Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 with a gorgeous UI

It’s not lost on anyone not living under a rock in the last 10 years that Google, for all of it’s successful offerings, lacks flair in their user interfaces. If reports that Google was intimately involved in every design aspect of the Verizon Droid are true, the functional yet uninspired interface of the Motorola device perpetuates the trend. If the Droid is what happens when Google UI engineers are involved, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is what happens when they are not.

Available Q1 2010 to select markets, the Xperia X10 looks fantastic and betters the Droid in a couple of areas while being developed on the [by-then outdated] Android 1.6 OS:

8.1 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
Blistering 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon  QSD8250 processor
Wide assortment of pre-installed apps

Camera

• 8.1 megapixel camera
• Up to 16x digital zoom
• Auto focus
• Intelligent face recognition features
• Geo tagging
• Image and video stabilizer
• Photo and video light
• Send to web (photo and video upload)
• Smile detection
• Touch focus
• Video recording
• Recent shot tray

Music

• Album art
• Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP)
• Media player
• Music tones (MP3/AAC)
• PlayNow™
• TrackID™

Web

• Bookmarks
• Google™ search (from standby)
• Web feeds
• WebKit web browser

Communication

• Sony Ericsson Timescape™
• Speakerphone
• Vibrating alert

Messaging

• Conversations
• Email
• Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync®
• Picture messaging (MMS)
• Predictive text input
• Text messaging (SMS)

Design

• Auto rotate
• Gesture control
• Picture wallpaper
• Touchscreen

Entertainment

• 3D games
• Media browser
• Infinite button
• Video streaming
• Video viewing
• YouTube™

Organiser

• Alarm clock
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Flight mode
• Infinite button
• Office suite
• Phone book with dialer
• World clock

Location-based services

• A-GPS
• Google Maps™
• Wisepilot™ turn-by-turn navigation* (free trial version)
• *The service may not be available in every market. For more information, go to www.sonyericsson.wisepilot.com

Connectivity

• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth™ technology
• Micro USB connector
• Synchronisation
• USB support
• Wi-Fi™

Preloaded applications

• Sony Ericsson Timescape™
• Sony Ericsson Mediascape
• Sony Ericsson Home with clock widget
• Sony Ericsson Sync
• Android Market™ Client
• Gmail™
• Google Calendar™
• Google Maps™ with Street View
• Google Media Uploader
• Google phone-top search
• Google search widget
• Google Talk™
• Google Voice Search™
• Network Location Provider
• Set-up Wizard
• YouTube™

Screen

• 262,144 colour TFT touchscreen
• 4.0 inches
• 480 x 854 pixels (WVGA)
• Scratch-resistant

Accessories
In-Box:

• XPERIA™ X10
• Battery
• Stereo portable handsfree
• 8 GB microSD™ card
• Micro USB cable for charging, synchronisation and file transfer
• User documentation

Optional:

• Hi-Fi Wireless Headset with FM Radio MW600
• Car Charger AN300
• Screen Protector ET902

Facts 1)2)

• Size: 119 x 63 x 13 mm
• Weight: 135 grams
• Phone memory: Up to 1 GB
• Memory card support: microSD™
• Memory card included: 8 GB
• Operating system: Google™ Android Donut, version 1.6
• Processor: 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ QSD8250

Availability and versions

• Networks
• UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100
• GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• UMTS HSPA 800/1900/2100
• GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• Available in selected markets in Q1 2010

Colour

• Sensuous Black
• Luster White

I haven’t seen any snapshots or video of the non-media components such as the primary screen, phone dialer, email interface, or SMS/MMS. It would be hard to believe that the rest of the UI would be any less rich than the UI presented in the shots above.

It doesn’t hurt to have hot chicks in your promo videos either.

Official Press Release