Comments on: Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1a hitting Best Buy next month

By: Pepe

Pepe — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:12:08 +0000

Not quite. You’ve confused a few things above. With all things being equal, thanks to the physics involved a 850MHz build out generally requires *less* cell sites since it covers a *greater* area and provides better building penetration. That’s mainly why it is used in rural areas that are more spread out, and conversely, why 1900MHz can work in metro areas as they for the most part aren’t as far apart. However due to capacity issues, it’s possible an 850 and 1900 build out in a dense urban area could each require similar numbers of cell sites for coverage. Here’s an interesting thread on the topic-

http://www.howardforums.com/archive/topic/964804-1.html

Regarding the 3G iPhone sold in the U.S., your wording/thinking above is incorrect. It works very well on 850 or 1900 WCDMA in North America, or 2100 abroad. ATT is turning on 850 in more areas so that will help at many iPhone users with some of their network capacity/coverage issues.

By: tom

tom — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:57:25 +0000

I understand that most of At&t’s original “3g” network is 1900mhz, this however doesn’t mean much to most people and if you are expecting speeds to be faster using 1900mhz over 850mhz EDGE/2G you are mistaken. In many cases they are very similar..

1900mhz provides a larger coverage area with fewer towers, this results in slower speeds and weak penetration. Meaning you will have more trouble getting signal indoors and if you have good signal don’t expect much speed increase over Edge.

850mhz is shorter range and higher penetration, this offers the 3G speeds most people would expect and good reception indoors. The problem is coverage area is smaller so if you need to be closer to towers for good service. Metro areas have large clusters of towers so signal is usually better, but if its only 1900mhz its still going to be slower. This is the main issue with iphone 3G in the USA and reportedly bad speeds. It runs specifically on 1900mhz frequency for 3G. The reason 850 coverage is less is because their Edge/2G is specifically 850mhz so replacing towers with 3G specific ones kills phones with out 3G radios equipped for the band.

The reason I am saying it “doesn’t work” is because for true 3G signal/speed etc you want a combination of 850mhz and 1900mhz…or solid 850 coverage..most areas don’t have this yet. In my case I live in a City with solid 850mhz and 1900mhz coverage. So 3G on 1900mhz isn’t horrible, its no where near as good as 850MHZ 3G in the same building.

By: Daria Williams

Daria Williams — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:07:03 +0000

exactly Jelster, when you consider having to be locked into a 2 yr contract and termination fees etc. or using a carrier you really do not like on top of the fact that you do not have a cell carrier partner kicking in $200-$400 of the cost of each phone (which they do because they know they will make it up by locking you into a contract), this is why this phone is more expensive

By: Daria Williams

Daria Williams — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:03:16 +0000

One thing people seem to forget in pricing comparisons is that this phone is not locked to one carrier. Those carriers pay to subsidize the cost of the phone as part of the deal so what you are actually paying as a consumer is a subsidized cost…not the full price…as you are seeing here with this Xperia. There was just a news article about AT&T earnings taking a hit due to extraordinary iPhone sales and the expense to their bottom line for the part of the phones that they are subsidizing

By: keland44

keland44 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:57:22 +0000

your right i have to agree the phone specs compared to a laptop come no were near close very sad phones are so expensive

By: Ray Beheshti

Ray Beheshti — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:15:41 +0000

I called Sony Ericsson’s on their 800 number that they have on their website for X1, and i talked to one of their representative and he came out to be a very nice guy and he said “You know what, between me and you, although I’m not suppose to say this, but this is all rumors and away to try get people’s interested in buying the phone” he added that Sony would never sell such a hot item through a 3rd party or any other retailer in the U.S since they can easily sell it on their own website and not having to pay any sort of commission or discounted price to other retailers. I mean think about it, if they’re gonna sell it on sonystyle.com for $799.00 and best buy sell it for the same price, then what’s the difference? they have to sell it to best buy for much cheaper price in order for them to make money out of it. So i think we just have to wait see what happens.
Also the UK version and this supposedely X1a version are exactly the same, not a single difference, and remember it all comes down to the frequency that the phone supports. so the UK version and the X1a are the same and fully compatible with the ATT 3G. (Sucks for T-Mobile users).
Anyhow as most people saying, DO NOT waist your money on the “a” version of this phone and buy it from the UK retail stores for around $650 or less, and remember from the Sony’s web site or even Best buy (if the rumors are true) you have to pay TAX too which makes it little over $866, and probably with screen protectors and case and car charger it will be well over $900. so be wise and save money people.
with this economy you have to save every penny you can, and some items are just not worth it.
PLEASE REPLY IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER COMMENTS.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:46:12 +0000

Hey did anyone notice that the box dimensions and the item dimensions are the EXACT same!!!

By: mu$h da great

mu$h da great — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:22:56 +0000

I’ve seen some video on a xperia with intergrated touch flo apps. on it, my question to anybody who knows is is there a way to intergrate or somewhere to dowload the fish tank app. to say a touch pro or a touch diamond?

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:03:59 +0000

XPERIA X1
(Unlocked)

Colors: Solid Black

$1,499.00

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:59:07 +0000

iPhone 3G 16GB – Black – Factory Unlocked $969.
Bold 9000
(Unlocked) $624.00

By: jelster

jelster — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:30:34 +0000

The phone is unlocked, I’m not sure I understand why everyone is so “WTF!!! $800!!!”. Even most cell phones are happily in the $200-400 bracket unlocked. How much is an iphone 3G unlocked?

Seems the only time people acknowledge the 2 year contract is when a story breaks on how they can get out of it without paying the $300 penalty.

