The web has been going crazy over the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 mobile phone. It is a touchscreen side slider with QWERTY, 3.2 megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and microSD card slot. So, now you’re wondering, “Where does it fall short?”

You will have a hard time finding flaws in the Sony Ericsson X1 spec wise. The Quad-band EDGE mobile phone has a high-resolution 3-inch touchscreen, GPS, DVD quality video playback/capture and more.

However, despite specs and the XPERIA panels interface, the Sony Ericsson X1 is a Windows Mobile 6 device, and receives both the benefits and the current shortcomings of other Windows Mobile smartphones.

For task-orientated individuals, the X1 should be a winner because of Outlook and the ability to manage Word, Excel and other documents. For buyers looking for a mobile web experience, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is not an iPhone killer as you must deal with Internet Explorer Mobile.

Overall, the new relationship with Sony Ericsson and Microsoft is off to a great start with the X1 and should only get better with time. My only concern here is that Sony Ericsson may overprice the phone, expecting to compete successfully in (or above) the $500 – $700 range.

At that price, the phone will sell, but it will take a better marketing campaign than floating colored memos across a city. Expect the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 to be available in the second half of 2008.