[XPERIA X10 General] 1Learning:
The problem with advertisement is that there is puffery which is ok and then false advertisement which is not. If the AT&T reps told people that it WILL get the 2.1 update, then that can be construed as false advertisement (and even if AT&T reps were not supposed to say that, as reps of the companies, the company can be found liable for the statements made by those whose job functions are to represent the company, i.e. the reps). If, however they said that it MAY get the 2.1 or that the handset is 2.1 capable (but didn't say that it will get it) than it is merely puffery. It's sort of like a car dealer telling you that their car is the BEST in the world...consumers knows that that is a hyperbole and can make their choices based upon that.

Yes, a case probably can be made that there is at minimum negligence and at worst fraud but it'll be expensive and iffy at best; some might eventually decide to take the case. Cheaper of course is to just complain to both AT&T and SE (by writing especially whether it is through email or letter - like asking if and when will the X10a get the 2.1 update, how about 2.3, etc.) - they might listen b/c if enough people complain, esp if you then vote with your dollars elsewhere (this is especially effective if you're not in contract anymore or ever was). They'll take note and adjust their business model (eventually) otherwise they'll fail.

The problem with ebaying the phone is that there have been enough negative reviews that the value of the X10 has been devalued so that it'll be tough(er) to sell the device on the secondary market than it should be for such a cool phone. Someone made a good point - one of the reasons why people stick with iPhones and Apple is that there is continual support for all their products (admittedly they just have the iPhone in terms of phones as opposed to many different lineups) which means that one of the main difference is hardware and not software between phone models. So the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4 all run the same platform but their hardware specs are different. This makes each phone still up to date for daily users but for the technophiles, the hardware difference maybe enough that they would want to change/upgrade phones; since the platform is the same there would be a huge secondary market for the old phones to daily consumers who might not care that much about the hardware but want the iPhone experience (lol, making fun of SE's Xperience), just not to the technophiles (who in this case, would care a great deal about hardware). Without this support, the daily consumer would probably not be as attracted to the X10 as there are other manufacturers with really good handsets too with up to date software. The X12/Arc and the X10 is similiar enough in hardware that it seems weird that there would be such a disparity in software. The X10 is a great looking phone with great hardware (though SE cheaping out on the RAM is funny) but the secondary market for it is probably not going to be as strong as it could be, i.e. the resale value is not as good. It's like cars - some models and manufacturers have better resale values than others and many things come into consideration such as form, support, reliability. Think about it - many HTC phones didn't come with 2.1 or 2.2 but HTC did upgrade many of their old phones to it, officially; this helps their resale value since it shows some kind of product loyalty to their products - a belief that their products can stand the test of time which in turn can bring brand loyalty to them.

The basics of the X10 is good - it looks good (subjective but most agree that it's a good looking phone), has good hardware, etc. But SE's and AT&T's support for it makes/made for a lot of dissatisfied consumers which may ultimately cost them. Anyway, my suggestion is that an easy way to show that you are dissatisfied is to write a quick email or letter detailing why (in addition to voting with your wallets if you can). It might not do much immediately but there is an old adage - that for every complaint letter a company receives, it means that there is something like 10 or 100 that feel the same way but didn't write the letter. It might make them give better support for the X10 and just in general. Feel free to agree/disagree, intelligent discourse is always welcome. :)