The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is a high-end smartphone designed by Sony Ericsson in the Xperia series. It is the first Sony Ericsson smartphone to run the Android operating system. The phone was shipped running Android 1.6 but an upgrade to Android 2.1 was made available starting from 31st October 2010, with a gradual rollout amongst global kits[3]. Xperia X10 family will not receive upgrade to Froyo or beyond[4].
 | |
| Manufacturer | Sony Ericsson |
|---|---|
| Series | Sony Ericsson Xperia family |
| Availability by region | |
| Form factor | Slate smartphone (Black or White) |
| Dimensions | 119 x 63 x 13 mm |
| Weight | 135 g with battery |
| Operating system | Android 2.1 (upgraded from Android 1.6) |
| CPU | 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon |
| Memory | 384 MB |
| Storage | 1 GB NAND Flash in phone, up to 16 GB on microSDHC memory card |
| Battery | Rechargeable and replaceable, Li-Po 1500 mAh (BST-41). |
| Display | 4.0 inch touch screen, Hardware 16M Colors, 65,356-colour. (480 x 854 pixels) (0.41 Megapixels) FWVGA TFT |
| Rear camera | 8.1 MP with Auto focus, Face recognition, Geo-tagging, Image and video stabilizer, Smile detection and Touch focus, Video WVGA (Android 1.6), 720p HD (Android 2.1) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP microUSB 2.0 3.5mm audio jack aGPS Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g |
| Data inputs | Touchscreen (limited multi-touch), Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity and ambient light sensors, Headset controls |
The phone features an 8.1 MP camera and a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU. The screen supports NTSC DVD wide-screen resolution. It allows users access to "apps" available in the Android Market. Connection speeds up to HSDPA (3G+) are possible with the handset. The UX platform gives Xperia X10 one application to lift together all the user's different communications, Timescape, and one to lift together all the users media, Mediascape.[5]
An Xperia X10 functions as a camera phone, including text messaging, a portable media player, and an Internet client with e-mail, web browsing and Wi-Fi connectivity. The user interface is built around the device's touchscreen, including a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one (Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro goes with a physical keyboard). Third-party applications are available from Android Market, which launched in 2008 and now (20 November 2010) has over 200,000 "apps". These apps have diverse functionalities, including games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking and advertising for television shows, films, and celebrities.
Reception
The Xperia X10 was first revealed on November 3, 2009.[5]
The Xperia X10 was released in one of its two home countries, Japan, on April 1, 2010 and has become the quickest-selling smartphone for the carrier NTT DoCoMo.[6] The overall response has been positive for the hardware, camera and screen. However, there are negative comments about the lack of support for Android 2.1 and calls for improvement in the custom made user interface [7] [8]. The Xperia X10 has since been upgraded to Android 2.1 on October 31, 2010. [9]
Hardware
The display is a wide screen, aspect ratio 16:9, with FWVGA resolution of 480 x 854 pixels, covered by a capacitive layer that is designed to detect touch by fingers. The 8.1 megapixel camera has a 16x digital zoom, image stabilizer, auto-focus, geo-tagging, smile detection and face detection. The camera can be accessed either through the touchscreen menu or by a separate camera button on the lower part of the right edge. It can also record video, and has a LED light for use in poor light conditions. The Xperia X10 has as a 3-axis accelerometer and built in GPS, and a lug for attaching a strap.
The hardware is capable of limited multi-touch functionality, it can track multiple touches, provided the X and Y are separated for each of the touches. [10] The firmware to enable this functionality is under development.
Networks
The Xperia X10 is referred to as a quad-band telephone as it covers all four GSM frequency bands, but it is also a dual mode telephone as it also covers three or four UMTS frequency bands too, depending on the market. The Xperia X10 is sold worldwide and therefore has both common frequency band layouts;[11] these variants of the phone are internally called the Xperia X10a and the Xperia X10i by Sony Ericsson. The Xperia X10a sells in South America; the Xperia X10i sells in Asia, Europe and Oceania; both variants are sold in North America and Australia. The Xperia X10a is used by AT&T in the USA; Telstra in Australia; Rogers Wireless, and Bell in Canada. The Xperia X10i on the other hand, is used by T-Mobile in the USA; Wind Mobile and Mobilicity in Canada; Optus and VHA (under both the Vodafone and 3 brands) in Australia; Singtel, Starhub and M1 in Singapore. In Japan, the telephone is called the SO-01B and sold by operator NTT Docomo, using the Xperia X10a configuration.[11]
The Xperia X10i uses GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA 900/1700/2100. The Xperia X10a uses GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA 800/850/1900/2100.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
Xperia has built in Wi-Fi b/g which can create a mobile hotspot with the latest upcoming Android update and Bluetooth 2.1. with option to tether (provide internet access to other devices).
