Up Close: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 Windows Phone

Sony Ericsson introduced on Wednesday the Xperia X2 touchscreen smartphone. The Xperia X2 will also be one of the first phones to run on the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 mobile operating system, which will appear on phones starting October 6.

The Xperia X2 is the sequel to the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1, which was the company's first Windows Mobile powered device. Sony Ericsson did not announce the price of the Xperia X2, but said it will be available sometime in the fourth quarter.

With the launch of the X1, Sony Ericsson introduced its own set of software add-ons called panels. These panels are actually on-screen widgets, which give you access to various services and apps such as Skype or Facebook. The Xperia X2 retains the panel interface, but it is more refined and has a 3-D-like appearance. You can set up which widgets you prefer to have on your home screen depending on the time of the day or according to your business and free time.

Sony Ericsson joined the homescreen widgets fray along similar offerings from Nokia, which also unveiled on Wednesday the N97 Mini, which has social networking integration via on-screen widgets. HTC will also unleash the Windows Mobile 6.1 Touch Pro 2 model on Sprint next week.

Check out the following slides for a run-down of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2's specifications.