Sony Ericsson unveils its first Windows Mobile smartphone

Sony Ericsson on Sunday introduced a new range of mobile phones, including a new Windows Mobile phone, the XPERIA X1 smartphone at a press event held before the official start of the Mobile World Congress 2008 wireless telecom trade show.

The MWC show, which earlier was known as 3GSM, opens Monday and continues through Thursday.

To be introduced in the second half of 2008, XPERIA X1 is the company’s first phone using Microsoft Corp. software.

Sony Ericsson, the fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world by sales after Nokia, Motorola and Samsung, said with the launch of the XPERIA X1 smartphone it intends to meet the growing demand of or a premium, converged mobile experience.

“Our vision for the XPERIA™ X1 is to deliver a seamless blend of mobile Web communication and multimedia entertainment within a distinctive design,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, Head of Portfolio and Propositions, Sony Ericsson. “XPERIA™ is our promise to think foremost of user experience and to deliver the premium experience – anytime, anywhere, anything, with anyone.”

Xperia X1, powered by Windows Mobile, includes 3-inch clear wide VGA touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard within a quality metal-finish body. This stand-out, arc slider smartphone lets users choose from a dynamic range of activities at anytime and anywhere, enabling them to enjoy their favourite entertainment and work efficiently on the move.

Users can interact with their phone in different ways, including touch, full QWERTY keyboard, 4-way key and optical joystick navigation. The phone comed embedded with quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) and 4 bands of HSDPA/HSUPA (850/1700/1900/2100MHz or 900/1700/1900/2100MHz) support.

Xperia X1, which measures 4.3" x 2.1" x .7" and weighs in at 145g, also includes WiFi connectivity as well as a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and GPS support.

“Our shared vision with Sony Ericsson is to make the concept of ‘One Phone for Your Life’ a reality and finally give consumers the freedom of true mobility,” said Pieter Knook, senior vice president, Mobile Communications Business, Microsoft.

Sony Ericsson, the joint venture between Sony and Ericsson of Sweden, also announced a slew of other phones, including a Walkman phone (W980), two Cyber-shot handsets (C702 Cyber-shot and C902 Cyber-shot), two touchscreens phones (G700 and G900), and Z770, a skinny Java clamshell with HSDPA support.

The Walkman W980 music phone, which is the latest addition to Walkman phones line, is a UMTS/HSDPA 2100 GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 phone that features 8 GB of internal storage and a built-in FM transmitter.

The C902 and C702 Cyber-shot camera phones are skinny handsets. The C902 Cyber-shot features 160MB built-in memory, plus the possibility to add even more memory with the Memory Stick Micro. It comes with a 5.0 megapixel camera with Face Detection and Auto Focus and Wi-Fi support. The C702 Cyber-shot comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, and is splash and dust resistant.

The G900 and G700 touchscreen handsets both feature large 2.4 inch display with single touch control menu. But, while the G900 includes 5.0 megapixel camera with touch Auto focus and Multi-shot function and WiFi connectivity, the G700 has a 3.2 megapixel camera and no Wi-Fi.

The Z770 comes with a 2-megapixel camera, and e-mail and messaging features.