Impressions of the Sony Ericsson X1

Updated with live pictures!

The folks at Sony Ericsson were pretty strict about letting us try out the interface of the new XPERIA X1, but we were still able to get close enough to have a few good impressions.

Sony Ericsson has always been pretty hot when it comes to handset design, and the X1 is no exception. Looking at it, you forget that this is a Windows Mobile PDA-phone because, very often, the products in that category are pretty clunky. The keypad slides out at an angle and the keys look pretty well spaced-out for typing.

While the Today screen on its WVGA (800 x 480) display looks like the regular Windows Mobile Professional one, a button press will bring up a cool nine-panel interface. These look like shortcuts to other applications and are very attractive, though it looks like users still won't be able to fully avoid the regular WM6 interface when using the X1.

One of the most surprising things is the connectors. Along one side of the device, you can see there's a 3.5mm audio connector. This isn't common for Windows Mobile PDA-phones (2.5mm ones are the norm). More significantly, this isn't even seen on any of the company's Walkman phones, devices that are supposed to target music lovers. Along another edge, the X1 has a mini-USB connector. That's good news because you don't have to rely on the proprietary cables usually packaged with Sony Ericsson devices.

With a truckload of features including HSDPA/HSUPA, GPS and Wi-Fi, the X1 is poised to do battle with established names in this arena like HTC and HP. One worry is that the release date is set for the second-half of 2008, which is a long time from now. That gives competitors quite a bit of lead time to come up with even better-looking products. Let's just hope market availability is closer to the middle of the year than the end.



»  Mobile World Congress 2008 show report

Speaker satellites for the iPhone

There's clearly no shortage of speaker sets for the iPod, but what about its call-happy brother the iPhone? In fact, since it uses the same proprietary 30-pin connector as its phoneless counterparts, the iPhone works with many of the sound systems that were designed with the iPod in mind. However, none of those speakers have integrated technology to prevent electromagnetic interference. That's where the new DLO Portable Speakers for iPod come in. (How's that for creative naming?)

The speakers, which cost a reasonable US$49.99, offer an interference-free amplifier. The unit also comes with two orbiting speakers that can be placed in any configuration around the base, which can hold the iPhone--or iPod touch, for that matter--in either portrait or landscape orientation. As such, there's no dock connector, and the iPhone/iPod won't be charged in the base. You can, however, use the 3.5mm connection to connect any audio device. The speaker can be powered by the included AC adapter, or by four AAA batteries, making it quite the versatile unit. Plus, each speaker snaps onto the base to create an enclosed, six-inch ball for easy transport. Neat!

Via Crave CNET

Nokia trials N95 as traffic monitor

What impact does it have on you? None, for now. But the potential of a recent field test in Union City, California, could be far-reaching. The experiment involved 100 UC Berkeley students who drove a 10-mile stretch of freeway using cars issued with a GPS-enabled N95, Bluetooth headset and special traffic-monitoring software. "As the students drove the freeway, the phone sent data about each car's speed and position back to the company's research facility," wrote Erica Ogg from News.com who was on the ground.

Of what use is this to the average commuter? Lots. Traffic patterns can be monitored and also relayed to them via their cell phones even before they set off on their journey. So instead of relying on a fixed sensor infrastructure, the traffic data system makes use of a collective effort similar to how Wiki operates: Everyone contributes.

That said, this concept isn’t the first of its kind. For example, Vodafone and TomTom in October 2006 collaborated to create a commercial traffic data system using the signals between cell phones and base stations to monitor real-time traffic conditions. The difference is Nokia's experiment makes use of a ubiquitous device, the cell phone.

There are pressing issues such as privacy, but if these concerns are addressed and eliminated, the collective system could be a much cheaper way to monitor traffic. For now, the Finnish phone-maker is looking to increase the number of participants for the trials and include more realistic test environments.

Although I don’t think such a system will take flight in the immediate future because there aren’t that many GPS-enabled handsets in the market (external Bluetooth GPS units aside), if the project gains traction, it could be something really useful for commuters. Another alternative that can be explored is using cell phone location data (something which is already collected by base stations) to provide a locality-based information, so commuters know which areas to avoid. But, for now, it's all great ideas waiting to go someplace.

Samsung's got Soul

New Samsung mobile phones usually have pretty boring names that go something like SGH-xxxx. So the newest one is pretty refreshing with a single-word name, Soul. According to the company, it's supposed to be an abbreviation of "The Spirit of Ultra" and was so named to honor the completion of the Ultra Edition. That series of mobile phones was when Samsung started to make its phones really slim, going as thin as 5.9mm at one point.

Though positioned as a mobile phone for the fashion-conscious, this Soul has quite a number of features. One of them is its directional pad that has a screen. This allows the button markers to change according to whichever function you happen to be using. For example, when playing music, it shows music control, but when in the camera application, icons like zoom and brightness will appear. Other less flashy features include HSDPA connectivity, FM radio and a 5-megapixel camera with face detection and image stabilizer.

In true Ultra Edition style, this slider is slim at just 12.9mm. It will be first launched in Europe in April, and reach Asia Pacific some time in Q2. Pricing has yet to be announced.

»  Mobile World Congress 2008 show report

LG Viewty KU990 now dressed in dark silver

Hot on the heels of the PlayStation 3, LG has announced that its Viewty KU990 is now also available in dark silver in addition to the current black model. According to the company, the dark silver version is immediately available in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam for S$838 (without contract). Given the earlier Shine experience, the Viewty may just crumble under consumer pressure and become available in your usual RGB colors, if you are willing to wait that is.

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