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The XPERIA X1 was surely the most eagerly anticipated device in the world of Windows Mobile. Getting our review out was surely quite a wait too, we know. Better late than ever, as some folks say. We'll still have our say 'cause for the XPERIA it's a load of high expectations to live up to.
The device is the first smartphone that runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS for the company, and it is also the first device the company has put out that sports the sideways sliding form factor, which is quite popular among QWERTY smartphone users.it also features Sony Ericsson's new Panels home screen interface.
The extra solid metal looks, gorgeous screen and the right pinch of novelty called XPERIA panels look to us as good enough reasons for the X1 to be hyped and romanticized. By the way, romance or not, Sony Ericsson and HTC have hit their perfect shape with that one.
Key features:
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support plus HSDPA 7.2Mbps
- 3-inch 65K-color WVGA touchscreen
- Qualcomm MSM7200 528 Mhz CPU and 256 MB DDR SDRAM
- 3.15 MP auto focus camera with VGA video recording
- Four-row full QWERTY slide-out keyboard
- Wi-Fi and built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS
- X-Panels interface
- Optical trackpad
- Exquisite and solid metallic body
- Standard miniUSB port and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
- microSD memory expansion
- FM radio with RDS
- 3.5mm standard audio jack
- MS Office Mobile document editor
- Opera 9.5 web browser
- Excellent video playback performance
- Superb audio quality
Main disadvantages:
- Body is a bit on the bulky side
- User interface is hardly thumb-optimized
- Mediocre camera performance
- No built-in accelerometer
- Poor display sunlight legibility
- Records low quality VGA @ 30fps video in 3GP format
- No TV-out port
- No full Flash support for the browser (hence no full-featured YouTube)
Notably, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1’s camera is said to be darn decent, and could even get better with some software-enhancements from HTC. Unfortunately, the XPERIA X1’s keyboard leaves something to be desired. The keyboard is a huge selling point for a device like the X1, so here’s to hoping that both HTC and Sony Ericsson can figure out how to make their keyboard more responsive and tactile before going official
The XPERIA X1 is one of the best-equipped Windows Mobile devices to ever set foot on the market. But hey, is it not the most elaborate and charismatic PocketPC too? As to skills, the high-res 3" screen and the full QWERTY keyboard seem the most important parts of its magnificent ammo though its processing power is not to be neglected either.
Many devices find their identity in standing up to a rival. The XPERIA though is fatefully bound to always have one foot on alien ground. The haunting name for the X1 is HTC - manufacturer and main competitor.
As you probably guessed by yourselves the main alternative to the XPERIA X1 is HTC Touch Pro. It has a smaller screen than the XPERIA X1 and features a slightly lower resolution. In addition it is heavier and, if we were to be asked, not nearly as hot as the XPERIA
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The keyboard of X1 comprises 42 buttons, one of which serves as a shortcut to the standard WM menu. All the keys are grouped in four roughs and well-segmented. The navigation panel consists of 6 buttons plus the central joystick button with the standard four ‘arrow’ directions. Such a large number of buttons was a reason to reduce the size of an individual key, resulting in damage to ergonomics. The backlight of the navigation block is quite good though.
Software
So here's where it gets a little bit weird. This is a Sony Ericsson device, but OEM'd for SE by HTC, long established players in the Windows Mobile field. There's simply no other way to put it: for the most part, the Xperia X1 feels like a HTC device. Sony Ericsson have worked some of their own magic in the build with the unique 'panels' concept, but that aside, it's pretty standard fare.
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The X1 runs Windows Mobile Professional 6.1, the latest and greatest from Microsoft, which is IMHo a perfectly competent UI on a device such as this. Aside from the core Windows Mobile applications, we get Adobe Reader LE, Comm Manager, Google Maps, Esmertec Java, Opera 9.5, QuickGPS, Streaming Media, TouchFlo kinetic scrolling and HTC's Task Manager. All looks kind of familiar no? The Camera application is unique to the X1, and includes some unique features, such as VGA video recording and touch based spot focus.
