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The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 smartphone will arrive on the AT&T network Aug. 15, the two companies announced Aug. 9.
A flagship device for Sony Ericsson, the high-end X10 runs Google’s Android operating system and features a 4-inch display, Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an 8.1-megapixel camera with smile detection, face recognition, autofocus and LED flash.
On top of the Android platform, Sony Ericsson has included two signature applications, Mediascape and Timescape. The first collects music, photos videos and other media content from all areas of the phone and online – for example, everywhere from the media card to images posted on a user’s Facebook account – and offers a single view of them.
Additionally, when listening to a song on the device, a user can “press Sony Ericsson’s infinite button to access related content about the artist pulled from the phone’s memory, as well as albums, songs and video content from YouTube and search results from Google,” Sony Ericsson explained in a statement.
Timescape similarly works to organize social interactions and offer a streamlined view of various communications. In this app, the “infinite button” again brings up additional information – for example, all the text communications shared with a specific contact.
Paul Hamnett, Sony Ericsson’s North America senior vice president, described the company as “raising the bar” with the Xperia X10.
“With the convergence of our user experience platform and the Android OS, we are bringing consumers a smartphone experience that is not only exciting, but also very refined,” Hamnett said in the statement. “Following the successful global launch of the Xperia X10, we are pleased to partner with AT&T to launch this phone in the U.S. market.”
Sony Ericsson first introduced the Xperia X10, its very first Android-running handset, in November 2009. Dominated by its “crystal clear” WVGA touch screen, it measures 4.7 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches, weighs 4.8 ounces and includes WiFi, Bluetooth and A-GPS connectivity. A full HTML browser and support for e-mail, Exchange Active Sync, SMS, MMS and IM are included, along with a music player and a 2GB memory card – though up to 32GB are supported.
The X10 launched abroad in colors called Luster White and Sensuous Black, though AT&T will only offer the latter. Pricing has been set for $149.99 with a two-year service agreement.
In February, Sony Ericsson additionally introduced three siblings to the Xperia X10 at the Mobile World Congress 2010 event in Barcelona. A Vivaz version complements the X10 design with the addition of a QWERTY keyboard, while the Xperia X10 mini and X10 mini pro are more compact versions of the entertainment-driven Xperia X10 that’s soon to arrive on the AT&T network.