Can you say sticker shock? A report out of the Wall Street Journal is reporting the highly anticipated Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will cost around 6,000 Swedish kronor (or $879) in stores. I’m aware the United States Dollar is sinking like a rock and we could face hyperinflation next year, but $879 is a little surprising even to me. I guess this explains why we haven’t seen more Snapdragon phones in the market yet.
The most expensive Android phone to hit retail floors has been the Motorola Droid, which goes for $599 $559 off contract.
We were hoping T-Mobile would pick up the Xperia X10, but that is one hefty subsidy they would need to offer in order to make this phone competitive. If the phone actually goes around $879, that would be about $43.95 each month on T-Mobile’s new 20-month equipment installment plan.
What do you guys think? Is anyone willing to throw down nine bills in exchange for the Xperia X10?
In its 3rd quarter earnings, Sony Ericsson reported a loss of $245 million. It was also reported that Sony Ericsson is closing four facilities and laying off 2,000 employees in a measure to cust costs.
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Taylor Wimberly
Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He loves playing with all kinds of gadgets, but most importantly cell phones. His other hobbies include cooking (BBQ hero!), politics, football, and watching every MMA event possible.
70 Comments
I don’t know about 900 for that. It better tell me how awesome I am every day and cuddle me at night for that kind of money
I took a iPhone 32GB 3GS with At&t and sold it on ebay for $700. I figure these funds will make the “plunge” easier. I GOTTA have this phone! It looks sic.
Oh, btw, I hate iTunes. That blew it for me on the iPhone. Plus the lack of customization bothered me too.
ANDROID IS THE FUTURE!!!
(that or window’s mobile, if they ever really get in the game). Windows 7 mobile sounds far off, but wonder what it will be like?
So true
And it should get you some toasts anytime you want it to!
I was really considering buying this phone, I’ve been waiting for a 1GHz Android phoen, but for that price on US, it’s seems like it’s gonna be around $1350 here in Portugal, so as much as I’d love to buy one, I’m NOT gonna pay over $700 for ANY kind of PDA/Smarthphone.
Too bad for them, but looks like I’ll stick with HTC Hero (which is sold here for around $680).
Man i dont know, you could get that just by going to jail…probably costs more in the long run though 8/
I think I would be willing to fork over my hard-earned cash for this device. I’ve never been disappointed in SE hardware. I guess it’s time to start saving for the future, for once!
Depends if it will be rootable, and come with a Swedish blond model.
in that case even i might think about it
blonde* typo for the win
In swedish, its “blond” so you can get away with that excuse.
I was really looking forward to this phone
but $879, are you kidding me? i don’t think i would pay that much for ANY phone. i am truly disappointed. i did not go for droid because i wanted to wait for this phone to come out, now i am better of with my cute mytouch 3G
Is SE going to be having any developer events or anything here in the States? I’d go to that (if it was nearby) and try to win one… No chance would I drop $900 on a phone though.
Yes, I agree…the price is a bit steep but it’s the norm for SE phones. Most of all, SE high-end phones are always build with highest quality/standard. And their camera takes stunning photos. I guess if T-mobile can bring it to US w/ a reasonable price, I will get that for sure!
Man im not paying that for this phone, there are better high-ended handsets out there with better prices, and better MATERIAL, this phone maybe was made of PLASTIC, typical from SE, SE must be going nuts
No android 2.0, no multitouch, not 16M colors.
Id better get the Sholes Tablet, same 8mpx camera, android 2.0, its multitouch too. The material is Metal, Moto has the best material in the market.
Will have to see more of it in action and if the camera is REALLY GOOD (megapixel is very good), it would be worth thinking about…but that is a little STEEP. Just have to see some more hands-on once software is finalized.
Megapixels are the least important thing when it comes to pictures.
Gheee…I wonder why they are planning on laying off 2,000 some employees…hello…SE…do we don’t know there is a recession out there…who in their right mind is going to drop $879? Their phones like all the last series will just stay in the stock room unsold.
Hyperinflation by next year? More like hyperbole… Stick to Android please!
