Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone will be a high-end touchscreen device that will take on the iPhone, according to a Danish scoop. Codenamed “Rachel,” the phone would fit into the XPERIA line occupied only by the X1 but would emphasize speed. Like the Windows Mobile-based Toshiba TG01, it would have a high-end 1GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It may also compete against the iPhone 3GS with “great” 3D graphics capabilities.
The device will also feature an 8-megapixel autofocusing camera, 3G up to 7.2Mbps and a large display. The company has previously gone on record saying that its first Android phone will use Android 2.0 and so have at least the device-wide search and other features being added to the release.
No release date, but it will be late 2009 at the earliest.
[Electronista]
TAGS:
Android, leaked, phone, Sony Ericsson
Unfortunately Sony doesn’t have the reputation to support the sort of thing that gets iphone users excited - the Apps Store.
Sony does have the tendency to brick up and shut up shop when the next model comes along. So when this comes out, it may only last about 9 months before it abandons its users when the next model (with most of the bugs taken out of this one) comes along.
I can only hope it’s priced cheap.
Sony is notorious for abandoning devices, but the great thing about Android is that google handles the apps from the software side, independent from the handset manufacturer.