Sony Ericsson recently revealed that the Xperia X2 won’t be supporting Windows Mobile 7, but they don’t seem to be having the same limitations for Android devices. according to a recent official blog post. Android 2.1 is alluded to at multiple points in the post, so we can assume that the X10 will eventually get that high, but they’re “not trying to hide from the fact that there are platform upgrades between Android 1.6 and 2.1”.
The X10 is a high-end smartphone that will be shipping with Android 1.6, and a beefy 1 GHz processor, 4” WVGA touchscreen, and 8 megapixel camera. Without a doubt, it will give the other Android handsets out there a run for their money. The big key with the X10 is Sony Ericsson’s Timescape contact management and Mediascape multimedia applications. We’ve had some time to play with it, so be sure to check out our video if you’re curious.
The post goes into some detail about SE’s upgrade strategy, and highlights the fact that the custom-built user interface will be upgraded along with the OS. Timescape and Mediascape make up a lot for the supposed datedness of Android 1.6, according to the post, and I’m tempted to agree – are there really that many killer features in 2.0 and 2.1 that would be sorely lacking from the X10 at launch? Google Maps Navigation is available for 1.6, and the rest of the 2.0 features are small usability issues that Sony Ericsson addresses in their own way. Still, for those who burn for the latest and greatest, they won’t have to worry too much about being left behind when picking up the X10 sometime this spring.