@RobotVampire: What if they added basically the PSPs interface with an added "Phone" function...

but at the same time i dont think that may work too well either...

hmmmmmm *goes off and ponders for a bit*

ill get back at you.

MadColombian

Google Android.

ezman

Hmm, Sony really has a knack for boning themselves lately. What other options are there? iPhone OS? Not gonna happen. Android? Possible, but an unproven OS. Simbian? Would Nokia even entertain the idea? Possibly some form of Sony developed linux, but Sony is very hit and miss with software (mostly miss).

Yeah, sound like a great idea, by all means, full steam ahead!

RobotVampire

Sounds like that thing is going to get a ton of support in the future btw. Remind me why anyone would now buy a new X1 in light of this news again?... When does it drop here in the states, and which carrier is carrying it again?

Ambiguous Blob 2.0

i like windows mobile... this means im getting the touch pro now

ZetaCrossfire

@ezman: One can only hope!

SgtToastie

@Skitchin: Old news buddy...

Ambiguous Blob 2.0

You can't be serious, SE X(peria)...

Skitchin

I liked windows mobile when I first got it, but the more I use it, the more it locks up (usually when receiving calls or idling too long)...the more I realize all those programs people have made for it, are really, really crappy and under developed.

Unfortunately, there's no other option that I'd prefer. Here's hoping Android can get it right.

Darkest Daze

@tangledweb16:

Windows Mobile *7*

Sorry about that.

tangledweb16

Windows Mobile better get here soon... for Microsoft's sake.

It seems that it's getting a continually worse reputation and fewer companies want to use it with every day.

tangledweb16

WM drunk dialing, 3 am:

C'mon baby, don't be that way. You know that other OS meant nothing to me. Your the only one for me. Take me back and I promise it will work out this time...

klaybc

@Elaine:

If I were SE, I would be playing the field with your hotness at home........wait, what am I talking about?

know1

@RobotVampire:
Oh boy, where to begin?

First, it's Sony-Ericsson and not Sony. The two are not the same company. Sony-Ericsson is a joint-venture company that is based in UK and owned by the Japanese Sony and the Swedish Ericsson. Calling S-E just "Sony" is like calling Chevrolet's "GM".

Second, it's Symbian - not Simbian - and Symbian was until very very recently a joint venture between a ton of companies including Nokia and Sony-Ericsson. It is true that Nokia owned the largest share of Symbian but many other manufacturers (including Sony-Ericsson) have released devices based on the OS. Recently Nokia bought all the shares in Symbian and announced it would be open sourced. So from on not only will other companies be able to use it (just like before) but now they don't even have to pay anything!

Third, there are many other OS's than the ones you mentioned. Linux for example, is used quite widely in Asia as the basis for devices and it is starting to arrive in the west too. E.g. Motorola has some Linux based devices and Nokia has some too. And what about the real time OS's that are used in the vast majority of devices in the world? E.g. REX, which powers devices with Qualcomm's BREW environment. Nucleus is another. Sony-Ericsson has their own, as does Nokia (called NokiaOS, powering the S40 devices).

People always confuse OS and UI. The two are not the same. E.g. you can have Linux with whatever UI you build on top. That's why the iPhone can have OS X as the OS yet it looks nothing like OS X looks on a Mac. In this case Sony-Ericsson might easily choose to go with a Linux-based OS but port the same UI that they have been using (or license the one from HTC touch devices) to it.

Kim98

Man that's an ugly whatever-the-hell-it-is.

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

@Kim98: Chevy is a wholly-owned brand under GM. Bad comparison.

philibuster

@ZetaCrossfire:Anyone read the actual article the Xperia will run Win Mobile, Xperia phones after this one may not. You read think they will piss all that development and budget to change operating system. Hell they have even released a SDK

@Elaine Chow They are bastards!!

ichi1

Didn't they release an SDK for the Xperia? This is a nice way to draw support from developers...

