Sony Ericsson: We learned a lot from the X10

The X10 was seen as a breath of fresh air from Sony Ericsson when it launched last year but as Android advanced, problems and delays in updating the Android software caused all kinds of strife for X10 users.

The problem stemmed from the fact that Sony Ericsson's proprietary Timescape and Mediascape services were tied into the OS software, which meant a lot of work had to go in before the update could happen.

"We learned a lot from the X10," Sony Ericsson's UK MD Nathan Vautier told us. "It was a real learning curve."

Changing landscape

"2010 was really a 'back to black' year for us – we had to find our way and become more profitable, and we did that, but of course there were hurdles along the way.

"This year is all about growing; we've decoupled our UI from the Android software in all the new Xperia handsets, which will make it easier and quicker to update the Arc, Play, Neo and Pro to new versions of Android as they come out.

"Keeping our handsets up to date is obviously very important to our customers, given the reactions of many X10 owners; that's why we're launching with the latest version of Android and we'll continue to update the handsets as and when."

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 owners aren't being completely forgotten, however. Although there'll be no further Android updates on the handsets, Sony Ericsson is continuing to tweak the UI, which means incremental updates like multitouch will make their ways to the handset.