So on to 'panels'. The easiest way to describe panels is as a collection of selectable 'home screens' that provide different types of funcionality and that can be developed by 3rd parties. Included panels on the X1 are the standard homescreen, one that is predominantly a clock (with some quick access buttons), an animated acquarium panel (with fish that change based on device notifications), one that is mainly a calendar (again with some quick access buttons), a media panel (with a familiar Sony / Sony Ericsson UI), a FM radio panel and a Google panel. I mentioned before that 3rd parties could develop panels, and in fact the Sony Ericsson site is already offering a 'SPB Mobile Shell' panel (completely free), which is arguably better than any of the included ones! I anticipate as the device launches and grows in popularity we'll see a number of additional panels appearing.
The panel launcher page simply has icons for the panels, they do not actually update, say, if you receive an email or other notification. When you launch the panel it brings a static picture of the panel to the foreground before cutting to the live panel. You can only have one panel running at time; to return to the panel overview page simply hit the Panel button. A minor annoyance is that the standard Windows Mobile homescreen is one of the panels, we much would have preferred a home button that automatically takes you there rather than kicking back to the panel interface and then having to launch it.
Phonebook and Organizer:
As a WM Professional device the X1 is as full-featured as it gets. It of course syncs with Outlook, so managing contacts and calendar is simple. Being a GSM phone, when a new contact is added the user is given the option to add it as a SIM or Outlook contact. Only the latter will sync with Outlook when the phone is paired with a computer. There is nothing new with the X1; it runs the standard Windows Mobile Calendar and Contacts application. Other PIM applications are also exactly the same as before, such as Notes, Tasks, Calculator and Clock.
A press of the send key brings up both call history and the dialpad. Its design language matches the X1, but the layout is very similar to the Touch Diamond. Sony has added four onscreen keys: Send, Call History, Contacts and Favorites, which sit above the dialpad and below the call history. The in-call screen is also similar in function to HTC devices, though the design is very different. There are two rows of three icons: Speaker, Mute, and Hold atop Notes, Contacts and Dialpad. Along the bottom is a large end button.There is no voice dialing software on the X1, which is a shame
Messaging:Messaging options are standard as well. The user can compose SMS and MMS messages, and the X1 features the same email client Windows Mobile has had for years. Everything works well and as you would expect it. Stock WinMo onscreen keyboards are available, but especially on the high resolution screen the keys are miniscule and we’d expect the physical keyboard to be used 95% of the time.
multimedia:With such a large, high resolution screen we have high expectations for the X1’s media capabilities. For the most part it performed well, and videos did indeed look fantastic. It is listed as being able to play MPEG4, WMV, H.263, H.264 video files, and indeed it played our H.264 files just fine no matter the resolution or fps (including 720x306 pixels at 1500fps). One minor annoyance is that when you tap on the screen to bring up playback controls- a requirement to adjust the volume - it automatically pauses the video.
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The 3.2 megapixel camera performed decently. Despite autofocus our indoor pictures turned out blurry, but outdoor shots were nice and crisp. Color representation was perhaps a bit on the dull side, but it was a dreary day when the pictures were taken and the camera captured it admirably. There was little to no noise, pixilation or distortion. The shutter speed was relatively quick, though it did vary based on lighting conditions. The interface is simple and options were good; the user can adjust the scene mode (night, portrait, etc,) focus, flash and shot mode. As the X1 isn’t marketed as a high end camera phone we were pleased with the results
Battery life is equally excellent. It is rated at an astounding 10 hours of talk time, with 13 days of standby. The battery can even handle 3.1 hours of video calling.
Conclusion:All in all we have to give the Xperia X1 high marks, especially for Sony Ericsson’s first attempt at a Windows Mobile device. Having HTC by your side definitely helps, but we like Sony’s innovative panel interface even if it isn’t quite as good as TouchFLO 3D. The screen is downright gorgeous, and the keyboard one of the better ones we’ve used. There is room for improvement though, and we eagerly await the X2.
tech specifications:
- OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional
- Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
- Browser WAP 2.0/HTML (IE), RSS feeds
- Games Yes + downloadable
- Colors Solid Black, Steel Silver
- Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA @ 30fps), flash; secondary videocall camera
- - A-GPS function
- - Java MIDP 2.0
- - FM radio with RDS
- - MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player
- - Motion sensor (with UI auto-rotate)
- - TrackID music recognition- Picture editor/blogging
- - Organiser
- - T9
- - Built-in handsfree
- - Voice memo/dial