The Sony Ericsson Windows mobile smartphone that everyone has been waiting for, the Xperia X1, is still not with us, but its SDK is, the software development kit, delivered this week to developers for free. The device is supposed to be the answer to both the iPhone and the Blackberry, but who is going to develop for a device before it arrives, especially with the amount of uncertainty there has been around the Sony Ericsson joint venture and its current ability to deliver.
But the device continues to look sumptuous in photos with its nine-panel touch screen (a bit like the Apple iPhone’s four touch buttons across the screen) where each panel can be user configured to a particular application. But it is tough to work out exactly what the X1 is for, and there is the nagging feeling that putting an interface like the iPhone on Windows is just easier to do than putting it on other operating systems, not better.
The Windows Mobile market has mostly been limited to enterprise customers, who want the similarity of interface associated with Windows applications, such as Outlook, Internet Explorer, Word, Excel and Powerpoint ‘ so why are developers being tempted with developing mobile content for the phone?
The Xperia SDK is set up to deliver music, photography, instant messaging, gaming, social networking or video applications ‘ and it all seems to be about consumers.
Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson is trying to fend off damaging rumours, that the device will not hit the all-important holiday buying season. The company insisted this week that the device was on track to ship in the fourth quarter, despite reports that it would not become available until January or February 2009.
Sony itself has always been hard on itself with deadlines ‘ sometimes making them, sometimes missing ‘ but even with a device as important as the PlayStation 3 it was almost a year late, so sometimes these things are beyond its control. And in the press as recently as this week, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has gone on record saying that it is the other half of the equation, the Ericsson half, that has caused many of the joint venture’s delays, and therefore losses.
The company originally unveiled the Xperia at the Mobile World Congress in February, which implied an August or September delivery date. The device is an HSDPA slider with a three-inch full VGA TFT LCD display with a Qwerty keyboard under it, but also has touch controls. The slider is uniquely arched so that when the keyboard is slid out, the whole thing feels comfortable to both type into and watch at the same time. It has an optional joystick for gaming and comes with handwriting recognition built in for storing and converting handwritten notes to diary and memo entries.
As we said it runs Windows Mobile and is the beginning of a whole new sub-brand, designed to appeal to power users in the enterprise as well as high end consumers, combining the email functionality of a BlackBerry with the webphone facilities of an Apple device or those from fellow Windows supporter HTC.
At the heart of the device is customization of the panels and for this Sony Ericsson needs the confidence of developers, hence the SDK being shipped free of charge this week and all the assurances that the device will be here in time for significant sales this side of Christmas.
One panel might be email, another music, another a search engine, another a calendar or a social networking application, or film or news catalogue or an online travel booking panel. The idea is that you tap the screen and switch between them, but the panic surrounding the launch makes you wonder if perhaps all that might not be available until developers have had it for a year, and are sure that the device and the sub-brand have staying power.
“Sony Ericsson is committed to providing its customers with rich, open content environment to make their mobile experience more enjoyable and entertaining,” said Rikko Sakaguchi , CVP and Head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson. “Making the Windows Mobile SDK available for free to developers and mobile content creators will accelerate the development of new panels and applications for the Xperia X1, offering consumer choice and personalisation.
The phone also comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, a 800 X 480 pixels screen, contacts manager and calendar, PC syncing. The idea has clearly happened because of the fuss that enterprise customers are making over the iPhone, but whether or not Sony Ericsson can also pull of the same level of enterprise appeal will depend upon the timing of its arrival and what developers manage to do with it, just as much as its functionality.
Meanwhile, Samsung aims to cash in on Europe’s first eight megapixel smartphone, the i850 Innov8, which was also the subject of recent rumors of delays. However, it seems that Orange UK has got hold of the impressive phone and will be selling it very soon. The product boasts a ‘smile and blink recognition mode’ when shooting the picture, and also features FM radio, Bluetooth, 16Gb of internal memory, dual-band 7.2Mbps HSPA and quad-band EDGE. The phone is free with an 18-month contract.
Samsung is now number two in the UK market ‘ a bellwether for Europe – and its UK chief Mark Mitchinson recently, and rather audaciously, told reporters that it could be number one, and that it would come close to Nokia in new sales in the pre-Christmas period. His claims are not outlandish ‘ the latest figures from GfK say that the Korean vendor is currently top of the prepaid handset charts and just 3% behind Nokia for contract handsets, with 27% of the market. Sony Ericsson follows close behind with 26%, highlighting how the race between the big brand phonemakers is far closer in the UK than most other countries.
As well as the i850, Samsung saw its answer to SE’s Xperia 1, the Windows Mobile Omnia handset, reaching carriers, and Mitchison says the two flagships will help propel Samsung to 30% share in the UK. “Nokia has been dominant for some considerable time and it has been as unhealthy for them as much as anyone else. Competition is really heating up and it’s really good for business,’ he said in an interview. “I don’t know whether Sony Ericsson has the depth in its range to challenge us and we’re not going to give up our strong second place easily.’ The other factor that will help Samsung grow this year, he said, is that the company is competing seriously in the pre-Christmas prepaid market for the first time and so should gain in volume.
Sony Ericsson will bring out its own eight megapixel phone during the quarter, as will Nokia with the N96, scheduled for October. The Xperia X1
Will arrive on 30 September in the UK, Germany and Sweden and then be available in other markets across Europe, Asia and Latin America throughout Q4.