So I live in Sweden and just had to comment on this. Basically what you have to do is to take the price of any device sold in Sweden and convert the euro directly to the dollar. So in this case with the X10 being ~600 euro that would make it cost ~$600 for you guys.
Yeah I’m not understanding this. European prices and American prices never line up like this. The dollar is treated much more favorably by tech companies.
Yeah, that had better get me laid every night for that price.
This phone to me is worth $900 and I would deff pay that much for it since I have been waiting for a phone like this w/ the snapdragon I was disapointed when the Acer A1 was not going to be 1GHz, so when Sony X10 was announced I was hoping it would not exceed 1k I mean have you read what it does wow “iphone sucks android rules”
Man, the HTC Passion is coming out before this phone, sporting a snapdragon. You’re better off sticking with that phone.
Total, complete failure. Again, Sony shows up late to the party with a ridiculously overpriced offering.
It’s no wonder these guys are hemorrhaging cash.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Sony-Ericsson-closes-NC-other-apf-1742543237.html?x=0&.v=9
No friggin way!
They must be out of their Swedish/Japanese collective minds.
First of all, yes its a snap dragon…. but thats not much faster than the TI OMAP processor. Lets not forget, OMAP is dual core.
Also, why would anyone buy a skinned Android?
Let me enlighten some of you on “skinned” phones.
Skinned for those not in the know are phones that the hardware manufacturer has modified the GUI (graphical user interface-buttons, screens et al) to make it more of their own proprietary system.
This defeats the point of Android, since Android is open source and the vendor is now locking certain things up.
Now… you may sit there and say… well Im a gadget fiend… not a techie… “I dont care about mods, roms, rims and rams… its a cool phone and by golly I like it!”…. well then I tell you this.
Do you realize that by them skinning the phone, they are basically either making you wait or screwing you out of important updates? For example, lets say Google releases a new NICE update for Android OS that fixes a number of annoying bugs; things that are just minor things but have REALLY bothered you. Well while everyone else gets the update… you’ll sit and wait… and you may wait forever… since… the hardware manufacturer may decide it isn’t worth it for them to go back a redo their whole “proprietary” design for these small fixes… and so you’re stuck.
And then theres the price… a grand on a phone? Ummmm come on people…. even subsidized this beast is gonna cause a whole mess of payday loan defaults lol.
I dont see this as worth it… I just picked up the Droid for $200… its basically as fast as the X10 but a better OS.
The most important thing you can do is “learn” and make an informed purchase. AND FUCK Sony… they’re ALWAYS pulling crap with their proprietary shit. Can anyone say UMD? Magic Gate? etc….
Uhh…the reason Android is open source is so that people and companies CAN alter the OS and build apps that take full advantage of it. There only reason to have open source software is to open it up to alterations that may be better than the original, which then trickle back to the main release.
When you say that the third party vendors will not get the updates from Google, you seem to make the assumption that Google is the vendor. That is not the case.
For the consumer, the Equipment manufacturer is the vendor in case of direct sale. Because of the modified software, the manufacturer is to ensure that the software is bug free, if not, fix them with updates. Google isn’t coming into the picture directly.
As much as the Android purists would like to have stock Android installed across all devices, the manufacturers have a contrary goal of being able to differentiate their product from the others. Hence, they modify the software for adding some value of their own. The Open Handset Alliance was built on this premise.
But, I do feel that all manufacturers in the alliance should offer an option with the stock Android installed.
Impossible, do the actually think that a 900 phone will actually sel the way they want to the way our economy is right now, Ridiculus every one will by pass this phone until it meets a greatert criteria and Sony will loose even more money cuase some with an idiotic degree in Sony said aaaaaaah let’s char ge 900 dollars for this phone, its simply ridiculus. Besides you have other phones with 1.6 doing the same things this phone does right now for waaaaaaay less a 4 inch screen is not the only selling point on this phone.
Yet again, another disconnected between SE and the rest of the Universe.
