Sony Ericsson xperia x10

The X10 represents the first Sony Ericsson phone with Google's operating system, and its launch took quite a while, mostly due to the vast UI-related modifications the company made. Unlike other manufacturers' Android interfaces, Sony Ericsson's focuses on multimedia content and Internet communication. It's unsurprising, given the size of its display, which covers almost the entire front of the handset (119x63x13 mm) and it's a comfortable fit for a large palm.

A 4-inch capacitive display with a resolution of 480 x 854 and 64K color support brings good image quality and features. Android OS in version 1.6 comes with a 64K color limit, but you can upgrade Xperia X10 to the latest version of the operating system, 2.1, which supports 16M colors.

The handset comes with 1 GB of internal memory and an 8 GB microSD memory card, which is enough for storing plenty of apps and files. For users who need more memory space, microSD cards of up to 16 GB are supported.The Xperia X10 supports all 2G and 3G bands, therefore can be used easily around the world, without thinking about mobile network operator's technology, which is something frequent travelers might appreciate. The phone also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1.

Sony Ericsson used the adaptability of Android OS and created the Timescape/Mediascape user interface for its first handset with this platform. The UI focuses on Internet communication and multimedia content stored in the phone. Timescape is an application that manages many types of communication: calls, SMS text messages, emails, and Facebook and Twitter, among other social media outlets. It can also be set as the home screen.

All the messages are lined up in reverse chronological order when Timescape is activated, and show a photo of the person who you communicated with. They can be filtered according to them type of communication and every one of them, along with the photo, has an icon with the infinity sign that shows a complete communication history with that person.

Mediascape functions similarly, but with photos, videos and MP3s organized in reverse chronological order; files most recently used or added are first on the list.

The handset includes an application suite for synchronization of various segments of MS Outlook with the handset (email, contacts, tasks, calendar). The most interesting among them is Moxier Mail, used for Exchange Server email access that doesn't need server-side extensions since it uses the server's Outlook Web Access interface.

The standard email app can be used for POP3 and IMAP email accounts, as well as for Gmail.

The X10 features an 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash. The camera software has a large feature set reminiscent of Sony Cyber-shot cameras. In addition to excellent face detection, people in photos can be tagged (similar to Facebook), which can prove to be useful for subsequent sorting in Mediascape.

Daylight photo quality is above average for this class of handset, exceptionally sharp and with vivid colors. Photos taken in darker settings, however, have much duller colors and a large number of artifacts. Some Sony Ericsson phones have much better image quality in this type of setting; it's a shame that the X10's camera doesn't. Furthermore, the LED flash must be manually activated, which is another downside.

The Xperia X10 features a 1500 mAh Li-Poly battery, sufficient for about two days of normal usage. Heavy usage of Wi-Fi, multimedia and GPS functionalities reduces the autonomy drastically; the handset, under those conditions, will have to be recharged daily. The reduced battery life is probably due to the large screen; the good news is that, just like other Sony Ericsson phones, ordinary calls have little impact on battery life.

  

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini

The X10 is a primarily plastic phone, which may turn some people off from the phone itself, but I can assure you that the build quality is very robust, with only minor squeaking when the phone is twisted to an extreme point (which we won’t do it in our daily life anyway). The large, 4 inch screen is a joy to use with a nice color reproduction and sensitive capacitive technology. There is a drawback in having this big – the system can lag a bit at certain times when one accesses certain programs. Its more the problem of the system needs to render the program on screen.

Software on the phone is still using version 1.6 of the Android OS, where other competitors are already using higher versions. However Sony Ericsson announced recently that there will be an update programme for the X10 to receive version 2.1 of the OS which adds several new features and increases response time.

Back to the phone, it has a very minimalistic look. On the top are the power button, audio jack and microUSB sitting behind a plastic door. While it is nice to have the lines undisturbed, I feel the microUSB port is better served out in the open as the door has a chance to be broken off from the phone. On the right side you will see the volume buttons and the camera shutter buttons. Under the screen on the front, sits three buttons for back, home and menu (but it is not labeled as such so users can be confused). An 8.1 megapixel camera with an LED flash adorns the back of the phone, completing the simple design of the X10.

Using the X10 is very intuitive, but it comes with some caveats. The capacitive screen is very responsive, but unfortunately there are no Multi-touch capabilities on the phone. Thanks to the large screen however multimedia (in the form of videos) looks very nice. Even photos taken with the phone are magnificent; thanks to the long experience Sony Ericsson gathered from their Cybershot phone line.

Timescape and Mediascape are two apps that puts this phone apart from the other Android phone in the market. Timescape is Sony Ericsson’s software that caters to the social networking craze, with built-in twitter and Facebook aggregator that displays your friend’s updates in a very nice timeline while Mediascape is the phone’s multimedia centre for music and video playback.

For those who are looking for an alternative for the iPhone, the X10 is a valid contender – if you can live with the slight lag on day-to-day basis.