Many X1 owners have been hoping and asking if the updated version of Windows Mobile will be coming to the Xperia X1. It’s now been confirmed that it won’t be. A Sony Ericsson rep has told Crave Asia that Windows Mobile 6.5 will not be coming to the Xperia X1.

Other handsets have already received the update but, if your an Xperia user, you’re out of luck. Unless of course, you upgrade to the Xperia X2, which comes with Windows Mobile 6.5 pre-installed. From a business perspective, it does make sense but, if you’re not ready to upgrade, or have recently got the X1 and aren’t out of contract, then I’m afraid you’re out of luck, officially anyway. The 6.5 ROM has been floating around, which you can grab from XDA-Developers.

via

There’s been some speculation over whether Windows Mobile 6.5 will become available for the Xperia X1 officially. There’s already been news about the updated Windows Mobile on HTC Touch Diamond2, Pro2 and Samsung Omnia but nothing about the X1. Some are sceptical about it, as 6.5 is due for release in October, when the Xperia X2 is to begin shipping. Could Sony Ericsson hold off bringing Windows Mobile 6.5 to the X1 in order to boost sales of the Xperia X2, which will come with 6.5? Well, while we haven’t got a definte answer, itje over at XDA-Developers leads us to believe that the X1 get the 6.5 rom. He’s gotten his hands on the official ROM for the X1 and is testing it out.

I GOT A REAL OFFICIAL 6.5 XPERIA ROM, YES, YOU READ CORRECT…OFFICIAL

The Build in the rom is a older 6.5..but what is important is:
-New XIP (real x1 nk)
-New OEM DRIVERS etc
-Some drivers from x2
-New netcf 3.7 (final)

via

While stumbling through various internet pages, I found one article of interest on IT Pro Portal. They’ve listed the Xperia X1 as being available for free on a 24 month Orange contract. Unlike other vendors however, the handset is free on a sub £40 tariff. The Sony Ericsson X1 is available on a couple Orange 24 month contracts coming in at £35 per month. Previously the lowest I’ve personally seen, is £40 and up tariffs where the handset is free. After researching into the cost it seems that UK consumers who haven’t yet gotten hold of the X1 and want to, may soon be out of luck. While searching through all the major phone stores and websites, including Orange themselves, the handset was only available from BuyMobilePhones.net who are offering the handset for free on £35 tariffs and CarphoneWarehouse. From Carphone Warehouse, the handset isn’t available for free unless taken with a £40 plus tariff, so if you’re looking for the X1, either of these sites are worth checking out.

Many are expecting the Xperia X2 to launch soon and an official announcement to be made next week. However with no official word from Sony Ericsson just yet and the announcement only a rumour, has it been premature for UK phone stores to remove the Xperia X1 from their line up?

SportyPal has been updated to version 1.0.7 for Windows Mobile users. Workout maps have been fixed and it’s recommended upgrading to 1.0.7 as you won’t be able to view you workout maps any more on previous versions. For running workouts, the pace will be displayed instead of your speed, but you can view the speed by selecting My Workouts>My Records.

Other fixes in the app are outlined below:

* Attempted to reduce memory usage. This should help users with high resolution devices like the Touch HD. We never experienced memory issues with our high-res devices, so make sure to let us know whether this works for you.
* Added yet another filter for erroneous coordinates.
* Fixed a bug that would cause user’s workouts to be uploaded to a bugged user.
* Hopefully fixed a bug that would cause the workout time to be displayed incorrectly on the website.
* SportyPal will no longer turn the screen off if the device is charging during a workout.
* Fixed a crash that occurred when new users would attempt to save a workout that doesn’t have enough valid points.
* Included several new user-made translations, including Polish, Dutch, Spanish, Bulgarian and Italian.
* SportyPal will no longer ask you to reenter your info when you reinstall the application.
* Fixed the numbers on the workout graph. The values displayed were incorrect if imperial units were selected.
* Fixed a crash that would occur when a user would attempt to push the left button while viewing a workout map.
* Fixed the profile screen so that not entering a value for inches (if the imperial unit system has been selected) will no longer cause an input error. Not entering a value for inches is now equivalent to entering a zero.
* Sped a few things up.
* Removed the “upload successful” message that appears box when you upload a workout immediately after it is finished and replaced it with a self-removing notification (like the rest of the uploads).
* Added a missing colon after “Units” in “My Profile”.
* SportyPal will now translate the “Register” caption that appears during device registration.