Anyway, given the current exchange rates you can get the Xperia X1i for a little under $650 so I think BB is planning on milking the American version for a little while.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:44:48 +0000

NO, only Blackberry is worth these numbers!!!

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:35:04 +0000

o sony o sony

what is the value of such a highly anticipated phone who has already showed itself under the guise of other phones?. It is sony’s 1st winmobile phone,1st to integrate gps and wifi in the same package (aside from the c905 which is now available woot?) .But honestly what this all may boil down to for some of us is having a phone that satisfies your needs and wants given your budget. Having said that a large portion of us who commented or have read this post smiled upside down at potential 800 price tag(though im sure it will be less from other online retailers) as we do for the n96 and other upper hefty phones.

And
so If you were to buy this phone
what is your ideal price range?

also i ask in general why has having gps and having wifi in a phone now been an essential criteria for a well rounded solution? I’m not saying its bad nor good but who defines its usefulness?

By: andrew

andrew — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:05:31 +0000

Half of the price is to cover the cost of “SONY” label, they’ve been doing it and will always do in any aspect of their business.

By: SteveGlansburg

SteveGlansburg — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:40:04 +0000

If I magically deficate 800 I would consider buying it as a backup to my iphone… I miss MMS

By: Scoopster

Scoopster — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:12:18 +0000

Cushcalc —

First, sorry to ignore our friends across the borders who like AT&T, use 850/1900 for 3G. Thanks for the reminder!

Although I’m a Tmob user who is increasingly frustrated by the lack of a WinMo phone that works on Tmo-3G, I will say that the real “too bad” is that ~20 years ago the US didn’t decide to modify it’s spectrum allocation to match the 900/1800 that Europe (and subsequently much of the rest of the world) decided to use. If the folks at FCC had any idea what a mess they would create for consumers, I optimistically think they might have done differently back then. Ah…sigh…the beauty of hindsight!

By: cushcalc

cushcalc — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:39:11 +0000

@Scoopster:

Hardly any phones that purport to be USA 3G have 1700 UMTS band yet – HTC Kaiser will supposedly have one out soon, per pdadb.net. But there are other carriers in North America that support 850 and/or 1900 (Rogers, Fido), so it’s not just “AT&T version”.

Too bad for T-Mobile users that T-Mobile is going with 1700.

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:28:03 +0000

I see Samsung overseas model i850 Innov8 16GB unlocked going for $779.00(US) on USA websites. So which phone is better? You have to pay to be top dog. Best Buy price is probably normal.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:10:10 +0000

It will not work on TMobile 3G since it doesn’t support 1700. I have confirmed this with 3 different Sony Ericsson reps, as the X1 site used to list 1700 as supported in the X1a, and then removed it. I have been waiting for the X1a for months, and finally bought the G1 since I knew the X1 would be 800 bucks and not support TMobile 3G. If i was willing to switch providers and get on 3G with this phone, it is well worth the 800 bucks IMO.

By: Pythagoras

Pythagoras — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:10:09 +0000

$800 for a phone? Ha ha ha ha…

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:51:58 +0000

The iPhone/every other phone is 200≤ dollars W/ —”"”CONTRACT”"”—.

Please realize like the Touch Pro it’s gonna sell at the same price bracket as demonstrated by European prices.

Furthermore, the white papers have not included the recent revisions and isn’t as accurate (May).

Oh, btw, this the box dimension.

By: likeabite

likeabite — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:31:42 +0000

^^^You make perfect sense…phones really should not be that much no matter the specs…just ridiculous…laptop specs are way higher and a lot cheaper.

By: CDMAUser

CDMAUser — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:20:26 +0000

Ok, maybe I’m just cheap (althought bought my 8330 Curve at full price to avoid extending my contract) but why is it that cell phones now cost more than laptops? Sure smaller circuitry, actual connection without wires, but let’s be honest, with as many phones that are sold, there is no reason for the devices to cost this much. I’m sure R&D, network maintenance, associate salaries, and CEOs that have pockets need to be lined comes at a cost but the greed needs to stop. The phones are bought in bulk so they’re already discounted, R&D costs should mostly be covered from previous phone sales and monthly charges. It needs to be one or the other, cheaper phones or cheaper service. I feel like a chinese finger cuff with the provider on one side and the phone maker on the other and they won’t stop pulling!

By: matt

matt — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:12:33 +0000

Guys – sign up with ATT – 2 year contract – get a touch pro – unlock it – sell it on ebay for a touch below the going price – throw the cash into the Experia (may cost a bit extra) but certainly not $800

By: john

john — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:08:57 +0000

thats actually cheap for a phone wid this specs

By: hamstar

hamstar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:58:44 +0000

Tri-band HSPA X1a:(850/1900/2100 MHz)
Quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

the white paper at https://developer.sonyericsson.com/getDocument.do?docId=100340 gives you all the info.

By: Scoopster

Scoopster — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:53:34 +0000

The $800 question (surprised no one has mentioned it yet, actually) is: Does “North American version” mean it will include 1700/2100 bands to support Tmobile 3G? or should it more correctly be called the “AT&T version?”

If anyone truly knows…please share!

By: seboy

seboy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:37:41 +0000

Wait, this phone weighs 1.7lbs?

By: cwcanty

cwcanty — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:38:48 +0000

@pinguino

Yeah “hundreds” maybe even thousands….but this phone should be sellings millions! If it was priced below $500 it would prolly fly off the shelves.

And I do agree that this phone is a little outdated now that its taken so long to get released

By: netboy

netboy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:37:24 +0000

i want SILVER!!
i currently have X1i in black, black is so boring! i only buying if it’ in SILVER!