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Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 Overview

Expected UK Release Date: Available

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Key Features
Touch Screen Android Smartphone
Android Operating System 1.6
3G HSDPA Technology
3 Inch TFT 16 Million Colour TFT Capacitive Touch Screen (320 x 480 Pixels)
Sony Ericsson Timescape™
4.75 Hours of GSM Talk Time
Instant Messaging
Conversation Style Messaging
WebKit Web Browser with Pan & Zoom Facility
WLAN WiFi® Technology
3.2 Megapixel Camera with Video Recording
aGPS Navigation with Google Maps™ & Wisepilot™ Navigation
PlayNow™, MegaBass™ & TrackID™ Music features

Design

73%

Usability

48%

Features

80%

The above ratings are average figures, which have been generated from submitted mobile phone reviews.

Our Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 Review

Overview
This amazing member of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA range comes complete with a beautifully designed casing & an assortment of Smartphone features which are suitable for both business & personal use. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 is an XPERIA Smartphone which is a highly popular range including other handsets such as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini & the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro. This truly amazing looking handset is a 3G capable Smartphone which comes with an Android operating system version 1.6 & a stylish touch user interface. It interface comes with widget support allowing the user to add new widgets & enjoy quick access to popular applications & features such as YouTube™, Twitter™ & Facebook™. There is a huge selection of built in features for the user to enjoy easy communication & entertainment on their Smartphone. There's an 3.2 megapixel camera which supports high quality video recording, an integrated media player & a variety of messaging services, plus this Smartphone supports 3G, Bluetooth® & WiFi® technologies. Its touch screen form casing makes it compact, user friendly in size & provides fun usability.

Appearance & Size
The XPERIA X8 has a gorgeously designed casing which comes with a subtly blended two tone coloured casing. It is available in a dark blue colour which blends into a white colour, a pink colour casing which blends with white, a silver colour which also comes with the two tone white blend or the user may choose to opt of the fully white coloured casing option. The X8 is neat in size due to its touch screen form which measures only 9.9cm in height by 5.4cm in width by 1.5cm in depth. The user will find this handset is pocket friendly in size plus only weights one hundred & four grams so will not weigh the user down when being carried in their pocket. Its touch screen casing makes the XPERIA X8 a versatile Smartphone for carrying due to its compact size, & when in use due to its on screen keyboard & keypad display which provides easy text entry for the user. The touch screen displays up to sixteen million colours on a capacitive touch screen & the user can enjoy both viewing capabilities as well as touch screen controls on this three inch touch screen. On the front of the casing beneath the touch screen are three well positioned keys which allow the user to gain quick access to their home screen whilst enjoying the use of these useful operation keys. On the reverse side of the casing along with the beautiful two tone colour effect casing is a built in camera lens which allows the user to enjoy capturing photos & videos on the XPERIA X8.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 3G Smartphone front view

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 3G Smartphone back view

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 3G Smartphone side view

Imaging, Media & Entertainment
The XPERIA X8 provides a fun gaming experience complete with 3D & colourful graphics displayed on the three inch touch screen. The user can enjoy smooth touch screen controls when playing their favourite games on their new Smartphone. Music & videos can be played as entertainment on the X8 as there is a built in media player which provides a high quality sound & viewing experience. When the user desires music as entertainment a selection of useful music features can be used to enhance the listening experience further, including a MegaBass™ sound feature, an album art display, PlayNow™ music download feature & a TrackID™ music recognition feature. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 supports video streaming & video playback in many video formats allowing its user to view high quality footage on their Smartphone. Its 3.2 megapixel digital camera which has its lens positioned on the back of the casing provides the user with an easy to use imaging feature which is capable of capturing both still & moving footage. The user can store their captures or share them with others via the messaging services.

