Hack allows Xperia X10 to run Android 2.3 Gingerbread

IT LOOKS LIKE Sony Ericsson's flagship 2010 handset, the Xperia X10, will officially stay on Android 2.1 forever. But that hasn't stopped the smartphone modding community from trying new things with it.

A developer has managed to stick a Sony Ericsson Arc version of Android 2.3.1 Gingerbread on the Xperia X10, according to a post at the XDA Developers forum. The present version is still buggy, with no sound output or camera, but it sounds like the Dutch hacker has got the WiFi working as well as Bluetooth, Timescape and GPS.

If you have an Xperia X10 and desperate to have something better than Android 2.1, it is probably worth sitting and waiting for a less buggy version carrying more features.

One of the great things about Android is that rooting a device gives you the ability to hack and play around with the OS as much as you want, wiping everything and starting again if everything goes Pete Tong.

There was major disappointment when Sony Ericsson revealed that the Xperia X10 will remain on Android 2.1 Eclair, while other 2010 Android handsets like the HTC Desire had zoomed to Android 2.2 Froyo and in the future will be upgraded to Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

It seems that buyers of the Xperia X10 have been short-changed. But with the Arc and its new Playstation smartphone in 2011, Sony Ericsson has made a comeback of sorts. But once they've been released, don't count on speedy Android OS upgrades. µ