Sony Ericsson launches social networking apps for Xperia X1

by Dan Leahul, Brand Republic 26-Nov-08, 11:40

LONDON - Applications for Facebook, Windows Live and Dashwire are now available for download from Sony Ericsson for its multimedia phone the Xperia X1.

The Xperia X1 marks the beginning of a partnership between Sony Ericsson and Microsoft, which in addition to building the X1 on Windows 6.1 operating system, a new Windows Live application allows users to sync their existing contacts and features to their phones.

A similar application, or 'Panel', has also been built for Facebook, available for download at the Sony Ericsson site, and offers new functions not available on other platforms. For example, friends' images are shown on the phone's standby screen and status updates are shown when users touch their friends images.

Dashwire, which backs-up mobile content such as contacts, photos, videos and texts in its "cloud" database, has also created an Xperia X1 application, where users can access and share their mobile content from any computer.

Ford Davidson, founder and CEO of Dashwire, said: "Panels open up an exciting set of opportunities for users to interact with their personalised experiences, and for developers to help bring them to life. By building out a custom panel, we've enabled our users to instantly access all of their photos stored in the cloud with just a flick of their finger."

Sony Ericsson is also encouraging independent developers to create their own applications for the X1, and is holding a competition for the best product. Entrants can win a chance to a two-day workshop at Sony Ericsson headquarters in Lund, Sweden to discuss joint business ventures.