There is not much to say about the next Sony Ericsson XPERIA, but we already know that it might whop Hero's nose. First of all, SE is preparing a 8 megapixelcamera with autofocus. Nothing with more humble pixel density was expected for the XPERIA because guys at Sony Ericsson were always taken up with cameras. Which probably explains a over 12 megapixel phone from them by the end of the year.
Now, there is more. HTC Hero comes with 528MHz processor. The XPERIA in turn is expected to be fitted with a latest 1GHz processor. That of course would make a difference no matter what the phone will be used for.
The last thing so far is the OS. SE Rachel is rumored to be one the first devices out there with Android 2.0. This fact arises questions like whether it will have something at least remotely like Sense UI? Or one which is even more actual: how long to wait fir it? All we know is that Android 2.0 comes in autumn, hopefully Rachel also.