Android is the new in-thing for phone manufacturers around the world. From lowly, unknown brands to the big boys of telecommunication, everybody wants to join in the fun of having an Android-powered phone in their portfolio. Sony Ericsson wants to join the group, and this resulted in their latest smartphone, the X10.
Running under the Xperia brand, the X10 is the company’s first Android-powered phone but it does not really suffer from the usual first-time –itis (where it is usually the proving ground for untested technology). The looks, the feel and even the experience of using it all are very encouraging and engaging.
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.
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