For Americans with 8 c-notes on hand for conspicuous consumption (I believe there were 37 of you at last count, celebrities and Freemasons excluded): the unlocked Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 goes on pre-sale tomorrow, 11/13, at the Sony Style website. The Official street date is Black Friday, November 28th?our national day of indulgence; an appropriate launch indeed.

The spec sheet looks good, but $800-splurge good?

The device features include: 3" VGA touchscreen, full slide-out QWERTY, 3G, Wi-Fi, full browsing with Opera Mobile, aGPS, 3.2 MP camera with user-defined focal points, video capture, standard headphone jack, FM radio, video calling, optical joystick, up to 10 hrs talk time, and a visually enhanced Windows Mobile. It utilizes a customizable panel-based UI, which will be supplemented with downloadable panels. SE has set up a pretty cool video tour of the phone.

It comes in a black or silver metal finish, the silver looking far more luxurious in my opinion. The arc slider form factor is sweet, and I'd have to say that the body is the strongest selling point for me. Despite my preoccupation with the price tag, I really want to touch one. 

The Xperia X1 is touted by consumers and creators alike as the most advanced Sony Ericsson phone to date. Sure, the LG dare has swimming fish, but do they gravitate towards your finger and let you know via color changes if you've missed a call? No, they do not. That's one of the perks you can only get from an X1.