X

An in-depth look at Sony Ericsson's new user interface (photos)

Sony Ericsson's will feature its new User Experience Platform on its latest crop of Xperia smartphones. CNET takes a close look at its new, engaging user interface.

Kent German
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
Kent German
Timescape_001_updated20091110.png
1 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Timescape

For its Xperia X10 smartphones, Sony Ericsson designed a new user interface from scratch. Called the User Experience Platform or UXP, it sits on top of the Android operating system on the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro smartphones.

CNET took an in-depth tour of UXP with George Arriola, Sony Ericsson's head of human interface design, at the company's lab in San Francisco. Overall, we liked what we saw. Sony Ericsson's UXP interface is clean, easy-to-use, and attractive. We also like that it lets the basic Android framework shine through.

For the first few slides in this slideshow, we'll show you how UXP looks on the X10 Mini Pro. Since the handset is quite a bit smaller than its X10 sibling. Also, Sony Ericsson added some unique features that you won't find on the larger model.

Pictured here is the company's "Timescape" feature. Similar to Motoblur, Timescape displays your latest e-mails, text messages, and social media alerts for various contacts in a flowing design that resembles a stacked deck of cards. Arriola said that the S-shape of the stream was based on a flower.

image45.png
2 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Main menu

Though the blue background is different, the icon-based menu design is typical Android. The typeface is based on a new font Sony Ericsson developed called "Soma."
Dialer_001_updated20091110.png
3 of 25 Sony Ericsson
The phone dialer interface features touch controls for each number. Notice the four shortcut icons in each corner. As you move between different screens, the shortcuts will change to offer access to related features.
image44.png
4 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Home screen

Notice how the shortcut icons change on the home screen. As on other Android phones, you can access the notifications bar and the main menu window shade.
image14.png
5 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Camera

The camera viewfinder uses the whole 2.5-inch display on the X10 Mini Pro. Shortcuts and camera controls hide in the corners of the touch screen.
image22.png
6 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Video player

The video player has a simple interface, though the phone is a bit small for a full-length movie.
image41.png
7 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Mediascape

The icon at the top of the album cover is for the Infinity feature. If you press that touch control you'll see a list of all media files by that artist.
image46.png
8 of 25 Sony Ericsson

FM radio

We like Sony Ericsson's FM radio interface.
image23.png
9 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Contact

Each contact entry holds a photo, several text fields, and quick shortcuts for sending a message and accessing social networking services. The Infinity feature works here as well, but instead of showing related music files it will surface all communication between you and a single contact.
image25.png
10 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Phone book

Contacts in the phone book are displayed in a simple list format.
image32.png
11 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Virtual keyboard

Because of the display's small size, you'll have to use an alphanumeric keypad for onscreen typing. Luckily, the X10 Mini Pro also offers slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
image33.png
12 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Text messaging

UXP offers threaded text messaging to show the full context of a conversation.
image30.png
13 of 25 Sony Ericsson

MMS

You can add a photo to a message in just a couple of taps. We like how the photo is positioned in the thread.
image31.png
14 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Message in-box

Text messages are displayed in a list format.
image17.png
15 of 25 Sony Ericsson

E-mail

The e-mail interface is quite similar. The layout is simple and intuitive.
image20.png
16 of 25 Sony Ericsson

E-mail in-box

The e-mail features has a familiar interface. You can see the sender's picture if they're a contact.
image10.png
17 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Calendar

The calendar offers a variety of view including by month.
image11.png
18 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Day view

You can also view each day by itself.
image27.png
19 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Notes

The Notes feature makes us think of sticky notes on a refrigerator.
dialer-1.png
20 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Bigger and brighter

The X10's much bigger, 4-inch display lets UXP show you a lot more information. In the larger format, Sony Ericsson removed the shortcuts in the corners.
EditContacts.png
21 of 25 Sony Ericsson

More contacts

Like on the X10 Mini Pro, each contact on the X10 has several text fields and space for a photo.
browser-1.png
22 of 25 Sony Ericsson

An Android browser

Android fans can look last the blue background to see the familiar Android browser. You can open multiple windows and switch between them.
song_player_controls_rxbandit.png
23 of 25 Sony Ericsson

More Mediascape

The X10 has a larger version of the media player.
MS_PhotoPlayer_horizontal_state2_V2-1.png
24 of 25 Sony Ericsson

Video recorder

The video recorder's interface is about the same as the still camera.
calendar-1.png
25 of 25 Sony Ericsson

A familiar face

The X10's calendar interface uses the standard Android design.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos