By Happy 4th to all our American readers – Sony Ericsson is helping you celebrate by way of a leaked internal document for the Sony Ericsson “Rachael” which is rumored to run Android and is clearly branded as an XPERIA handset:
If what we’re hearing about the specs on this thing are true – they’ll blow all of the existing Android phones out of the water from a pure power hardware perspective. It’ll pack a 1GHz Qualcomm Snap Dragon processor, HSPA speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/second and advanced 3D graphic rendering capabilities. An 8MP camera, 3.5mm headset jack and MiniUSB connectivity certainly don’t hurt the cause.
You can’t just load a phone with powerful specs and expect it to sell – it still has to work well, feel good, be ergonomically sound and integrate well with the software. But from the looks of it, Sony Ericsson has hit a homerun with the specs and the design looks great. Android fans have been looking for something this powerful for quite awhile so lets hope Sony Ericsson can stay on the straight and narrow and announce this thing later in 2009 as the sources predict.
The phone’s codename is Rachael but that is only a codename. It is clearly branded Xperia and you would expect them to go the same route Samsung has gone with the Omnia… Xperia 2, Xperia Lite, Xperia Pro, Xperia Android, etc… so I think we’ll see this phone be called Xperia with a trailing adjective. Any guesses as to what that might be?
i think i just found the cellphone that might make me throw my g1 for it
“… up to 1 GHz …”
Your reporting is lacking.
Actually, what Samsung did wiht their non windows mobile version of the omnia… was they changed it to something other than omnia…
The Samsung Omnia HD, was an s60 (think nokia) os, so they immediatly removed Omnia completely from the name.
Omnia belongs to Windows Mobile version of samsungs phones… it was a temporary mistake to call it Omnia.
So if what your saying related to the Omnia case, it would not be called Xperia anything at all, if its not a Windows Mobile phone.
More than likely this phone will either have a name change, or it is actually a Windows Mobile device.
As many people know, the hardware for winmo and android are very similiar, and in many cases you can install Android onto a Windows Mobile phone, via a quick flash.
So no word yet on whether this phone will have its name changed from xperia, or if it will infact be an actual Windows Mobile device.
Possibly carrying the long awaited Windows Mobile 7 due next year, or 6.5 which was just released last month.
One thing is for sure, android or winmo, the commenter is right, it is a cellphone to make you throw away your G1. Excellent specs.
umm it needs a keyboard!!! im OVER these phones without
keyboards
Holy hell.
I might need new pants
Finally, something that’s a real improvement… here’s hoping it comes out faster than the X1 did.
Doesn’t look like it has a keyboard. That pretty much kills it for me.
But where’s the keyboard? A lot of android apps currently use keyboards, and honestly I will always want one. Until something comes along that makes me think I’m using a hardware keyboard but its virtual, ill never be happy with a touch only phone.
Looks good. If the touchscreen is equal to the IPhone it might give Apple a challenge if priced right. So far Apple has done everything when it come to a user interface. If this also works well as a phone (Apple doesn’t understand this) I might go for it. Is this a GSM phone?
I WANT
This will help me get over the fact that the HTC Hero is probably not coming to T-Mobile USA.
Plus the specs are out of this world, finally a halo product for Android!
Looks great and the specs sound awesome too….but the phone is missing the full suite of Android buttons, so I’m a little cautious about believing this is really an Android phone.
Personally, looks great. A definate alternative to the Huawei phone shown a little while ago.
Love the proposed performance, love the style.
Got to say though, i’d like to see either a hardware keyboard or a much improved software keyboard from Google. Having used the iphone one, the android attempt doesnt even come close.
Look at the sides, the search button is there. This would be sweet. Give me an AMOLED screen and a few gigs of storage and a MicroSDHC and were all set. Oh, i like the design, but i miss the scroll ball or D-pad, please SE, give us some hardware input please( a keyboard wouldnt hurt)
Xperia 2
They never said Xperia would be exclusive to WM. However, I did expect Xperias to ship with a qwerty. Too bad.
Also, the presence of only 3 front buttons (and no directional pad/nub/ball) is a bit worrying.
GOD DAMMIT, why don’t any of these manufacturers understand we want a damn keyboard?? OMG.
I’ve also been trying to figure out why all the new phones come with so little flash memory. It’s so cheap now, and with phones as media players, they should come with 4 gigs at ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. 8 or more would be preferable.
yeaaaaah…. hopefully they tweak android like htc’s done with hero making it user-friendly to use…
Requirements to replace G1:
keypad with 5 rows of keys (similar or better than G1)
flash for camera (LED or Xenon)
3MP or greater camera
long battery life
faster processor
more memory
WiFi,GPS,3G,accelerometer, etc…(all current G1 options)
better microphone for taking movies
better movie quality
Extra wants:
highly durable phone (almost indestructible)
4x or more zoom for camera would be great
full qwerty keypad with all typical keys, as on a real keyboard
Nobody, manufactures prefer to release products that the majority of the purchasing population wants. The trend for phones is moving into a full touchscreen generation. Perhaps it’s time to make the switch, or realize that you’ll be stuck with the Dream.
