superczar said:
They can't change the RTOS kernel (closed source)
At best they can put a good UI wrapper which HTC tried with the touch but really couldn't manage to fix the abomination that WinMo is
Problem with WinMo is that it essentially uses a subset of the same desktop UI as windows
Now that UI may work well within a desktop environment where you have a full blown keyboard /mouse etc.
But port the same UI to a limited accessibility device like a phone and you have a nightmare at hand
Actually, they can. Pretty much the entire source code of the WinCE kernel is available for licensees to use. On top of that, MS provides a platform builder which you can use to build a custom kernel+driver+app set. Sony has changed the UI, I'm guessing this is the tool they use. The speed should be improved since they are using 6.1 (which is much more responsive than 6 by all accounts). If the phone is potentially upgradeable to Win Mo 7, I am jumping for it.