Sony Ericsson has begun rolling out the Eclair update for the Xperia X10. To say this has been long awaited by fans of Sony Ericsson’s Android venture is an extreme understatement. Fans are largely unhappy with the progress to date, which is unfortunate. Some of them are expressing themselves in crude ways on the Sony Ericsson blogs, and others are just stewing silently. There are those among us that continue to wait patiently. Our number is diminishing, however.

Updates on the upgrade have been few and far between, but we now know that the roll-out which began in the Nordic countries has begun its world-wide spread. Some African countries have begun getting the update, as has Russia. There are some scattered reports of updates in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Notably missing on this list are the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the United States. Canada already expected the update in November, according to the Twitter page for Sony Ericsson Canada.

My sympathies go out to the beleaguered Rikard Skogberg, one of the lone voices taking the heat for Sony Ericsson. He has been pretty clear in his posts that this upgrade is a process, and will take time. He also notes that the update has been in the hands of the carriers for some time now, and that the delay is on their part. This means AT&T customers may never get the upgrade, based on my experience with AT&T.

If you haven’t received the upgrade yet, here are the features you can look forward to:

• Android 2.1
• HD video recording with continuous auto-focus for high quality videos
• New back up and restore application
• 2 additional homescreens
• Social phonebook to sync contact pictures from Facebook and online status

As AT&T didn’t carry the Xperia X10 until August, my wait has not been nearly as long as some of the others. I waited that long just to get the phone, but now have only been waiting for Eclair for two months. I can imagine the angst among those wanting the newer features, and access to Eclair-minimum apps. I have been pretty content with the add-ons to Donut that Sony Ericsson provided, though. There are some features that mimic some Froyo features, and others are only available on the Xperia. This is definitely a positive in Sony Ericsson’s camp.

As more information on the upgrade comes in, I’ll be sure to post updates. I am anxiously awaiting it myself. I hope the carriers pick up the pace a bit, and take on some of the pressure as is only fair.

To get the latest information about the update, you can check out the Sony Ericsson Product Blog.