Sony Ericsson dropped a slew of new handsets on us at their pre-MWC press event Sunday. The big news is the new "Xperia" line of premium handsets being launched with the X1 Windows Mobile smartphone. Yep, a WinMob device from Sony Ericsson! And, SE has abandoned Memory Stick support on the X1 in favor of the more universally supported microSD format (SE's K850 handset supports both microSD and Memory Stick M2 - all other SEs are Memory Stick only).
The X1 is a candybar device with a horizontally-sliding QWERTY thumbboard featuring an angled "arc slider" design that angles the display towards the user, somewhat like the HTC Tilt. X1 also packs an ultra-high resolution 800 x 480 pixel wide-aspect 3" touchscreen and a custom UI featuring SE's new Xperia panel interface that lets the user customize a layout of thumbnail shortcuts to various applications ("experiences," in SE parlance).
X1 won't be released until the second half of this year, but will be available in a US-friendly version with quad-band GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 850/1700/1900/2100 MHz, which could spell a T-Mobile release when the phone hits the US. The X1 will also feature WiFi connectivity and a 3.2MP camera and will be available in both black and silver.
Sony Ericsson North America is holding a press conference Monday morning, so if any new details emerge I'll bring 'em your way. Meanwhile, head on over to the X1 product page and X1 microsite for full specs, images, and even some video of SE's fancy new handset.
