Finally. It seems like there have been a dozen leaks about the Leica M9 and X1 the last couple of weeks, but they are finally announced. It’s too bad that the leaks killed all the fun and announced everything already though.

The new M9, which should be available this week, features a very similar body as the M8, but now rocks a 18MP full frame CCD sensor along new button placement for quick access to important settings. Plus, it has new micro lens that should help with performance at the edges of the frame and further justify the £4,850 inc VAT ($8,000 USD) price.

The new X1 is like the M9’s little brother. It’s still very capable, but not nearly as experienced as the M9. It’s a pocket camera for professionals or trust fund babies with a 12MP CMOS sensor, a fixed F2.8 24 mm lens and a DNG RAW shooting mode. The top panel sports three analog dials for power/zoom, shutter speed, and aperture control while the back has a large 2.7-inch screen. In all, it looks to be a quality shooter when it launches in January 2010 at an unannounced price.

DPReview has extensive hands-ons posted for both of these cameras with tons of pictures, along with a tour of the factory. Spend a few minutes and geek out over there. You’ll be thankful you did once the Applepalooza starts.

Leica has a big event scheduled for this Wednesday where the M9 was likely going to be announced. But it just so happens that Apple also has a presser booked for the same day, along with a bunch of companies at the audio video expo, CEDIA. So it’s probably best for Leica that a Photography Bay tipster sent the site an official-looking brochure that lists all the specs of unannounced M9.

• 18.5 MP CCD
• DNG RAW file format
• SDHC card slot
• 80 – 2500 ISO
• 32 s to 1/4000 s shutter speed
• 2.5-inch rear LCD

Be sure to check out the full rundown over at Photography Bay. We’re just glad that at least one of the mystery cameras leaked out early. Now, how about that big X1 that was spied a few days ago?

Head over to MobiltyToday as they examine, in gory detail, what they’re calling “The ultimate Windows Mobile phone anyone can ask for… ” My only question is this: what if I never asked for a WinMo phone from Sony Ericsson? What if I asked for the charm and power of a UIQ-powered P800, my first and favorite smartphone? What if asked for a logical addition to the S-E family instead of some weird HTC-designed monstrosity? What if I asked for some S-E phones on these shores? I’m happy they’re trying, but this ain’t the direction they should be taking if they want to hit the big time.

I was talking to some mobile guys in Stockholm and one mentioned that S-E was always doing well and now moved to WinMo while Motorola is betting on Android, which, in my opinion, is a smart move for low-end smartphone manufacturers. S-E, take a tip from Motorola: nobody ever got fired for choosing Microsoft but they did falter for being behind the times.

It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 might almost be here. BGR has some shots of Best Buy’s internal stock showing a December 7th in-stock date and an unlocked selling price of $799. That’s a lot of coin, so we can only assume that it’ll be the greatest phone in the history of cellular telephony, right?

In fact, they’ll even create a viral campaign based on a square-jawed man who can’t seem to remember where and who he is. I’m not quite sure what this has to do with a high-end phone that will probably spell the end of Sony Ericsson as a respected manufacturer of mid-range smartphones, but who are we to judge the instincts of highly paid marketing professionals tasked with convincing a jaded public that the X1 is still relevant.

via Pocket-lint via Eng

Oh, that’s unfortunate. I’ve been eyeing this device since it was announced and have always thought the keyboard looked phenomenal. BGR is reporting, however, that the keyboard on the XPERIA X1 device is a “major flaw” – that’d definitely be a deal-breaker for more than a few people, myself included.

Not to say that this keyboard is absolutely terrible, but it’s one of the worst. Think Sony UX computer, for those of you that have one or have used one. The sliding mechanism comes right on top of the keys, and thus, the keys don’t travel a lot when pressed. They give little to no feedback despite having a cool triangular design.

Aside from the keyboard, everything else appears to be pretty delightful. The 800×480 screen would make surfing the web and watching movies on this thing much more palatable. The device that BGR got ahold of is only a pre-production unit, so “the software runs a little slow,” but the XPERIA still seems to perform admirably and should only improve with the final version. I don’t suppose that Sony-Ericsson is going to revamp the keyboard before the rumored September launch, though.

WARNING: Do not ingest self-tanner.

I haven’t seen a BengalBoy post in almost a year and for a minute I had all but forgotten about our soft-core brother from another Best Buy who gets brand new, unreleased phones and then makes strange women hold them in bikinis. Lucky for us, BB got himself the Sony Ericsson X1, the phone we call “Lipstick on a Pig” for it’s melding of high fashion styling and cool form factor with Windows Mobile 6.

What does BB have to say?

Ummmm, I’m finally realizing my dream…..(no,,,, not the dream your thinking…… ) from over 5 years ago when I first got the Sony Ericsson P800 and then out-grew the kindergarden capable Symbian Operating System for my first Windows Pocket PC Operating System device, the iMate Pocket PC phone. What if I could have it all??? The all metal construction of my beloved Nokia 8890 cell phone, the bluetooth and construction quality of my Sony Ericsson P800/900 device, the hardware, processor, and memory of the iMate, coupled with the power of its Windows Mobile operating system??? Well, fuck, its been a long god-damn time……. …… but today….. it finally arrived!!

It has been a long god-damn time, son. Looking forward to seeing more of your signature crazy with a little jubbly thrown in… because it’s there.

This video has been making the rounds that shows something similar to the S-E X1 along with another unnamed device that seems to be able to all sorts of good things including live chat a la iChat. While I’m down on the Xperia line so far — the X1 was a gimmick as egregious as the original HTC Touch — I’m willing to give S-E the benefit of the doubt and hope to god they start selling something here in the U.S.

If you’ve got almost a thousand bucks burning a hole in your pocket and you want to get a head start on ordering up that Xperia X1 by Sony Ericsson, why not head over to CellHut.com and pre-order one? Rumors are also beginning to swirl about a mid-September launch. What a great way to make friends at your new school!

It’s going for $999 with an initial $100 off and the phone is unlocked. Unlocked! Compatible networks include T-Mobile, AT&T/Cingular, Cellular One, and various Asian and European carriers.

Far be it for me to tell you what to do with your money but if it were me, I’d probably just wait until September-time. There might just be even COOLER phones out by then, although each time I’ve seen the Xperia rotating in a glass case at a convention like a digitally rotisserie chicken, I’ve wondered if it might be the right kind of phone for a guy like me. I don’t know if I’d pre-order it that far in advance, though.

via The Earth Times

The charming, polished S-E X1 runs Windows Mobile 6.1, which is like saying that hot, 6-foot-3 model you know is a furry — and not the fun kind of furry but she wears a ratty old Tweety Bird costume with her ugly, loud boyfriend who dresses up like Sylvester and they have sex. And you’re all like “What? She can do better than that. Hell, I’ll dress up. Just not in something so predictable.” See, the model, in this case, is the hardware, and the fat boyfriend is Windows Mobile. I’m the frustrated guy who is witnessing this travesty.

Leaked! Experia X1 Runs on Windows Mobile 6.1! [AdonisDemon]