Sony Ericsson is planning to enter the smartbook arena. But, the most surprising fact (or should I say, rumor) is that it will be an Android powered device. According to the guys at GadgetMix.com, some Taiwanese source suggests that Sony Ericsson is working on a smartbook to be released by the end of this year. No details about the device were available, but it is speculated that the the device “will use ARM processors to run some mobile OS, possibly Android.”.
This news is nothing more than a rumor as of now. But, it remains to be seen, how far this device will be acceptable in the market. Sony Ericsson is generally famous for its high prices. Will that be the case with this device too ?
Some time back, we had reported that Sony Ericsson is working on Xperia X3, an Android powered device, which will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that runs at a mind-boggling clock speed of 1GHz. Now, Andy Rubin of Google Inc. has reported in an interview that Google plans to take advantage of processors like the Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm Inc. to support features like 3D gaming in the later versions of Android.
The Android versions which are currently in the news circuit is Donut (Android 1.6) , Eclair (Android 2.0) and Flan (the third version). We have already heard a lot about Donut and it does not seem to include any such features. So probably, this will be available with Eclair or Flan.
But currently, the only Android-powered device which claims to sport a Snapdragon Chipset is the Sony Ericsson Xperia X3. So, this lets me wonder, will it come with Android Eclair or Flan? Possible.
This speculation seems to be quite tricky. But, it is possible. And, if this speculation fruitifies, then the equation would be :
A huge brand + great features + amazing OS + lightning speed = a mind blowing device called Sony Ericsson Xperia X3
General Mobile is planning to sell its DSTL1, powered by Android 1.5 aka cupcake, in the US and Turkey by the end of June. The DSTL1 is a dual-sim phone which also sports a 624MHz processor, a 5MP camera with flash(made by Sony), FM Radio, bluetooth 2.0 and WiFi. It also comes with a 4GB inbuilt memory. And, an extra battery and a desktop charger is also said to be included in the box.
There is no confirmed news about its price but it is expected to sell for about US$550 to $750.
If this report is to be believed, then the DSTl1 would be the first non-HTC Android device in the market.
Here’s a video showing the DSTL1, running Android.
Sony Ericsson die hard fans now have a chance to rejoice. The mobile phone giant is planning to launch an Android powered phone. It has plans to launch the device powered with Android 2.0 aka the Donut.
A few days back we had published a news about the next version of Android, Donut. But, nothing has yet been said or heard about its release date. So, nothing can be said about the release date of the phone.
But why is Sony Ericsson waiting for the next version of Android to be released ? May be because the Donut is expected to provide much better multimedia experience. And, Sony Ericsson always had the reputation of providing one of the best multimedia phones in the market, in the form of its Walkman range.
“It does require a lot of evaluation, as well as a lot of testing, a lot of acceptance from a consumer viewpoint, and there is still some time to go,” CEO Hideki Komiyama said about the Linux-based OS. “Looking ahead, I think that we see this as one of the important operating systems, there is no doubt.”
Android does offer multimedia experience in the form of youtube, etc. But its no where even near what Sony Ericsson provides in its Walkman range phone. And, the biggest complaint I personally had with Android, is its speaker volume and quality.
So, lets hope that a device with the great sound quality of Sony Ericsson devices, combined with the funcionalities of an open-source Operating System, is in the making.
