Looks like Sony Ericsson is joining the Google Android party sooner than expected, as photos and details of its first Android-based smartphone have apparently been leaked.
The smartphone, code-named Rachael, is expected to be officially announced later this year as part of Sony Ericsson's expanding line of Xperia products, its high-end offerings.
Mobility site Mobil.nu got its hands on internal documents about the Sony Ericsson Google Android phone, which the site said will be a strong contender against Android offerings from competing smartphone manufacturers like HTC and Motorola.
The Xperia Rachael is based on the Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon platform, which can unlock processor speeds of up to 1GHz and HSPA (3G) speed of up to 7.2 Mbps. The platform, first released in the Toshiba TG01 smartphone, also lends itself to strong 3-D graphics support.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia with Android is also expected to feature an 8-megapixel camera with auto-focus, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a mini-USB connector.
In addition, Rachael boasts a large touch screen that measures roughly 4 inches diagonally. So far, Mobile.nu had few details about the touch-screen resolution on the Android-powered Rachael but expects it will hit around 800 x 480.
It was unclear on Monday exactly when Sony Ericsson's first Google Android smartphone will hit the streets or what version of Android it will run. While the Sony Ericsson Rachael is expected to run Android 1.5, or Cupcake, if the Sony Ericsson Rachael comes out late this year it could run Android 2.0, also known as the Donut update.
