Sony Ericsson joins the Open Handset Alliance

Advertisement (Why?)

Having just released their very first Windows Mobile based device, the Xperia X1, it seems as though Sony Ericsson is not willing to rest on it's laurels, for too long. The company has just announced it's entry into the Open Handset Alliance. By doing so, Sony Ericsson has confirmed it's intention on developing a handset based on Google's Android mobile operating system.

Rikko Sakaguchi, Chief Vice President and head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson, in speaking of the move said, "We believe Sony Ericsson can bring a wealth of experience in making consumer focused multimedia handsets with new user experience to the Alliance." He continued, "Sony Ericsson is a strong supporter of open operating systems and we believe the Open Handset Alliance offers an exciting opportunity for a new and unique user experience only Sony Ericsson can deliver."

With support for Android picking up quickly, one has to wonder what will be done to make sure Windows Mobile and Symbian, Android's main rivals in the mobile operating system market, continue to hold or grow their market share.

(1 reply) #1 zeke009 on 11 Dec 2008 - 17:44

I wonder if lowering the fee MS charges for their mobile operating system would drive down the overall cost of the handset enough to bring in more buyers. I have no clue what that fee is or if it would even make a big enough dent in the cost of the device.

I can't afford to buy new devices right away with Windows Mobile, I tend to wait a little while until new devices come out and the price drops for the phone I've been watching for a year or two.

#1.1 Vezineth on 11 Dec 2008 - 19:27

WinMob's fee is $5 per set. I think.

#2 bangbang023 on 11 Dec 2008 - 18:59

Unfortunately, without many Android sets to make comparisons to, we don't know if it's just the licensing fees. The G1 may be so inexpensive because it's the first of it's kind and they needed to make an impact.

(1 reply) #3 roadwarrior on 11 Dec 2008 - 20:30

The X1 and the G1 are both built by HTC, so it's not that surprising that Sony would be looking at both options (since they will likely only be rebadging a phone built by HTC anyway). Their involvement in the actual development of the phone will probably end with changing the theme of Android to look more Sony-ish.

#3.1 morphen on 12 Dec 2008 - 06:09

roadwarrior said,

...will probably end with changing the theme of Android to look more Sony-ish.

yuck! hopefully that will not happen. Android has a really nice GUI, and Sony Ericsson's....just isn't :p

#4 njlouch on 12 Dec 2008 - 10:04

I disagree - the "Panels" on the X1 look very nice indeed.

Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!

Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.

Neowin.net