————————————
Hello ? It’s me, Reality. From across the hall ? I’ve called, and left several messages. I keep passing your apartment in the hallway, and there’s always these guys there ; with vacuum cleaners, siphoning money out from under your front door. I don’t know, but you might want to get in touch with me, and resolve that issue. Oh, you might want to rethink how much you want to ask for Rachael. Sure, she’s a pretty UI. But no one I know would pay, how much did you put on that sign ? $879. I wouldn’t be holding onto to finding many suitors for her at that rate. If you plan to stay in this, I’d really give that another thought. If not, let me know when I can start showing the apartment, Nokia keeps asking if your lease is up !
——————————————–
The above message is offered to Sony-Ericsson totally free of charge, and in the best interest it’s remaining employees and customers.
I’m so getting one only if it comes to T-mob. I just wish it has a trackball or some sort of trackpad.
OMG what a freakin joke!
I was watching the video and thinking- it looks OK.. no real keyboard though. And then noticing how it has proprietary GUI on it which 9/10=BLOAT
I’ve purchased alot of Sony devices in the past, and I’m kinda over them now- they usually just cost more $$ for the same basic thing, and sometimes are even a Pain in the rear.
EPIC PASS
I have to agree with you. Sony are notorious for not providing updates for their products be it docking stations or upgraded software. This has stopped me purchasing their products for years but here is their first device to tempt me back.
Added into this mix is that yes, Sony can and do make exceptional hardware but the second they start messing with software they inevitably ruin the whole experience (sonicstage anyone?). Lets hope the Ericsson part of this corporation has done the software!
I really like the specs and look of this phone but dealing with Sony after I have purchased it really makes me stop and think.
SE Sort it out and don’t make me resort to becoming another generic Apple fanboy…
Count me out
no way I would spend 9 hundo on a phone.
In Europe prices are normaly given includin taxes.
VAT tax in Sweden is 25%.
So, price before taxes is $703
And yes, the 6000SEK is definitley including 25% sales tax.
Well don’t be too scared. 6000SEK which is around $850 is only about 1500SEK more than the HTC Hero costs in Sweden (the hero costs around 4500SEK which is around $640) and for what I know the Hero doesn’t cost $640 in the US. Smartphones are expensive in Sweden so don’t just count the exchange rate, compare the price to other phones in Sweden, for example here: http://www.prisjakt.nu/kategori.php?k=v1436
To commenter Torgny: Clearly you’ve never used the Xperia X1. It lasted 5 hours before I packed that piece of garbage back up nice and neatly and promptly returned it to SE for a full refund. Ohh but not before the screen actually went totally white and wouldn’t show anything even after a battery pull. But even before the screen went white it was like working on an old Sprint PPC-6700, ugly, slow/unresponsive, and down right WAY over hyped.
I should mention that this is the same price the X1 went for, so the American price should be around the same as the first XPERIA phone – whatever that was stateside.
Even the iphone dont cost that much. i hope its properly priced else the’ll be buying their own phones
It better function as a personal jetpack as well.
Well, htc magic, mytouch3g was like 700$ off contract herw in sweden…
Sorry, but that Rachael UI looks like a bloated blue mess to me. I like Android, why did they have to mess it up? Adding the ridiculous price tag makes it an easy pass for me.
It’s Sweden, the Xbox costs double there too. We’re talking about a country where a beer is $8.
And hyperinflation? Srsly?
I’d guess a $600 price-point stateside. Which is totally reasonable.
That’s the outright price yeah? Not surprising at all! That’s like $AU950 which is a touch cheaper than the first N95, and cheaper than HTC TouchPro 2 and Diamond 2.
Pretty much an expected price for a high end phone. No Android 2.0 is a worry, but the thing has a great screen, high end camera etc etc.
well N95, HTC touchpro 2 or diamond are in the past, the present is other, im not paying that amount of money for this plastic phone.
Droid is 2.0, multitouch, and better color screen, next year is coming Sholes Tablet which will be 8mpx phone first with android 2.0. And maybe will be cheaper than this SE crazyness
Phone is awesome, but their strategy is terrible. Who is gonna pay 4 times as much as they would for the Droid (after rebate) when the Droid gives you 85% of the features and functionality. I’m glad I got the Droid.
