PlanetLOWYAT: Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 To Ship With Windows Mobile 6.1

The Xperia X1 smartphone is a slider phone with a full Qwerty keyboard and 3-inch wide touch-screen display to ship with Windows Mobile 6.1.

Sony Ericsson’s upcoming smartphone, the Xperia X1, is scheduled to ship later in the year with the latest version of Internet Explorer Mobile, which Microsoft promises will bring desktop-like Web browsing to handsets.

The X1, a slider phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and 3-inch wide touch-screen display, will ship in the second half of the year with Windows Mobile 6.1, which includes the new version of IE. Microsoft launched the operating system this week at the CTIA Wireless conference in Las Vega, Nev.

Sony Ericsson showcased the X1 at CTIA, the first time the company has had the device on display in the United States, a company spokesman said Wednesday. The company unveiled the smartphone in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

The updated version of IE lets users view full-screen Web pages and multimedia on a smartphone just as they would on a PC, according the Microsoft. Enhancements in Windows Mobile 6.1 lets users view messages and appointments and play music from the home screen. There are also zoom features for better viewing of Web pages and documents.

The X1 is also equipped with a four-way key and optical joystick for navigation. The phone includes a 3.2 megapixel camera, A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, and Wi-Fi. A2DP Bluetooth is for wireless streaming of high quality audio to a headset, and aGPS is an enhanced version of GPS, a satellite-based positioning system.

The X1 has only 400 MB of memory onboard. The phone, however, supports MicroSD, a removable flash memory card that’s available in capacities up to 16 GB. The X1’s dimensions are 4.3 x 0.7 x 2.1 inches

Online retailers are taking preorders for the phone. Pricing ranges from $900 to $1,000.