Sony Ericsson Xperia X2

The web might be buzzing with rumours of Rachael, but it's easy to forget that the Android-powered superphone's predecessor, the Xperia X2, hasn't yet been released. We got hands-on with the device and grabbed a few pictures of the Windows Mobile-powered handset.

The big feature is "panels", as with the original Xperia, which are a bit like full-screen widgets that sit on top of the default Windows Mobile 6.5 interface. There's plenty provided and available, including some from companies like Skype, eBay, Qype and Amazon, and there's also an SDK available so that developers can code their own, too.

Sony's brand manager for the device, Aaron Duke, told us that the company was working with both Last.fm and Spotify to develop panels for the device that'll add more music functionality. The company sees the market for this handset as business users that also want some multimedia functionality.

The handset will be available exclusively from Vodafone in the UK and will be arriving in November. We don't have any tariff details yet, but as soon as we hear about any, we'll be sure to let you know. We have been told, however, that it'll be cheaper than the rather pricey X1.

As for the future, Duke shared little, except to say that he was looking forward to getting capacitive touchscreen technology on the handset. That could be through the next version of Windows Mobile, or it could be through shifting to another operating system entirely.

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