That being said, WinMo really sucks. It requires way too much work and effort to get it working the way you want it to. Then, when you finally think you've tweaked it to a satisfactory level, it keeps crashing. They should never have used WinMo to start with. Their refusal to commit to WinMo is probably an indication of how highly they think of it themselves.

pastrychef

now i will rethink about getting one :), i rejected the idea totally when i knew its WM.

who wants a WM on such a smooth sleek interface.

who wants to see Windows Error on his precious Xperia!

medopal

BTW

[www.sonyericsson.com]

has it listed as WinMo

Fused7

But they will go with WinMo. Just at a better price.

Drummer_Boy

SE are part of the Symbian Foundation are they not? So they already have a back-up OS they can use.
(and IMO, a much, much better OS)

Nickbee

@Kim98: huh? last I remember Chevrolet is just a brand now. they are not separated from GM in any form...

I think They are doing a mistake with this, if they just wanna get people to pay them to include their OS, they must be joking, which is why they are "open" which in business translates to "money for exclusive deal".

And the other case abou the making a Linux OS, you can't be serious, SE even adds the crapware to their smartphones, so a new iphone's mini-OSX is not their plan.

They want MS and Google to pony up the money to get into the hardware.

VakeroRokero

To those asking whether there is an SDK for this: yes there is since it's Windows Mobile. The SDK is the Visual Studio IDE + SDK and has been available for years for Windows Mobile development (used to be called Embedded Visual C++ for a while).

As far as the GM-Chevy comparison is concerned, yeah, ok, that was a bit of a bad comparison but the point is that Sony Ericsson isn't the same company as Sony. They are not based in the same country, they don't have the same employees, they don't have the same acocunting, they don't have the same buildings, etc. etc. It's completely separate other than the fact that 50% of the shares are owned by Sony (and the other 50% by Ericsson).

And finally, S-E most definitely has Linux plans. I can guarantee to you that every self respecting mobile device manufacturer has Linux activities. The releases are 6 months to 3 years down the line but everyone is working on it.

Kim98

What's the deal with you women and your 3 am phone calls. Nearly knocked Obama out of the race. I mean seriously, that's a really irrational expectation.

uhm...Bob

@okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under):
Sony to okenny :) ...building... :

"Your mother!"

...oooooooooohhhh, you gonna take that?

uhm...Bob

@Kim98: Wah, sorry I mispelled Symbian, your so cool. Oh and if you re-read my post I did mention linux as a possible OS choice.

RobotVampire

@Kim98:

They also released thier own SDK for the modded WinMo that the Xperia runs on.

I doubt Apple has any Linux activities.

pastrychef

hmmm.. the couple pre production handsets ive worked with are both running windows mobile. they might have slightly out of date hardware and firmware, but win mobile seemed to run quite laggy on it. the panel thing seemed kind of gimmiky but i didnt play with it that much. its kinda of like the touch flo just an app that runs on top of windows. maybe sony is totally revamping the handset.. idk.. but im not impressed

roobsesh

I would surmise they mean the Xperia line, post-X1, will not necessarily use Windows Mobile. It would seem grossly counterproductive to scrap the panel system that they've been lauding and raving about since day one, especially this close to release. That would require them to virtually rework the UI from the ground up, within a two month timespan (in the event that they actually intend to meet the discussed release date).

Of course, they could be doing just that, which would delay the phone's release, and would also leave those who are/were actually interested in buying the phone in complete limbo as far as what the software implementation will be. Let's hope this isn't the case.

sridhar3

@tangledweb16:

And what you base your assessment with?

"worse reputation" when? where?...

My WiMO 6.0 MOTO Q9h, now updated to 6.1, it's a blast to use! Syncs perfect, has tons of free apps on the web and refurbished (new), cost me under $99.

Companies might not want to pay MS for the license, that's all, but functinality is 1000% better that any standard phone running symbian or linux. There are millions more WiMO phones in use than iPhones.

Where are you getting this "worse reputation" ?

WinMO 7 will further benefit the platform and might also be compatible with current phones allowing existing users to upgrade.
When was the last time you saw any current phone (2 years old) get a complete OS redo for free?

aec007

Well, dunno what to say.
On one hand, I'm not too fond of Windows Mobile anyways, so it's not bad news to me.

On the other hand, it all depends on what they'll use as replacemente...
There are not many, unfortunately.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi