As reported this morning, Sony was counting down to the release of a product, claiming that ‘smarter is coming’. Well, ‘smarter’ is finally here, and somewhat more disappointing than expected. Rumors regarding the Xperia X10 heading towards AT&T have been leaking on the Internet for months and now the mobile carrier has finally announced the availability of the Sony Ericsson phone.
Sony Ericsson and AT&T announced today that the Xperia X10 will become available starting August the 15th. The mobile phone features a 4-inch LCD crystal clear touch display, GPS and a Snapdragon processor clocked at 1Ghz. Of course one of the top things the X10 has to offer is the 8.1 megapixel camera with smile detection, face recognition, autofocus and LED flash. As for storage space, you’ll get 8GB onboard as well as a 2GB memory card in the box. If you figure that you’ll need more space, the memory is expandable (via memory card) up to 32GB. On top of the standard Android operating system, Sony Ericsson has also added two signature applications, Mediascape and Timescape. However you may also get it from the nearest Sony Store for about $20 less, with a price tag of $129.99.
Mediascape can be used to gather music, photos, videos and various other content from the phone’s memory card, as well as online. The users can then browse, search or share the media from the same unified view. Timescape is a communication application that organizes social interactions in chronological order.
“Sony Ericsson is raising the bar for entertainment-rich phones with the launch of the Xperia ™ X10,” said Paul Hamnett, senior vice president, Sony Ericsson North America. “With the convergence of our user experience platform and the Android OS, we are bringing consumers a smartphone experience that is not only exciting, but also very refined. Following the successful global launch of the Xperia™ X10, we are pleased to partner with AT&T to launch this phone in the U.S. market.”
While Hamnett didn’t mention exactly what version of Android he’s talking about, it’s the same 1.6 that Xperia has been selling with in other parts of the world. Since it’s competing with multiple devices that are being upgraded to Froyo, it’s tough to tell whether the Xperia will be of major interest to users. But hey, the Xperia might get an operating system upgrade soon.
“Sony Ericsson has created a unique choice for our smartphone customers looking for a fun and smart device,” said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. What’s definitely interesting about Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10 that just hit AT&T is the price. The black version of the smartphone will be available in AT&T stores, authorized retailers as well as the mobile carrier’s website starting August 15 (as mentioned before) for $149.99 after a two-year service agreement and a minimum smartphone data plan.
