoon. No magical and revolutionary devices were harmed in the making of this article. [Thanks for the toys, Chris and Andy]%Gallery-90236%
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 coming to Rogers on April 15, free Bluetooth headset in tow
So who's the first North American carrier to pick up Sony Ericsson's high-end X10? AT&T? T-Mobile? Nope -- it's Canada's Rogers, which is once again showing its superior Android prowess by getting first dibs on a phone that plenty of folks have been anticipating since its announcement late last year. Looks like April 15 has been locked in as the carrier's date with destiny, but there's more to the story than that: they'll be tossing in a gratis Sony Ericsson MW600 Bluetooth headset with integrated FM radio if you're an existing customer who's eligible for a hardware upgrade. It's actually a pretty deluxe deal -- the MW600 retails for almost $100 -- so if you were on the fence about whether to pull the trigger on the upgrade, this might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. [Thanks, Phil T.]
Xperia X10 multitouch issue is hardware-related?
Sony Ericsson's flagship Android smartphone, the Xperia X10, has been plagued by laggy performance since we first laid eyes on it, but that won't always be the case; the company has confirmed repeatedly that upgrades (including a newer Android OS version) will come. However, it now seems that multitouch is not in the cards. "There's no multitouch in X10 – and I also can confirm that it's not only related to [software] but also to [hardware]," said product manager Rikard Skogberg at the official company blog. If true, that means the X10 won't get multitouch even when rooted, much less a Nexus One or Milestone-like level of native, official multitouch support. But remember, Sony Ericsson has fancy UI quirks of its own -- though you may never pinch-to-zoom on an X10, at least you can enjoy reticulating Splines. [Thanks, Björn R.]
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 review
Of the world's largest phone manufacturers, perhaps none has taken a more twisted road to smartphone ubiquity than Sony Ericsson. It began its journey back in the pre-joint venture Ericsson days by throwing its weight behind Symbian, a smartphone platform that would ultimately become the world's most popular -- but it made a fatal error in supporting the doomed UIQ flavor that never saw even a fraction of the support its S60 cousin did. UIQ's untimely (but predicted) collapse last year left the company nearly rudderless and ill-equipped to deal with competitors like Nokia, HTC, and Apple, all of whom had long since embraced other platforms -- all with fighting chances of market dominance. Left without a platform to champion, Sony Ericsson would ultimately continue supporting Symbian through its involvement with the Symbian Foundation and phones like the Satio and Vivaz... and it would ramp up support for Windows Mobile with the Xperia X1 and X2... and it would bring Android into the fold with the X10, all within a few months of each other. All told, Sony Ericsson enters 2010 actively supporting three unrelated smartphone platforms, and comments by CEO Bert Norberg at MWC in February lead us to believe that they'd be happy to take on a fourth (or more) if the opportunity presented itself. It's an odd strategy to be sure, particularly for a company that's struggling mightily and shrinking its workforce more than any other top-five manufacturer. How it intends to effectively compete on three different fronts without spreading itself hopelessly thin, well... that remains a huge question mark. That said, the Xperia X10 is perhaps the most promising of Sony Ericsson's confusing crop of modern smartphones, combining attractive hardware with killer specs, Android, and an intriguing custom skin. Does it hold its own against modern competitors like HTC's Nexus One and Desire? And more importantly, can it keep Sony Ericsson from going over the brink? Read on to find out. Note: Sony Ericsson contacted us shortly after the review was published to let us know that this particular X10 is running pre-production firmware, which may account for some of the issues we had with keyboard performance and occasional sluggishness. Let's hope! %Gallery-88687%
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 finally arrives in UK, T-Mobile will deliver it within 10 days
At long last, the protracted wait for Sony Ericsson's first Android phone is coming to an end. T-Mobile's web store has this morning added the Xperia X10 to its stable of mobile devices, though it requests 10 days' worth of patience before getting the handsets out to their impatient new owners. Pricing is surprisingly higher than that associated with the HTC Desire -- the £15 per month two-year contract that nets you the Nexus One clone for £129 ($194) requires a steeper £191 ($287) for the X10. Mind you, with that delivery delay dragging you into April, you might want to hold out a tiny bit longer to see what propositions Vodafone may have in store for prospective purchasers of the X10. [Thanks, Jay]
Sony Ericsson X10 unboxed by -- who else -- Sony Ericsson
Guys, guys, look: unboxing is our job. We know it's fun and we know it brings eyeballs to your site, but we think your customers would be better served if you just concentrated on shipping the mighty X10 rather than teasing them with a product they can't yet have. Apparently, Sony Ericsson just took delivery of its first commercial samples of its inaugural Android device, so to kick off the occasion in style, a couple staffers have unboxed them in glorious high definition for us -- both the white and black versions, mind you -- using none other than their own Vivaz to maximize the meta factor. There's not a lot to the video, really (even the captions are disappointingly accurate), but if you're truly desperate for X10 eye candy as you wait for the retail launch, it's worth a gander. Full video after the break.