Software
Sony Ericsson has made its own custom overlay on top of the Android system called UX, short for User eXperience, which consists of design elements, themes and custom applications. The main applications are Sony Ericsson Timescape and Sony Ericsson Mediascape. Timescape is a program that lifts together Facebook, Twitter, SMS and mail into a flowing column on the home screen. Mediascape is a player and library application for media files that also connects to Facebook and Picasa accounts online and to the phone's contacts list. This makes it possible to attach photos you have taken with the camera to your contacts or send them to your Facebook account. The phone contains all normal smartbook applications and some stand out ones: Wisepilot (navigation software), Google Maps, YouTube, Sony's PlayNow and TrackID (to identify a song by recording a small part of it).
Updates
The Xperia X10 was released with the operating system Android 1.6, with an upgrade to Android 2.1 released on October 31, 2010 (currently available from the Sony Ericsson website; a PC is required for the update).[12]
Xperia X10 family will not receive upgrade to Froyo or beyond[13]
Rooting
The X10 is an Android powered device. The Android OS uses a Linux kernel and has the usual Linux concepts of groups and user-accounts. One of the default user accounts in Linux is called the "root" user. This user has full control over the system. Obtaining "root access" on the system is important for the deployment of custom ROMs. Custom ROMs are usually developed to bring newer versions of the OS to the hardware before the Manufacturer can. As an example, the X10 was released with Android 1.6. Although the X10 has been rooted, the bootloader has yet to be hacked. Because of this, developers are not yet able to load the latest kernel of Android onto their device. Custom ROMs have been developed however they still use the 2.1 kernel so some features (such as native WiFi tethering) are missing. As of the 9th January 2011 there are 2 Custom Roms being developed which are based on 2.2 however they lack the Camera Driver.[14]
Issues
The initial 3UK (and possibly other Mobile Operators) release of firmware contains bugs - Some users report occasional Wi-fi disruptions on early software versions.[15]
Several users from sonyericsson, [1] and 4pda forums reported about the self-rebooting bug on their Xperia X10i. It is believed that self-rebooting bug appears because of defects on phone's motherboard.
Xperia Series
Sony Ericsson announced two mini versions of Xperia X10 at the Mobile World Congress 2010. The X10 Mini and the X10 Mini Pro which has a slide out keyboard, were released in June 2010 and a further addition to the series, X8, was released in August 2010.[16] Earlier in the year, Sony Ericsson had released Xperia X1 and Xperia X2 with Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.
See also
References
- ^ "Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Vivaz Arrive in India". Techtree.com. March 29, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Released by Rogers Canada". Phonesreview.co.uk. April 15, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "160,000 Android Phones Sold Daily, Market Nears 70,000 ApplicationsUpdates". AndroidGuys. June 23, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.xperiax10.net/2011/01/06/official-xperia-x10-family-will-not-receive-upgrade-to-froyo-or-beyond/
- ^ a b "Sony Ericsson unveils Xperia X10 Android handset". Computer Business Review. 3 November 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Xperia X10 is NTT DoCoMos fastest ever selling smartphone". Xperia X10 Blog - All things X10. May 4, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Sony Experia X10". CNET Australia, CBS Interactive. April 15, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Review". Brighthand.com Smartphone News and Reviews. June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "XPERIA Software Update". Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 gets multi-touch". Retrieved December 29, 2010.
- ^ a b "GSM World Coverage Map and GSM Country List". WorldTimeZone.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "XPERIA Software Update". Retrieved October 30, 2010.
- ^ http://www.xperiax10.net/2011/01/06/official-xperia-x10-family-will-not-receive-upgrade-to-froyo-or-beyond/
- ^ http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=617
- ^ Xperia X10 WiFi bug found
- ^ "Sony Ericsson 3 inch Xperia X8 made official coming in Q3 2010". Engadget, Weblogs Inc. June 16, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
