A new phone, everyday?this is what Sony Ericsson is planning to give to the users of the Xperia X8. The device comes with five different back covers that make for a definite style statement. Plain white, light blue and white, dark blue and white, pink and white, grey and white are the included colours. Usuals like the charging adapter, USB cable and headphones are the other things in the box.
Coming after Xperia X10, X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro, the Xperia X8 seems like their dumbed-down version. The handset operates on Android version 1.6, which apparently is upgradable to 2.1 on select devices. Since I didn?t get the update, let?s analyse this very device.
The smart looking and well-built X8 gives you a very classy look and feel. The 3-inch capacitive touchscreen dominates the front with three buttons, the settings, menu and back button, very much like the Xperia X10. Above the screen are the earpiece, proximity sensor and LED indicator that blinks to show the battery power. The back of the X8 is plain with just the speaker grill and the 3 MP camera on it. The top has the micro USB slot, power/lock button and the 3.5 mm audio jack and the bottom only sports the mic. The volume rocker and the camera button are to the right of the Xperia X8 and the left side has been kept plain.
The X8 features an just about average screen with its 320 x 480 pixel resolution. The user interface is typical of the Xperia series with four customisable options on the four corners of the screen. You can place four most-used applications at easy reach and the multiple screens feature editable widgets. The bottom arrow indicator rolls up to open the menu with multiple screens and these screens keep on increasing as you keep on adding newer applications. One just needs to swipe through the pages to get to the page needed. The roll-down notification window gives a clear indication of calls missed, messages received and ongoing activities on the device. Even with its 600 MHz processor, there is a slight lag at times while registering a swipe or opening of an application or while closing it.
The 3G and Wi-Fi enabled phone is very easily accessible and connects like a breeze. Social networking applications, Facebook and Twitter, among others, connect easily and all Google apps like Gmail, Reader, Gtalk, etc. sync automatically. You can also sync other email clients and get all other social networking apps available on the Android market, both the paid and free ones.
The call quality is as stellar as is the sound quality. It is good both on the phone, the speaker and the headphone. Making a call and messaging is smooth. The FM radio could just catch about 8 of the 10 FM channels. The keypad is smooth, though the first 2-3 letters take a few seconds to register. But after that it?s all smooth. It has to be pointed out that typing on the landscape Qwerty is way more comfortable as compared to the Qwerty keypad in the portrait mode.
A great camera is what is missing in the Xperia X8. The 3 MP camera clicks decent images during daylight but average ones in low-light conditions. Other modes, like twilight, sport and beach/snow make for average pictures. The device also lacks auto focus, flash and zoom. However, it does have Geo-tagging and one can click images and upload them directly on Facebook with the Android app for Facebook. The videos at 30 fps are slightly jittery but are still more or less clear.
What was also disappointing was the battery life, which was a maximum of one day. With full usage of GPRS, Wi-Fi and GPS, the Xperia X8 hardly survived through the day.
Though the device is a good one, it is surely not the best in its league. It has competitors like Sony Ericsson?s very own Xperia X10 Mini Pro at about 1k more, that gives you both the touch and the Qwerty experience and a better camera, albeit a smaller screen. Then there is the LG Optimus P500 with the latest Android version 2.2 Froyo right out of the box which we totally loved and Wildfire from HTC is another good option with a bigger screen and a 5 MP camera.
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