CTIA Fall: Sony Ericsson Xperia "Panels" May Come To More Devices

Wednesday September 10, 2008

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I heard an interesting hint of the future at the CTIA Wireless trade show today. During a presentation on the new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 smart phone, Sony Ericsson senior manager for application and product planning Ramanath Bhat didn't rule out opening up Sony Ericsson's new "panel" user interface to other Windows Mobile gadgets, which would be a big step forward for Windows Mobile.

The Xperia X1 runs an unusual overlay on top of Windows Mobile with nine home screen "panels" that combine XML-based Internet information and native Windows Mobile code, to let users highly customize their desktops with live, active information. Panels will be sold through stores including Handango.com much like other software; Sony Ericsson will also make some panels available for free.

Sony Ericsson isn't the only company re-skinning Windows Mobile; HTC also has an overlay that they call TouchFlo 3D. But HTC hasn't shown any signs of opening up TouchFLO 3D to other developers or manufacturers. Sony Ericsson is inviting developers to generate new panels for their Xperia UI, and they might even make the whole UI available to other Windows Mobile phones, Bhat hinted.

"The first baby step we're taking is we're going to make this available for all Xperia phones. As other opportunities come, we will be sure to look into that," he said.

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Posted By: Sascha Segan

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