After a long wait, AT&T and Sony Ericsson have finally launched the Xperia X10 here in the States. As a refresher, the phone sports a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 4-inch TVT LCD screen, 8 GB of on-board memory paired with a 2 GB microSD card, and an 8-megapixel camera. Also important to remember: the phone is running on Android 1.6 ("Donut") right now along with Sony’s Timescape and Mediascape UI’s. Sony has been vague on when it would see Eclair and has made no mention of Froyo yet.

AT&T will get one into your hands today for $150 with a two-year contract, or you can get it off-contract for a surprisingly low $350. If you are interested, make sure to check out our hands-on of the phone from way back in April. [AT&T]

Posted originally at Android Central

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Normally when we see celebrity smartphone unboxings we see names like Michaluk, Bohn, Ritchie and Nickinson. In this case, Sony Ericsson went out and got Maria Sharapova, who’s a pretty good tennis player or something, to unbox the Xperia X10 Mini Pro. (See our own hands-on.) What she’s got that the rest of us don’t — besides looks and game, of course — remains to be seen. So what’s up, SE? Lose our numbers? Anyhoo, check out the video after the break. (Oh, by the way, Maria — that finger tapping things looks a little familiar.) [Sony Ericsson Product Blog via Androinica]

Posted originally at Android Central

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Take a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, shrink it down, and you get the Xperia X8. And there’s the X8 above (on the left). The guys at SE-First got a hands-on with a prototype, and there’s pretty much nothing there you wouldn’t expect. It’s a smaller X10. Or a larger X10 Mini. Your call. Turn your speakers off (don’t say we didn’t warn you) and check out video after the break. [SE-First via MobileCrunch]

Posted originally at Android Central

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The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 was officially announced today, bringing a mid-size, mid-spec Android phone to the Xperia line. The particulars:

• Android 1.6 (Donut) with Mediascape and Timecape user interfaces.
• 3-inch capacitive touchscreen at 320×480 (HVGA).
• 600MHz processor.
• Quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900), dual (900/2100) or quad-band (800/850/1900/2100) HSPA.
• 3.2MP camera.
• aGPS.
• WiFi.

So, a mid-level phone, it is.  Question remains whether it’ll be the first to break through to the American carriers. Full presser after the break. [Sony Ericsson]

Posted originally at Android Central

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We’re not quite sure of any fun way to spin it: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 — languishing with Android 1.6 and a clumsy first-generation of the Timescape and Mediascape interface — is now slated to get a major software overhaul … in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to the Sony Ericsson Product Blog, the major improvements will be:

• Upgrade to Android OS version 2.1
• HD video recording as per the same execution as Sony Ericsson Vivaz
• Wireless home connectivity via DLNA
• Improvements to signature applications Timescape and Mediascape to make them even smarter and richer

And those are welcome improvements — if they were coming tomorrow. But October’s a smartphone lifetime away. And that’s one of the biggest problems we’re seeing with Android fragmentation. The OS is progressing so quickly that custom interfaces just can’t keep up. Granted there was a major shift between Android 1.x and 2.x, but still. For The Xperia line (the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro will get Android 2.1 updates in Q4, too) to get their updates nearly a year after Android 2.1 was first released is, sadly, laughable. [SE Product Blog]

Sony Ericsson (via the Sony Ericsson Product Blog) announced today that the Spotify  service will now be integrated deep into the Timescape and Mediascape shell on the SE Xperia X10. The integration allows Spotify to show as an online media service in Mediascape, and your recently played songs will appear in the Timescape timeline.  Check out the video — it’s pretty sweet. 

The drawback for some of us (OK, a lot of us) is that Spotify isn’t available in the U.S., but then again, neither is the X10.  This is an idea I would like to see catch on, and other manufacturers with custom Android UI’s weaving Slacker or Pandora into the OS would be welcomed here. [via Unwired view]