Communication & Messaging
The X8 supports a Timescape™ feature which allows the user to communicate with their friends using a variety of communication methods which are all stored in one place, & in order of the time these communications where made whether it be a message communication, tweets via Twitter™ or an update using Facebook™. When the user is creating & sharing a message with other contacts, a conversation style view can be enjoyed allowing the user to pick up conversations just where they left them using this useful layout. Inputting text when creating a message is easy thanks to the design of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8, which comes with an on screen keypad or keyboard when required by the user, plus this Smartphone supports a predictive text input feature. Its messaging services include MMS media messaging, SMS text messaging, online instant messaging & email, so therefore the user can choose between this wide range of services when picking a service which best suits their communication needs.

Technology & Internet
The X8 comes with a WebKit Internet browser which supports a useful pan & zoom browsing feature plus the user can bookmark their preferred Websites & access YouTube™ to view video clips. It WLAN WiFi® capabilities provide the user with a cable free connection to the Web as a connection can be gain from the Smartphone to a nearby wireless LAN or wireless hotspot locations providing WiFi® connectivity. There's 128 megabytes of built in memory & a memory card slot which can hold up to sixteen gigabytes of external memory. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 come with assisted GPS navigation which works with Google Maps™ & Wisepilot™ navigation to provide the user with map views to their desired destination. The XPERIA X8 is a 3G HSDPA capable Smartphone providing high speed 3G connectivity when desired. This handset supports both GSM & 3G network connectivity & will automatically switch between networks to provide the best connectivity for its user. Its battery can be fully recharged using the power adapter provided with the Smartphone & when fully charged the user can experience up to 4.75 hours of talk time over a GSM network or up to 5.6 hours of talk time over a 3G network. The XPERIA X8 supports both Bluetooth® wireless technology & micro USB connectivity allowing the user to easily connect to other devices when the user wishes to transfer data between the two connected devices.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 Specifications & Features

Screen
3 Inch TFT 16 Million Colour TFT Capacitive Touch Screen (320 x 480 Pixels)

Imaging
3.2 Megapixel Camera
Send to Web
Video Recorder
Video Player
Video Streaming
Picture Wallpaper
Wallpaper Animation

Messaging
SMS (Text Messaging)
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
Instant Messaging
Email
Exchange ActiveSync®
Conversations
Predictive Text

Sound
Media Player
Album Art
PlayNow™
MegaBass™
TrackID™
Bluetooth® Stereo (A2DP)
MP3 & AAC Music Tones

Entertainment
Java™ Games
3D Games
Downloadable Games

Organiser
Phone Book
Calculator
Calendar
Notes
Alarm Clock
Stopwatch
Timer
Flight Mode
Speaker Phone
Vibration Alert
aGPS Navigation
Google Maps™
Wisepilot™ Navigation
Android Operating System 1.6
Touch Screen QWERTY Keyboard
Infinite Button
Sony Ericsson Timescape™
Twitter™ Application
Facebook™ Application

Connectivity
3G HSDPA
Bluetooth® A2DP
Micro USB
EDGE
GPRS
WLAN WiFi®
Modem
Synchronisation PC

Network
Quad Band Technology (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900)
HSDPA 900 & 2100

Internet
WebKit Web Browser
Pan & Zoom Browsing
Bookmarks
YouTube™ Compatible

Memory & Talk Time
128 Mbytes Memory plus Supports up to 16 Gbytes MicroSD™ Memory
4.75 Hours of GSM Talk Time
5.6 Hours of 3G Talk Time
446 Hours of GSM Standby

Weight & Size
104 g
99 x 54 x 15 mm

Your Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 Reviews

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Reviewer: Paul - Warrington, UK
Date: 29th Mar 2011

X8 is a great, it is upgradable to Android version 2.1, & most handsets come with this upgrade.

I would recommend to anyone.

Design

100%

Usability

95%

Features

95%

Reviewer: Craig H - UK
Date: 20th Feb 2011

Brought this phone from T Mobile on PAYG £130. I have to say I am very impressed with it.

The android OS it came with is 2.1 NOT 1.6 as stated.

