Sony Ericsson has officially launched its eagerly awaited X1 Xperia smartphone.

The Xperia has HTC written all over it, but unlike regular Windows Mobile phones, it has a tweaked, better looking UI. It packs a Qualcomm MSM7200 CPU at 528MHz, a spacious 800x480 touchscreen, AGPS, WLAN, USB, Bluetooth and a slider QWERTY keyboard.

For entertainment you can count on SE's excellent mp3 player, an FM radio, 3MP digital camera with autofocus and flash. It has 400MB of internal memory, as well as a slot for micro-SD cards. The Xperia measures 110x53x17mm, weighs 158g and packs a 1500mAh battery.

The new phone should be available in Germany, Sweden and the U.K. today, while the rest of Europe will get it sometime in Q4. The rest of the world, inluding the U.S., will probably have to wait until 2009.

No word on price yet, but it won't end up cheap.