It is not every day that a cellphone manufacturer sets out its stall to defend an older operating system. Well, that is exactly what Sony Ericsson did at a press briefing (or discussion, as they preferred to call it) in Delhi yesterday as it tried to explain to selected members of the press why Android 1.6 was not too far behind Android 2.1 and even 2.2. The reason for this faith in the older version of Android is simple – Sony Ericsson has no fewer than three devices (the Xperia X10, the X10 mini and the X10 mini pro) running on the platform.
Sony Ericsson’s argument was that while there was no doubting that the devices ran on an older version of Android, the company had company had done more than enough to include features in its UI (called UIX) to make it comparable with newer versions of the OS. Features like better camera controls, Timescape, Mediascape and improved media players, claimed the company brought the X10 range of devices very close to anything that Android 2.1 devices could deliver. With the exception of multi-touch, as one gentleman from the company added. What’s more, while a major update to the X10 would take it up to Android 2.1 later this year, there would also be a number of smaller tweaks that would continue improving the user experience (such as allowing them to use Timescape without going to the device’s browser, and improvements to the browser itself) on the device, beginning with an update coming in a couple of weeks.
For all the company’s claims, however, it was difficult not to feel a tinge of regret that all the hard work put into the interface layer had not gone into Android 2.1, which all said and done, is a few streets ahead of 1.6 in terms of appearance and performance. Especially when one considers the fact that the X10 was rolled out well after (almost four months after) the Motorola Droid/Milestone which was already running Android 2.0 (later updated to 2.1). Yes, there is no doubting that Sony Ericsson has done a lot with Android 1.6, more perhaps than any cellphone manufacturer, but there is also no doubting the fact that its decision to choose 1.6 rather than a newer version of Android on one of the most powerful configurations seen on a smartphone was more than a little befuddling. The company executives can rail on about the fact that “user experience is more valuable than the version of the OS” (yes, one of them actually said that) and the fact that the “X10 performs as well if not better than any device running Android 2.1, with the exception of multi-touch” (yes, that was said too), but these claims are undermined by the fact that a person who pays a premium price for a handset expects it to be running the latest software in town. And heck, if 1.6 was SO hot, why on earth is Sony Ericsson itself working on an update to 2.1?
It was a brave innings by Sony Ericsson for Android 1.6, but alas, it was in a losing cause. There is no doubt that the X10 is one of the best Android 1.6 devices in town, but it would have perhaps been the best smartphone in the world had it run 2.1. And by the time it does get down to running 2.1, the Android world would have perhaps moved on to 2.2 and beyond. Time and updates wait for no one in the tech world, not even Sony Ericsson.
But, other than the few thousand geeks who question these things, out of the hundreds of thoussands of X10 series owners, no one will question what the OS is. The guy from SE is right, user experience is a more important factor than what the OS version is. What SE have done to 1.6 does make it a compelling device, and the majority won’t care about the OS version, all they will see is an Android device, doing what an Android device should.
If that is so, then why is Sony Ericsson so concerned about updating the software to 2.1? Even they realise that they messed up. Big time. They can parrot about user experience till kingdom come. The stark fact is that they stood still while the likes of HTC and Moto moved.