By
5th February 2010.
15:49

Xperia X10 will be upgradeable

Hi all,

Sorry for the long absence.

Some reflections after meeting media, analyst and bloggers around the world over the last couple of months.

I have been confronted with the same questions and discussions that you have been interested in from the very beginning. The underlying OS release version that we will use when launching Xperia X10 -why 1.6 and will it be competetive enough? These concerns are quite on top of mind among industry experts as well as advanced users as yourself, which I do appreciate. I will share my experience from enganging in these discussions giving it a context. It is a bit lengthy, so bare with me. :)  

The OS versions are somewhat becoming a reference point for people I feel. Similar to processor speed in computers and megapixels in camera phones. I as consumer of course evaluate the same things, buying equipment on my own. However when you start evaluating usage, there are more factors to consider than just the specs.

When I do a product demo, the response about hardware is unquestionable in my view. The design, screen size, ”feel” and overall specs leaves an impression right away. “Beautiful and delight to hold in the hand”,  “Sleek and outstanding” are some frequent quotes.

On the other hand when moving over to talk about the user interface,  I have felt some skepticism in the air since people tend to have adopted quickly to Android release version as their context of competiveness. Quite often, the starting point for this part of the demonstration is a 1.6 release remark if I would generalize my interactions to date.  

Interestingly enough the focus on OS version changes over course of a minute or so. Demonstrating the generic Android capabilities with our graphical enhancements is a starting point. The home screen, the immediate responsiveness of the big capacitive screen, the true multitasking that Android allows, the easy and rich access to Google services like maps and android market. All that is there and for me that is the base functionality, which I really appreciate and use on a day to day basis.

Then I introduce the signature applications; Sony Ericsson TimescapeTM and Mediascape and the focus of the discussion shifts from talking about this layer on top of Android, that I refer to as the Sony Ericsson User Experience platform. I now find myself discussing the total  experience rather the OS version in isolation with a great appreciation about what we are bringing to the table. Then the interest of the User Experience platform future roadmap gets to be the talking point instead. What I hope to get across to you all, is that there will be a software update for Xperia X10 that will upgrade the complete Sony Ericsson User Experience Platform based on newer version of the Android OS. 

I have probably painted a positive picture, but I am sharing the discussions I have had and my take outs from them. I am not trying to hide from the fact that there are platform upgrades between android 1.6 and 2.1, if utilized can enhance the experience for developers and users. Having that said, I have had discussions with carriers that are very sensitive and concerned generally about taking on devices in their range that are not competetive enough. I have faced head to head comparisons between Xperia X10 and generic 2.1 Android devices (as well as other OS) and carriers have concluded that we still stand strong in comparison.  This because of the layer that we ad on top of the generic  OS. 

I am both confident and humble at the same time as we can´t anticipate and cover everything when planning ahead. There will be areas that we can´t over bridge between these releases, but on the total experience I am very confident about this product as the feedback received has been extremely positive. Then there will be an update as well, which I hope settles some of the concernes expressed.

 I will not be able to fully understand a developers take on this discussion (and we do have a dedicated community for that), but I would be very interested to hear you feedback. Reading the posts, it ranges from time to market, concerns about whether the product is “future proof” etc, but what are your biggest concerns when it comes to usage? What benefits from the 2.1 release are you most interested in? That would be really interesting for me to get some more input on….

Have a great weekend

Sumit

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  • By robisaks
    5th February 2010.
    16:10

    Personally, the only thing 2.1 has over 1.6 is the multiple account sync, and facebook sync. I’ve got a G1 and I’ve gone back and forth between stable 2.1 releases and stable 1.6 releases. There isn’t a huge difference. 2.1 also has voice to text, and live wallpapers, but I never use v2t since its not accurate enough yet and live wallpapers are just fluff.

    On the flip side, the differences between 1.5 and 1.6 are staggering. From the new market to google navigation, I would never purchase a device that was 1.5.

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  • By Alexander
    5th February 2010.
    16:16

    I think multitouch is important for a more pleasant user experience. For example when using a map service both horizontal and vertical movement would be easier (compared to the use of on-screen buttons that is).

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  • By Gary
    5th February 2010.
    16:23

    One thing that will be missing that I would like to have is turn-by-turn instructions in Google Maps, which is part of Android 2.0.

    To be honest, though, at the moment I just care about having the device in my hands, regardless of the OS version. 1.6 will do just fine, if it means I can have the device now. (Can you hear my craving?!). And updates at a future date will then my most welcome also.

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  • By Tej
    5th February 2010.
    16:26

    The multiple account support is a big deal for me, so personally Android 2.1 would be an important move.

    It’s nice to know that the Xperia X10 will be upgradeable, but you stop short of saying which version it will be upgrading to?

    Can you confirm if the current SE roadmap sees the handset upgraded to Android 2.0 or 2.1?

    Cheers!

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  • By Tej
    5th February 2010.
    16:32

    Also, does this mean that the Xperia X10 will ship with the newer Android firmware. Or will you still ship with v1.6 and then move over to the newer firmware over time?

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  • By motvikt
    5th February 2010.
    16:36

    Simple.

    Pinch to zoom and general multitouch. Well integrated in the OS.

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  • By Per Thomas Jahr
    5th February 2010.
    16:38

    It is important for the potentially buyers of X10 to know that the device will receive regular updates. The Android code drops from Google contains numerous bug fixes, performance improvements and new features. We want them on X10 as well :-)

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  • By motvikt
    5th February 2010.
    16:43

    yea do like apple. Upgrade the x10 hardware with a new phone while keeping the old phones up to date with software.

