Sony Ericsson has joined the ranks of Android phone manufacturers with the unveiling of the new Xperia X10 handset.
The phone, which is set to launch across APAC in the first quarter of 2010, will run on the Android 1.6 (also known as Donut) OS, with a customized Android UI.
It will come pre-loaded with Google apps like Gmail and Google Maps, as well as Sony Ericsson's new aggregation tool Timescape, which will allow users to check all their interactions with one person – including SMS, emails, Facebook and Twitter – in one view.
A related tool, Mediascape, aggregates media content from the phone, YouTube and music service PlayNow.
Hands-on reviews of pre-release devices have praised the aesthetics of the handset, but noted that the prototype currently has a sluggish UI and lacks multitouch features such as zoom or rotate.
Strategy Analytics analyst Alex Spektor toldTMC the phone could help bolster Sony Ericsson's relatively weak presence in the smartphone and touchphone markets.
But he warned that the top-end phone could do little to reverse the company's ailing fortunes – reflected in its pre-tax loss of $296.5 million in Q3 – as it does not appeal to the growing consumer-level touchphone market.
Sony Ericsson said the Experia X10 will be the first in a new family of phones.