Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 was meant to be the swan song of the company, their first android device and they want it to be absolutely perfect, both in terms of hardware and software. Perfection comes at a price; in this case it took them quite a long time to get there.
Even if this was their first droid device, it’s not the kind of smartphone you can take it for granted and forget about it after the first date.
So let’s see the specs and the main highlights of this love child:
Key features
• Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 2 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4" capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 854 pixel) resolution and scratch-resistant surface
• 16M-color ready (65K effective colors under Android OS v1.6)
• Android OS v1.6 with complete Sony Ericsson UI customization
• Timescape and Mediascape UI
• Excellent social networking integration
• Excellent build quality
• Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon 1 GHz CPU, OpenGL ES 2.0 support; 384 MB of RAM
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, touch focus, image stabilization, geotagging, face and smile detection
• WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) video recording @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS
• 1GB storage, microSD slot, bundled with an 8GB card
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Document viewer
• Li-Po 1500 mAh (BST-41) battery
• Great audio quality
Even if R&D for this phone took quite a while, when X10 hit the markets was on par with its rivals at the time of release.
First things first, let’s start with the retail package which resembles the one from iPhone, in terms of minimalist design and dimensions, which are petit to say the least.
In the box you can find a charger, the USB cable and a two piece headset easily upgradable due to the standard 3.5 mm jack.
The phone has a 4 inch display, pretty huge actually even with today’s standards, and that makes the device a big league player, it measures 119 x 63 x 13 mm and weighs 135 grams, not too much for such generous dimensions. This has to do with the absence of metal on the casing design but despite this, X10 is as solid as they come.
In terms of design, the phone is subtle and elegant; most part of the front is covered by the huge touchscreen. The 4" capacitive touchscreen unit has a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels and great picture quality.
In terms of contrast and sun light legibility, this is as good as it gets on Sony Ericsson and the sensitivity of the screen is also excellent. Above the display we find the earpiece and the ambient light sensor is hidden on its left, a small status LED on the right. On top we find the 3.5mm audio jack, the power key and the micro USB port which is covered by a small plastic lid.
The back of the handset features the 8 megapixel camera lens and the LED flash. Camera lens has no protection so you should be careful with this baby. Under the battery you find the micro SD card slot which obviously is not hot-swappable. In terms of build quality, X10 is a tank, there are no creaks and the plastic parts are very well put together.
On the back there is some matt plastic which is finger print proof and the front, well, you should give it a rub from time to time, and glossy plastic is not that hardcore.
As in later phones, X10 benefits from a design called Human Curvature, the phone feels very comfortable and smaller than it really is.
X10 runs on Android OS 2.1 (upgraded from 1.6) and the interface is customized with Timescape and Mediascape, in terms of hardware it comes with a fast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and the aforementioned 4 inch beast capacitive screen, UI runs smoothly and flawless.
In terms of telephony, Sony Ericsson X10 is strong, there are no problems with signal reception or call quality, the sound is loud and clear, unfortunately we don’t get smart dialing but if you ask me, I can live without it.
As in most Sony Ericsson devices, audio quality is great, X10 is among the best in its class.
X10 features an 8 MP camera with LED flash capable of taking photos at a maximum resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels, you have a bunch of options like four capturing modes and five focus modes available, it takes very good photos with excellent detail and colors, but that’s normal for a Sony cyber shot. Video recording is captured in WVGA resolution (800 x 480 pixels vs. 720 x 480 for D1) at 30fps, in mp4 format with AAC audio codec.
In terms of connectivity, the force is strong with this droid, you get quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, three localized versions - each with tri-band 3G, 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA.
Local connectivity is well covered too – Wi-Fi b/g with DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and file transfers. There’s also a microUSB port for connecting with a PC.
Web browsing is a pleasant experience on Android based devices, the browser is simple and efficient, pages load quickly and surfing is a pleasure on that high res screen.
For business users, the phone comes with QuickOffice preinstalled and it has support for viewing document files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF, including the Office 2007. Due to its big screen and fast processor, reading docs on X10 is a pleasant experience.
XPERIA X10 comes with a GPS receiver and Google Maps as application; the app supports Street View and Wise Pilot.
In conclusion, Xperia X10 is a nice multi media tool, excellent for business users, browsing the web, taking pictures and riding social networks. Sony Ericsson did a great job with this first android flagship, even if there’s still some stuff needs polishing.
You can have one on a monthly contract deal here.
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