“which is rumored to run Android”
I refuse to get excited about this phone as long as we don’t have an official announcement from SE that this is definitely running Android :)
But the specs do look indeed amazing, and I have always been a SE fan they have never let me down with their phones.
how big is it? I like to put my phone in my pants’ pocket.
Keyboard=space
if they include more buttons or a keyboard it’s going to make it clunkier, heavier and bulkier. Not worth it in my opinion. i’ve dealt with an on screen keyboard on my KU990 and it’s fine!
the g1 is a good example of why NOT to have a keyboard… its ugly and awkward.
so I, for one, say to the manufacturers:
3 BUTTONS IS FINE!
Is anybody thinking what I am? PSPphone running android? I would pay outrageous amounts of money for such a device!
Anyone wants to bet that by the time this thing ever materialises and hits the market the specs won’t be that impressive any more. We’ve been hearing about Android for about 2 years now and after 2 years all we got is 2 crapy phones from HTC which if they weren’t runing Android no one would ever look twice at them. I think the market could really use a really good smart phone that just happen to run Android and not just another “Android phone”.
damn now that worth anithing
I’ve had 2 SE phones in the past… the only phones i’ve had that broke before my 2 years were up, forcing me to pay (almost) full price to replace it. I’ll pass on this, regardless of its power.
I cannot live with myself knowing I bought a 1Ghz phone that cannot run SNES, MAME and PSone emulators because it doesn’t have a keyboard….
Need the keyboard…
Not everyone wants a keyboard but I do agree that they could produce more phones that do have keyboards to satisfy both camps. I prefer the virtual keyboard because it does the job for me and it allows the phone to be more pocketable. Each to their own though.
The G1 is the best and most fun phone I have ever had. The only improvements needed are: better tactile keyboard, flash player, ability to see all msg contents without having to go to the browser. I bought a double-capacity battery with a new back cover so power is no longer an issue with me. I’m good 2 days. Basically this HTC G1 has performed well and held up nicely with heavy use, something you can not say about most brands. It is fun, however, watching and waiting for something that can beat it, which will come, eventually.
If they release early they’re on a winner. Hope its outdoor frienly. Can barely see the X1 outdoors.
You sure it’s Android and not symbian?
When you measure the picture, aspect ratio of the screen is closer to 16/9, like symbian and not like android (more commonly 480*320).
Just wondering. What do you think ?
No matter how much power, without a qwerty its a non-starter for me. They should be smart enough to know most android users want the qwerty.
read the screen was resistive…why not make it capacitive? anyone know a resistive screen that is actually good?
Tyler Miller shut up, no keyboard no way, both options are needed and i will never by an all touch phone
g1, I hope you realize that a hard keyboard is NOT required for a phone to function well. It’s preference, and a majority of consumers are moving towards all touch screens.
I will buy this if it doesn’t have a keyboard. My G1 keyboard is nice, but my G1 is bulky. I would be fine with the on-screen keyboard.
1 Ghz processor!! Holy crap. Plus, Sony manufacturing is usually pretty solid. So expect no squeaks and rattles.
“You sure it’s Android and not symbian?
When you measure the picture, aspect ratio of the screen is closer to 16/9, like symbian and not like android (more commonly 480*320).”
Google is investigating adding WVGA resolution to android 2.0 release. So there is a slight chance… but i’ve been dissapointed so many times by all these crappy android phones that i’ve given up all hopes.
What I’ve been waiting for is a more powerful Android phone. What makes the IPhone so great isn’t the apps, the fact that Apple made it or the OS itself but the feel of using the OS. Its a powerful device and everything about using the OS feels so smooth and looks great. The G1 just doesn’t have the RAM to keep up with the multi-tasking and make the OS run perfectly smooth. A device like this may very well be what Android needs to prove that its the better OS. Whether the Iphone (the device) keeps getting better or not, it will never have a better OS than this.
I love it! The more decent competition for the iPhone the better. I’ve bought my last iPhone! Apple sucks with their controling ways and the “google Experience is no better… in fact it is worse! I was going to get the Hero, but this gives me another option to check out :) And as for a keyboard, I’ll never buy a phone with a full keyboard unless it is wireless and can be left at home, I need my phone to useable as a phone!
It HAS a keyboard!
Slides out ,just like the other model :)
i dont care if it doesnt have the keyboard, as much as i love a physical keyboard i would happily sacrifice it to own this phone. lets face it, SE know their stuff so it’ll probs have the best soft keyboard (perhaps bar iphone/ perhaps not)on the market.if the specs even come close to this then it’ll blow the iphone, g1, hero and magic all away (in looks, functionality and reliability most likely)
i just hope it wont be as exclusive as the x1… sigh (the only winmo phone i would proudly own)
How much is this phone ? on pay as you go?