Furthering its endeavors in the smartphone arena, Sony Ericsson last week introduced the Xperia X2 smartphone - a successor to its much-liked though extremely expensive earlier offering, the Xperia X1!

Powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, the new high-end smartphone retains some of its predecessor's features - like a big touch screen; a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard; and one-click home screen panels for access to phone functionalities, Facebook, Skype, Google, and business apps - and also boasts 8-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth; TV-out cable; and a mobile Internet Explorer Web browse.

With the Xperia X2 being pegged against the iPhone and BlackBerry, Sony has also launched a software development kit for developers, for bringing existing Flash, Java, and Windows Mobile apps into the smartphone's 14 built-in and 16 downloadable home screen panels.

For business users, the smartphone, expected in the fourth quarter, is equipped with a document viewer and access to a number of Microsoft applications, with the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS giving users access via Exchange ActiveSync push e-mail.

In a statement about the Xperia X2, Sumit Malhotra, Sony Ericsson's marketing business manager, said: "In the fast-moving world we live in, the need to stay connected has never been so important. We constantly rely on our mobile phones as an extension to the office and the Xperia X2 allows users to work quickly and efficiently while on the move."