The Xperia X10a is available on AT&T for $149 with contract. Sony Ericsson hasn’t had an easy few years; the smartphone is eclipsing the feature phone and even SE’s higher end imaging phones haven’t garnered much attention. Years ago they chose the UIQ smartphone platform which is now defunct, and then they moved to Windows Mobile for very expensive unlocked phones like the Xperia X1a. The Windows Mobile 6.x platform is on its way out as Microsoft readies for the release of Windows Phone 7 at the end of 2010, so Sony Ericsson is now trying their hand at Android. Android is a hot, fresh platform and Sony Ericsson chose well this time. The folks at SE know how to make uber-sexy high end hardware and the X10 fits into this category. This isn’t a recession-friendly phone, at least not if you get it unlocked without a contract, and no US carrier has announced plans to offer the Xperia (yet). Rogers in Canada is offering the phone and they share 3G bands with AT&T in the US. That means Sony Ericsson has an X10a model with AT&T compatible 3G, and we assume that they’ll offer it unlocked in the US sans contract subsidy. Though Sony Ericsson also lists a T-Mobile US 3G compatible version, they tell us this doesn’t mean that phone will be produced. They merely list all possible variants that they might make. Sorry T-Mobile customers.
As of this writing, Sony Ericsson hadn’t set a price for the US Xperia, or a release date. Given the high end hardware and Sony Ericsson’s penchant for luxury smartphones, we assume it will cost at least $600. Our review unit has final production hardware but not final production software. We found the phone stable and well-behaved overall and we’d guess the firmware is reasonably close to release candidate status. Those issues that we do have with the X10a aren’t the result of bugs but rather design choices, and we’ll detail those later. As you’d expect from a phone with a 1GHz processor, the Xperia is a fast phone, even with pre-release firmware.
Specs at a Glance
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10a (the “a” stands for Americas and indicates that it has US compatible 3G bands and is meant for sale in the Americas) is an Android 1.6 (donut) smartphone. It has a 4” capacitive touch screen with 854 x 480 resolution, an on-screen keyboard and an accelerometer. It has WiFi, Bluetooth and a GPS that works with Google Maps. The phone has a gig of internal storage with approximately 425 megs free for your use and a microSD card slot (an 8 gig card is included). The processor is Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon—one of the fastest mobile CPUs available as of this writing. It’s boatloads faster than the old 528MHz Qualcomm CPU used in many Android phones like the Hero and MyTouch 3G. It’s the same CPU used in the Nexus One and HTC HD2. Sony Ericsson is known for their great camera phones and the X10 has an 8.1 megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash. Sony Ericsson includes software customizations that are pleasant and non-intrusive.
Specs:
Display: 4" capacitive touch screen (scratch resistant). Resolution: 480 x 854 pixels, supports both portrait and landscape modes via accelerometer.
Battery: Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable. 1500 mAh.
Performance: 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor. 1 gig Flash ROM with ~ 425 megs available.
Size: 4.7 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches. Weight: 4.8 ounces.
Phone: GSM quad band unlocked world phone 850/900/1800/1900MHz with EDGE. 3G HSDPA 7.2Mbps on the 850/1900/2100 MHz bands (works on AT&T and overseas).
Camera: 8.1MP camera with autofocus lens and LED flash. Can shoot video up to wide VGA resolution.
Audio: Built in speaker, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack.
Networking: Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth.
Software: Android 1.6 OS (Donut). Sony Ericsson applications and Android enhancements: Timescape, Mediascape, Sony Ericsson Sync and Sony Ericsson Home with clock widget. Standard Google Android software: complete standard package including Gmail, Google Talk, YouTube, Android web browser, email client, Google Maps, Android Market and Google media uploader. 3rd party software: Moxier (MS Exchange sync) and Wisepilot.
Expansion: 1 SDHC microSD card slot. 8 gig card included.