    I think me and many more buy new phones every year anyway. And the amount of goodwill will sell you phones alone

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  • By anders
    5th February 2010.
    16:49

    Hi

    For me multi touch and 16,7 million colors are important ;-)

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  • By anders
    5th February 2010.
    16:50

    Hi again,

    Can you say anything more regarding release date?

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  • By brendan
    5th February 2010.
    16:57

    As has been said, but I’d like to reiterate, what I’m most excited for in 2.1 is multitouch and Google Maps Navigation.

    On another note, hopefully the X10 will have some sweet dock peripherals like a desktop dock and a car mount.

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  • By Malcolm
    5th February 2010.
    16:58

    I’m far less fussed about the particular version of android than I am about actually getting my hands on the X10 in the first place. My X1 is now a bit battered and starting to die, so I have been despairing slightly more with every rumour of additional delays.

    That said, commitment to maintain support of a such a flagship device with continued software updates throughout the lifetime of the phone does engender customer loyalty and would certainly encourage more people to invest.

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  • By Evan
    5th February 2010.
    17:04

    Some things I’m interested in::

    Facebook picture sync with contacts (similar to Palm’s synergy or the latest implementation in Google Android 2.1)
    Exchange sync (mail and calendar) plus Gmail sync (mail, calendar, contacts)
    Multitouch (browser, maps, pictures, soft keyboard)

    I think the x10 stands out as is already because of the camera and media capabilities

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  • By Manish
    5th February 2010.
    17:06

    Wooh! :D
    Great to hear from you, even if it came late, it’s just too good.
    Well, i liked your post, and how SE is confident bout what they have achieved through the whole User Experience on top of Generic Android OS. As a developer’s point of View, it’s too difficult to underline what are the main differences that makes 2.1 really an immediate add on. :!:
    Well, that doesn’t makes sense to me either, as by the time developers would use those extra special API’s of Android 2.1 and make the next gen Android apps and people feel left out, X10 would get the update. :D
    But looking at the more positive side of it, there are generally 90% of users who won’t be interested in Developing for Android when they buy X10. So the general users would be just interested in user Experience that they would be getting of X10. So, from an End User perspective the main Difference that would be a real concern for most of the users ( including me ) would be :
    - Multi-Touch – Highest on my List
    - Color Richness – 16m
    - Facebook Sync of Contacts.
    - Multi-Screen Size Parsing – Android 2.0 can parse programs irrespective of screen size and resolution. So, most of the earlier apps that were designed specifically for smaller screen sizes would run perfectly.
    - Search SMS and MMS
    - Lastly, Multiple email accounts in one inbox, which is least on my concern.

    And other, major significant changes of Android 2.1 over Android 1.6 have already been modified and corrected ( in a much better way, i guess! ) by SE as a part of their User Experience. But, there lies a concern here as well, i have seen over the blogs and sties on the internet that people are really aware of what major changes are in Android 2.1 over Android 1.6 ( and i don’t know how? – Google didn’t advertise, right? ) including, Bluetooth, exchange, camera zooming, flash and macro focus support, which have been perfectly solved by SE as a part of their User Experience, but they are actually unaware of this fact! Which makes them think and ask every time the same question that does this phone support Bluetooth file transfer, exchange, zoom, flash, etc and many are pretty confident this won’t support such features. :( I think, SE should advertise on this part. :)
    P.S.
    There is 3D acceleration also supported in Android 2.1, but i guess X10 does that, somehow. ( I might be wrong here! )

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  • By Chrismac09
    5th February 2010.
    17:06

    @ Anders Vodaphone UK say that the phone will be available in April. http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/sony-ericsson-x10?serverName=managed6 but I would guess some carriers are waiting for the MWC next week to reveal their new phones.

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  • By anders
    5th February 2010.
    17:09

    @Chrismac09

    i can stand waiting until April for this one , please release it sooner ;-)

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  • By sandeep
    5th February 2010.
    17:11

    Thank you, Sumit. This clarification was long overdue and should shut a lot of haters up for good.

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  • By FREDRIK
    5th February 2010.
    17:12

    Multitouch/pinchzoom is very important for me. Does the x10 hardware even support it?
    Also want to see SE continue to sopport their phones with future updates for a loong time.
    Being able to costomize time and media-scape with new colors and wallpapers.

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  • By Dorian
    5th February 2010.
    17:17

    The color depth (16 million colors make a huge difference), HTML5 (such as it is), the gallery (since I won’t be using mediascape), the general speed improvements (2.0/2.1 is a lot more optimized than 1.6, especially for the new generation hardware).

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  • By Manish
    5th February 2010.
    17:18

    And yes, i didn’t mention the Exchange capabilities on a smart phone should be inbuilt and not through third party apps. And this would be a cause for concern for many Business class users. :|
    Although, Exchange support is solved by SE, thorough Moxier collaboration, but it does not provide the same experience as the inbuilt support would. For example,
    - When you would add a contact no to a already assigned contact or edit a prior contact, it won’t sync with your Exchange account, and you would have to manually add the details to the Moxier Contacts as well.
    - You won’t be able to send Emails to Exchange account from the Timescape Infinite Contact View.
    P.S.
    These were pointed out by Jueluz from Deutsch forum. :)

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