The touch screen is not as sensitive as the HTC Desire my wife has but I certainly wouldn't swap with her.

You can't install flash on it as it is v2.1.

The battery lasts all day with medium to heavy usage, I only charge the phone at night when I go to bed.

Voice calls are very crisp, clear & loud.

Other review sites say the screen can't be seen in bright sunlight but to be honest it is no different to any other phones I have had in the past.

On the widgets you have a control panel that allows you to set the screen brightness easily, I have this set on the middle setting as it is bright enough. In bright sunshine I may increase this but since the screen uses the most battery I find the middle setting a good compromise.

The qwerty keyboard is a bit small, but rotating the phone 90 degrees brings up a bigger keyboard so those of you with large fingers will still be able to text etc.

Design

95%

Usability

95%

Features

90%

Reviewer: Jason D - Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK
Date: 19th Feb 2011

Had this phone for about a week & it's OK to use but.

Typing out text messages can be a pain.

The camera is poor, had a better one on my BlackBerry Curve 3G!

On the upside, the Music playback is pretty good.

The battery life is good as well, 1 day, 14 hours on a full charge!

Design

95%

Usability

80%

Features

100%

Reviewer: Pat - UK
Date: 5th Feb 2011

I've had this phone for a few weeks now & had no problems at all, first thing was to upgrade to android 2.1 very easy done from the Ericsson website. A lot of people report bad battery life, I turned off GPS (SETTINGS, LOCATION & SECURITY) I only use this if I want to use sat nav, I also turn off Data traffic (SETTINGS WIRELESS & NETWORKS MOBILE NETWORKS) as lots of the apps use this for updates & can use up your battery life, also watch how bright you have your screen as this can eat into your battery. I've downloaded loads of free apps from Android market & the phone works great with all of them so far, live wallpapers are so cool. Music player is a bit basic but sounds OK, I must admit I downloaded a better player with EQ so I can set the sound how I like it. The camera is fine, videos are OK in daylight but I have a digital camera for photos so only use the phone for the odd snap. Touch screen is clear & works well but can be a bit sensitive, give the power button a quick press to lock the phone before you put it in your pocket or you'll be ringing your mates without you knowing.

Overall I think the phone is excellent & with some of the deals out there it's worth every penny.

Design

100%

Usability

90%

Features

90%

Reviewer: Ludwik - Leeds, UK
Date: 25th Jan 2011

Bought the phone on PAYG on the 3 network for £100. Worth the £100 & not much more. Some phones cost a lot more & are worth a lot less.

- Solid quality build.
- Came with Android 2.1 update 1.
- Screen accurate & sensitive. No problems texting.
- GPS works fine.
- Live wallpapers impressive.
- Very little lag, so despite only having a 600MHZ processor. It is fast.
- Camera is a disappointment. A Sony 3MP camera, inferior to the 2MP on the Nokia 5230. Bad!
- For some reason the supplied 2GB micro SD card inside & difficult to access, since the cover is difficult to remove!

Design

95%

Usability

90%

Features

90%

Reviewer: Peter - Wallington, UK
Date: 23rd Jan 2011

My wife was offered this phone as an upgrade when her contract came to an end. She said that she did not want a large phone & mainly wanted to text & call, but did want to be able to access the Internet & pick up her emails from time to time. She did not see the phone before it arrived, & this was a mistake.

The phone is far too small to be usable with a QWERTY keyboard. It's the same size as her old phone, but that had a 123 keypad & was easy to use, but even turned sideways to make the 'keys' bigger, the X8 is far too difficult to hit the right letters when writing a text.

Trying to find where everything is, settings etc, is difficult, although with time I am sure she could have found where everything was, but it is so unusable due to its size, that we rang up & have exchanged it for an HTC Desire.

Also it looks & feels very cheap & plasticy, very much entry level & not what we would expect from Sony.

Design

50%

Usability

Features

70%

Click here to add your own review for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8