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Android 2.0 here at last, prompting Sony Ericsson's move

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 20 October, 2009

READ MORE: Sony Ericsson | Google | OS | Handset | Android

At last Android 2.0 is poised to launch commercially, bringing much needed enhancements to the platform and unleashing pent-up product releases for the high end. While Android 1.5, or Donut, was a step upgrade, 2.0, or Eclair, should address some serious issues, notably with multitouch and advanced multimedia processing. Some vendors, notably Sony Ericsson (SEMC), have been vocal that they would not release a handset until 2.0 was available, as 1.5 was too lightweight for a high end user base. Now, with Eclair due in December, that vendor is likely to unleash its first Android phone, the Xperia X3 or Rachael, in time for Christmas. It will tussle for the position of first Android 2.0 handset with Motorola's Droid, due in the same timeframe, and like Motorola, SEMC is expected to announce that it will make Android its primary smartphone OS.

This would involve defocusing on Symbian and Windows Mobile, although SEMC insiders are less definitive about an Android-only strategy than Motorola has been, and the company appears to be keeping its options open, with the possibility of reintroducing Symbian once the first open source platform is fully established (likely for 2011 models), and even using Windows Mobile in future, again, once its next generation, WinMo 7, is with us. SEMC has hardly used WinMo - it has appeared in the Xperia X1 and X2 only - but may want to keep a toe in the water in case release 7.0 makes a big impact on the high end (Motorola is also refusing to dump WinMo entirely for the same reason).

All will become clearer soon, with SEMC about to announce a new smartphone and software strategy, according to new CEO Bert Nordberg, speaking on the firm's Q3 results call last week. This strategy will be outlined "in the next two quarters", he said, presumably once the success of Rachael has been assessed.

Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, told Techworld that SEMC channel partners have been impressed with first sights of the Rachael, which should launch in late November. "What you'll see is Nordberg trying to get some momentum around the Android proposition to get some mindshare back to the Sony Ericsson brand, because that's what it needs," he said.

The Rachael is expected to have a four-inch touchscreen, 16Gb of internal memory, GPS, Wi-Fi and an 8-mp camera, and to be heavily geared to high end audiovisual applications. Leaks also point to the highest screen resolution yet seen on a phone, which would see SEMC challenging LG and Samsung for their heavy duty display and media crowns.

As for Eclair, the new Android version comes with a fast browser, extends Facebook support and supports the Layers feature on Google Maps. It has better text-to-speech facilities, a comprehensive lock function, unified email inbox and native Exchange support to improve its business credentials. Most important, multitouch and better video capabilities will make it look more like iPhone, while support for Flash and other third party add-ons is promised soon.