No way! iLike the phone, iLike the interface, iDon’t like the price tag, iLove my Droid.
Droid is $569.99 full retail, not $599.99.
I double checked and it’s down to $559.99. I know Walmart even has it for $500 flat off contract.
Carriers like to change the pricing of their phones all the time. The Cliq started at $449 off contract and is now listed as $339.
Hey, Make.Believe
Did you ever use SE phone before?
Are you mad ?? lol…
You cannot make that king of assumption. For exemple.
Ps3 europe = 299 euros that iquals 450 DOLARRREESS !!!
Ps3 USA = 299 DOLARES !!
The price is adquate and is not a conversion of the coin…
6000 kronor includes 25% vat. it will translate to maybe 699…
I pity you people from the states who have to pay that kind of money
In Sweden it has been listed for 520 EUR.
I dont care! I am buying this just because it has snapdragon in it, after that I will install a custom ROM to get rid of that blue crap, or will I? If you cant afford this phone, I am very sorry for your cheap ass, maybe you should put in more hours at work like I do. This will be a top tier android device, one that everyone wants, and no one can get. This phone will give you bragging rights, it might even get you laid, you never know if you don’t try!
serg why dont we meet up so i can rob ur sorry ass an pay for this phone ? keep net braggin i promise u wouldnt be doin that around me in person.. real safe behind a keyboard isnt it
real scary behind a keyboard
As a person living in sweden I jusr have to say the your phones are way to cheap, if I whanted to by an Iphone I would have to pay more then 6,000 Swedish kronor (or $879) atleast 7000. So don’t worry it will be butt cheap for you guys.
That’s a Big Hell to the Naw. Not paying that for any cellphone.
Sad to say, is this phone is released on Tmobile, i’d pay that price. I’m addicted, and I have no shame.
helllllll no.. no more than 600 im spendin, SE gots to have the worse pricin of all brands, even nokia has come down to earth <3 N900
That’s not so bad.
Here in Denmark (next to Sweden) you’d have to pay $1000 for an iphone off contract or $260 + $120/month for 6 months with the cheapest carrier. So $879 is a bargain.
Im getting this phone no matter the cost and Please GOD DON’T LET T-MOBILE PICK UP THIS PHONE OR ANY AMERICA PROVIDER I JUST WANT THIS PHONE TO STAY SCARE IN AMERICA DON’T CARE ABOUT OUT SIDE OF THE USA AS LONG THERE ARE ONLY A HAND FULL OF PEOPLE IN THE US HAVE IT THEN IM OK WITH ANY PRICE
I wish T-mobile had better US coverage, the camera on this is better than my actual camera… and a nice processor, and flash/focus/ android 2.0… I love it, but it’s rather pricey.
Im from Sweden and the price for this phone in the US would be $600 , It has to do with the current economy. A weak Swedish currency and the weak dollar. Like someone said before 6000kr = 550 Euro = $600. The Iphone here is about 7000kr that would be like $1000. But instead it is 7000kr = 700$ without a contract that is..
that’s waaaay too much. i think i can afford a battery cover
I was also waiting for this Phone to be released up North here in Canada, BUT talk about sticker shock! Rogers is getting it, BUT at $900 USF = $1000 to $950 CAN. I think i will have to rethink my stand on Apple iPhone.
I would suggest you to go for Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 because it is wide 4-inch capacitive touch display, 8.1 megapixel camera with LED flash, and a thoroughly tricked out Android skin. Moreover the finish is excellent, rubberized back slightly arched which helps in keeping a steady hand, the burnished metal strapping way that emphasizes and sharpens the edge through the display itself and also absolutely rigid. For more information see http://www.techarena.in/review/22318-sony-ericsson-xperia-x10-smartphone-review.htm
9 bills iz way 2much 4 a phone even if it worth it i mean i was planning 2 buy it but $900 nahhh $600 to $700 would be a fair price