Earlier in the year we published a review of the Xperia X1, an eagerly-anticipated touchscreen smartphone from the people at Sony Ericsson, stating that it was slated for release sometime late this year.
Well, late this year is upon us, and the Xperia X1 looks to be hitting Sony Style stores on November 28 (just in time for the holidays) selling for $799 unlocked.
The strange thing about this rollout, however, is that the device comes with no carrier.
Buyers benefit in that they can choose which carrier to use, rather than being locked in to Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, etc.
But Sony Ericsson loses in that they won’t benefit from the major marketing push and widespread distribution a wireless carrier provides its smartphones. That is no doubt why the price tag for this device is so high.
Sony Ericsson is hoping that potential users will be willing to pay a premium for receiving the X1 unlocked.
On September 22 a new 9-part digital drama called “Johnny X” makes its debut online. This promised fast-paced, high-adrenaline series of 2-3 minute long episodes follows the exploits of the title character as he tries to figure out his forgotten identity after he gets kidnapped by a gang. The catch? To solve this mystery his uses his new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.
The climax of this innovative marketing campaign is not the climax of the online minseries’ plot, however, but the official launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, happening on September 30, though it will only be a limited initial release. While the UK, Sweden, and Germany will find the device filling their Vodafone and O2 shelves (though not yet at Orange), U.S. stores will unformately not be among those carrying the premiere issues of this long-awaited handset. (Latin America, Asia, and the rest of Europe are next, slated for the end of year, with no launch date yet announced for Russian, Chinese, and North Amerian markets.
The series will run for 3 weeks. As of Monday, September 22, Sony Ericsson will post a new episode every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The world’s largest mobile phone maker has finally decided to join the touch screen revolution. Is it too late for Nokia to compete in this arena, though – with LG, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung already upping the stakes set by the Apple iPhone? Doubtful.
Apple may have pioneered consumer-friendliness in technology, but Nokia pioneered quality, and they’ll do it again, and continue to do so, with the increasingly coveted touch screen next up at bat.
A flurry of blog postings in late 2006 about the Nokia Aeon (which doesn’t exist yet) gave a sneak peek into Nokia’s plans for improving upon Apple’s greatness. The innovation? A full-phone touch screen. In other words, a touch screen display that occupies the entirety of the face of the phone.
It was in the Research and Development stages then, and it’ll still be a while longer before such technology can be made viable, but that hasn’t stopped Nokia from putting its proverbial nose to the grindstone nonetheless and coming up with its first entry in the touch screen arena.
Proving that battling Apple requires strategic planning on multiple fronts, Nokia’s as yet unnamed first touch screen venture will be an unlimited music phone. Look for it later this year.
This week Barcelona, Spain hosted the 2008 GSMA Mobile World Congress. One of the highlights of the international conference, as always, was the unveiling of several new smartphones, among the top contenders for leading spots in this year's marketplace, the following:
the HTC P3470 - a GSM mobile phone running Windows Mobile 6 with the TomTom Navigator 6 built in;
the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 - a touch screen smartphone with 100 adjustable panels poised to become the iPhone biggest competitor this year;
Also announced was the first mobile phone processor from Nvidia, world leading maker of visual computing, graphics processor technologies. The new technology, dubbed APX 2500, is - as you might expect - designed for handheld devices with multimedia capabilities.
Stay tuned here throughout the year for reviews of the above-mentioned products and many more of the latest and greatest new releases debuted at the event.
Music lovers rejoice! Because now you can listen to the music on your smartphone through your FM radio without the need for any extraneous external devices.
Whether it's downloaded tunes stored in your smartphone's memory or streaming internet radio you prefer, smartphone makers like world leader Nokia are now integrating FM transmitters into their handheld devices, allowing users to enjoy all the music they love over their home stereos and - best of all for you commuters out there - car radios.
One of the first smartphones to be built with an integrated FM transmitter is the Nokia N78, though many more are sure to follow in its pioneering footsteps.
Sure, those Belkin FM transmitters are nice, but who really wants to deal with all that bulky and cumbersome extra gadgetry when you can get it all built in to your favorite mobile device?
Of course, if it's actual FM radio stations you seek through your smartphone, there are also obliging products like the Sony Ericsson P1i.
We're all used to the typical promotion where you get a free cell phone in exchange for signing up for a set period of service. So it should come as no surprise that the same phenomenon has begun with the product representing the evolution of the cell phone - the smartphone.
CNET reported today on the Samsung BlackJack II being offered for free on Buy.com for anyone signing up for a two-year AT&T contract. While not the fastest or easiest phone to use, the Samsung BlackJack II nonetheless has some impressive qualities, including:
a GPS
a 2- megapixel camera
and AT&T HSPDA network support
Researching this phenomenon further, I found that Buy.com actually offers several smart phones for free with activation, including:
From here, I checked into how commonly this phenomenon occurred at competing cell phone and smart phone vendors and found that everybody's doing it. In addition to more of the aforementioned brand names, I also found all sorts of other smartphones (such as Sony Ericsson, Nextel, and Nokia) offered for free by all the major carriers:
AT&T (and the former Cingular)
Verizon
T-Mobile
and Sprint
Now there's a way that people on a limited budget can still afford to get a smartphone of their own (though maybe not the latest and greatest model), just by signing up for the wireless service they're going to need to get anyway.
To boot, most of the participating smartphone vendors will even throw in free shipping with the deal.
With such great deals flooding the net, and every phone manufacturer and wireless carrier competing for your hard-earned dollar, we may soon see the day when you never have to pay to obtain a smartphone again.