You can download SportyPal 1.0.7 here.

We’ve posted some of the apps which are considered to be the “top 10” apps for the Xperia X1 and now Mixu’s Blog have also posted a list of their favourite apps and tweaks for the X1.

Obviously some of the apps are sure to make everyone’s list. One’s we’ve already told you about, include; Xperia Facebook Panel, Finger Keyboard and Xperia Tweak. But others, such as KeePassSD, we haven’t mentioned before and deserve a mention.

Mixu have organised the list within categories, which you can view after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

A survey has recently been conducted in Korea by Smartphone Now, the only dedicated smartphone news channel in Korea which asked 202 consumers what they thought was the worst smartphone. The Xperia X1 had a bad start in Korea with several complaints, but over all it was a sucessful launch. Based on the survey, 22% of the respondants voted the handset as the worst smartphone available in Korea, where as 18% voted for the HTC touch screen smartphones. While 22% isn’t great, the Xperia X1 from Sony Ericsson fairs much better than the Nokia 6210 smartphone. A resounding 50% of voters chose the 6210 as the worst handset.

via

If you’re on the Three network, the Xperia X1 comes with the “Planet Three” panel which gives users access to common Three links. However not all the links you may need are listed and some customer service reps don’t know the URLs for either. The great news is though, that the actual cab file is made up of HTML making it very editable. Visserlabs have listed the common URLs which you can add into your Panel. The links below are for Three in Australia, but the links can be edited according to region.

• Planet Three – http://three.net.au/go/to/30017
• Internet Packs – http://three.net.au/go/to/30018
• My 3 – http://three.net.au/go/to/30019
• Email & IM – http://three.net.au/go/to/30020
• Entertainment – http://three.net.au/go/to/30021
• Games – http://three.net.au/go/to/30022
• Call Me Tones – http://three.net.au/go/to/30023
• Facebook – http://three.net.au/go/to/30024
• YouTube – http://three.net.au/go/to/30025
• Apps on 3 – http://three.net.au/go/to/30026

Ben of IntoMobile has received an email from Expansys to sell subscribers that the price of the Xperia X1 is now down to £374.99. But that isn’t all. If you purchase the X1 at this great price, which is at least £5 cheaper than other leading retailers, they’ll also give you a £20 voucher.

It’s made up of two £10 vouchers, which unfortunately, you can only use one per order. While it says it can be used to purchase accessories for the handset, if you’re after a memory card to go with it, you’re out of luck. Memory cards and USB thumb drives can’t be used to purchase either product. Either way though, it’s still a great deal if you haven’t got an X1 yet.

From CNN comes a mobile application that allows users to read the top stories from around the world, at any time. For the Xperia X1, it comes in the form of a panel with customizable options. Users can select two categories to receive news from, as well as select their home town, or any town of their choice to get a five day weather forecast. Additionally, the news can be viewed on the handset through email, by emailing and adding ireport@cnn.com.

Currently the app is available for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and the Asia-Pacific, but not Japan. Hopefully the app will become compatible for Japan, US, Australia and other countries soon.

via

The popular Shell panel by SPB has been updated to 3.0.1. However, only the Korean version has been released so far. Fortunately though, Xperiancer have posted a way of making the panel work in English. Once installed on the X1, by going to the install path (my device/program files/spb mobile shell) you’ll find a file named SpbMobileShell.txt, which when deleted makes the panel run in English. Speed is improved in this release, which you can download here.