Should You Get the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8?

Should You Get the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8?
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Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 2

The Xperia brand has seen many smartphone versions including the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini. Now the X8 is taking the mobile world by storm as the newest and most attractive device released recently. When purchasing the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 each user will receive the smartphone, 4 extra back covers, a wall charger, 2GB microSD card, microUSB cable and a user guide.

Design (5 out of 5)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 front and back

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is an exceptionally stylish device. It is available in white and is a basic candybar device. On the front is a large 3 inch capacitive touchscreen featuring LCD technology. It has a resolution of 320 by 480 pixels and can display more than 16 million colors. The screen of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 works perfectly in different lighting conditions. The style of the phone is unique with tapered edges. The 4 additional back covers that come with the purchase of the device feature very brightly colored gradients which can be applied according to each user’s preference.

Below the screen of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is the mandatory array of shortcut keys which include a Back, Home and Menu button. On the right spine is the dedicated camera shutter key and volume rocker. On the top spine is the Power key which also doubles as the Lock function, the 3.5mm headset jack and a microUSB port, while on the back is its speaker and camera. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 also features an onscreen QWERTY keyboard which can be accessed both in landscape or portrait view.

User Interface (5 out of 5)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 runs on the Android OS and features an optimized and newer version of the UX interface. This interface is very intuitive and easy to use and it’s greatly complimented by the X8’s sensitive capacitive touchscreen display.

On the home screen of the device is the notification bar and at each of the four corners are shortcuts or the user’s most frequently accessed applications. On the bottom of the screen is an upwards pointing arrow which brings up the phone’s main menu. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 user interface also features multiple home screens, although each home screen can only play host to one specific widget. For example, one home screen can be used for the Google search bar widget while another can be used to house the Twitter widget.

Features (4 out of 5)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 back covers

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is a great mobile device to use with social networking as it supports many different applications. One such app is Timescape. This application is a messenger type program which integrates with both Twitter and Facebook as well as accessing missed call logs and messages.

The Web browser on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is highly intuitive, give or take a few hard to use features. For one, the zoom option is not very simple. Instead of the usual pinch-to-zoom functionality, users are left with a small icon on the bottom of each screen with their respective zooming icons. This and the double tap zoom feature helps make the Internet surfing experience a bit clumsy.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 also features Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity and GPS navigation. Its 3.2 megapixel camera is easy to use and takes decent pictures and video. The X8’s camera functions include autofocus, four different photo presets, two quality modes for videos and an easy-to-use picture gallery.

In addition to these features, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 also has a music player which promotes speakerphone usage. It allows individuals to view songs by their album covers but lacks some added advanced features such as an equalizer and effects. But even with the lack of effects, the music player is still a great addition.

Performance (4 out of 5)

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is a very nice device with exceptional voice quality. During calls, both ends experience little to no static or background disturbance. The 1200 mAh battery enables up to 18 days on stand-by and up to 5 hours of talk time.

Verdict (5 out of 5)

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is a small but efficient mobile device. It is both stylish and useful as a result of its small size and unique features. Both its design and interface exude ease and sophistication and should definitely appeal to the young and tech savvy crowd. For just $215.00 this mobile phone can be purchased at www.amazon.com.

You may also be interested in the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 or the forthcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.