14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Ericsson unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress new panels for its Xperia X1, meant to offer consumers new ways to personalize the content of their devices. Last week, the mobile phone maker announced other panels as well, and the new additions should enhance even more the user experience on the Xperia X1 through new ways of customizing the device.
The new panels will become available for download starting mid March 2009. Among the new additions we can count the CNN panel, meant to keep users constantly updated with the latest news, sport, or weather, along with the Skype panel, which enables quick access to Skype from the handset. In addition, a new Mytopia panel allows X1 users to play bingo and poker games with other people all around the world, while the specially developed ‘On the Road’ panel delivers large touch icons and a simplified layout.
“We are very pleased with the success of the Xperia X1 and will continue to evolve the device to meet the consumer demand for a rich, individualised multimedia experience on their phones. By partnering with some of the world’s most popular content providers and applications we are giving consumers the opportunity to customise the device bringing the applications that they use most directly onto the desktop. Users can personalise the device to suite their mood and lifestyle making the mobile experience even more enjoyable and entertaining,” stated Catherine Cherry, global marketing business manager, Sony Ericsson.
“We are delighted to partner with Sony Ericsson and develop a panel that provides users with an easy way to access and experience the rich Skype internet communications experience on the XPERIA™ X1,” said Scott Durchslag, Skype’s chief operating officer. “This is a further example of how we are implementing our ‘Skype everywhere’ strategy and enabling mobile phone users to access Skype wherever and whenever they want. As the world’s fastest-growing internet communications company, the valuable strategic partnerships we develop with companies like Sony Ericsson will further fuel our rapid growth and improve our 400 million users’ Skype experience on the go.”
“This type of media rich, hand held experience is where the future lies in news consumption. CNN leads the way in innovative delivery of news and partnering with brands like Sony Ericsson only helps to improve the experience for our audience.” comments Mark Haviland, Marketing Director, CNN International.
Guy Ben-Artzi, CEO, Mytopia added, “The Xperia™ X1 enables us to create connected gaming experiences that aren’t possible to deliver on other phones. The Mytopia panel allows users to play live games against their friends from popular social networks like Facebook and MySpace directly from the device. With its large screen and advanced data capabilities, the X1 is a superior mobile platform for developing games and multimedia applications.”
The Xperia X1 has been announced at the Mobile World Congress last year, and is able to deliver a new experience to any phone user through nine easy-to-use, interactive panels that can be placed on the touch screen interface of the phone. The user interface is meant to deliver an “always live” experience, providing consumers with the possibility to customize their handset's desktop the way it would suit them best.
Other panels for the Xperia X1, like the Google search panel, Facebook and Windows Live panels, are already available on the company's site for download.