Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 review

Sony Ericsson has produced some exceptional handsets over the years, with certain gems like the W950, W300i and W580i (just to name a few) catching the eyes and hearts of casual and hardcore mobile fanatics alike. Even so, it's hard to argue that any single phone in the outfit's history has caused more of a stir than the XPERIA X1. Sure, half of that is because we here in America have been waiting on the thing since February, but the other is due to pure, unadulterated sex appeal. 2008 has been a banner year for smart- / touchscreen-based handsets, and even though this one is lagging behind most of the other guys in terms of time to market, the X1 is still a formidable rival. We had a chance to spend a few quality days with the North America-bound X1a ($799.99; ships November 28th) -- which is different than the X1i that has already landed in certain parts of the globe -- and if you've come here looking for opinions, you haven't come in vain. Follow us past the break for a look at the pros, the cons and the middling minutiae of SE's slickest smartphone yet.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1: hands-on and unboxing

Design

No need to beat around the bush -- the very thing that caught everyone's attention when this beauty was originally unveiled was its magnificent body. From end to end, top to bottom, the XPERIA X1 is drop-dead gorgeous. Yeah, you could probably credit HTC for that, but either way, there's no denying just how striking this piece is in the hand. Sure, it's a bit bulkier than some of the fashionphones we've seen lately, but it's hardly "thick" for a WinMo powerhouse. In fact, we actually admired the heft and felt that it was just thick / heavy enough to feel "solid" without bleeding into the undesirable realm of "chunky."

Quite frankly, it's astounding the level of detail that's here. From the brushed black aluminum body to the tasteful chrome accents to the curvaceous slide-out keyboard, it's easy to see that every square millimeter of this was combed over before heading to production. The high-end exterior doesn't end there; flick your thumb against the loose side of the front panel and experience a silky smooth opening that reveals a chrome / silver QWERTY keyboard that's just begging to be touched. And if you take this gem behind closed doors and flip off the lights, be prepared to be all sorts of impressed with the backlit keys that light up automatically with the onset of night.

Keyboard

After caving to the keyboard's seduction, we quickly found that the typing experience wasn't nearly as delicious as we were led to believe. It's not that we couldn't bang out comprehensible messages at a decent rate, it's just that we never felt truly comfortable that what we were mashing was translating correctly to on-screen text. Let us explain. For starters, the entire keyboard is too flush with the body. Unless you're casting at least a passing glance at the keys while you type, you can easily question whether or not you've actually "depressed" a key. Sure, it sounds like a minor grumble, but a little more feedback in the keys would've certainly been swell. On a related note, the top row of keys is simply too close to the edge of the display. We can't imagine that the curved design helps in this regard, but in any case, we often found our reasonably small thumbs clashing with the bezel rather than inputting that all important "R," "T," or "O." Is this something you could learn to adapt to? Maybe. But after a number of days texting and sending e-mail, we still found ourselves having to re-input missed keystrokes and readjust our approach to the top row.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 keyboard

Display

Moving on to the display, we can't say that we're altogether stoked about the resistive touchscreen. Yeah, it gets the job done, but after spending a moment or two with a capacitive touch panel (see: T-Mobile G1 and Apple iPhone 3G), it's hard to go back to the mushy, spongy reality that comes with resistive. Particularly with some of WinMo's smallest icons, we were forced to angle our fingernail just so in order to finally get the screen to recognize our input in the correct location, and while it performed rather admirably with the stylus, those who tend to keep that thing holstered may take issue with how it interprets finger-based inputs. Not that this is any different than most other resistive touchscreens -- it's just the nature of the beast, so to speak. As for the quality of the 800 x 480 resolution display itself? Striking. And really, did you honestly expect a reaction different than that? We mean, it's a VGA screen on a handset -- that's a recipe hard to sabotage.

Buttons

A quick note on the hard buttons just beneath the LCD. All of 'em seemed to do their respective jobs well enough, but the optical joystick in the center was a touch on the finicky side. In some cases (scrolling up and down web pages, for instance), it was easy to love. In others (moving about within the Programs folder), we found ourselves frustrated by how erratic it could be. We'd gesture down, it would move two blocks right and one down. We'd gesture up, and it'd shoot up three and back down two. Thankfully, the quirkiness was somewhat contained after adjusting the sensitivity to an optimal setting (read: very low), though it's still a matter of personal preference whether one will enjoy this over using the touch panel or the "D-pad." Of note, the joystick can be deactivated altogether or just in IE, Messaging and Contacts.

Miscellaneous

It is worth noting that the external volume rocker is well placed and much appreciated, as is the marvelous 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. Also, we love how tightly integrated the 3.2-megapixel camera (and flash) is with the body, but we're not so hot on where the lens is. Time after time, we found ourselves having to move our finger from how it naturally fell when gearing up to depress the shutter button in order to snap a photo. Maybe our gorilla hands are just clumsy like that, but it seems to us the lens is placed precisely where your middle finger on your left hand will always reside when holding the camera for a shot. As for the camera quality? We'd say it's pretty darn great for a cellphone, but then again, the inbuilt camera tends to be one of Sony Ericsson's strong suits. Have a look at the sample shots below to see what it's capable of.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 sample camera shots

One final thought on the hardware -- the removable battery is much, much appreciated, as is the ease in which it is to remove. No atypical hardware is required here. Simply pop the back casing off with your thumb and pull up on the bottom of the cell. We will say, however, that having the micro SD slot hidden underneath of this casing could prove annoying for those who swap out flash cards with any frequency, but it does keep the overall look of the phone less cluttered.

Software / Windows Mobile 6.1

So, now that you've combed through the ups and downs of the hardware, we're logically ready to tackle software. By and large, what you've got here is tried and true Windows Mobile 6.1. In fairness, the operating system is beginning to show its age, and unlike the Touch Diamond, there isn't much here to mask it. Those familiar with WinMo 6.1 will feel immediately at home on the XPERIA X1. Everything is where you'd expect, and everything functions just like you're used to. Outside of the unique Panels interface, you won't find anything too out of the ordinary here.

One would think the 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200 processor coupled with 256MB of RAM could chew through this OS with ease, but in our testing, we found that not to be the case in too many instances. On an annoyingly frequent basis, we found the "OK" button and hard "Exit" trigger to do absolutely nothing for 5, 10, even 20 seconds. Eventually, everything would catch back up and we could resume whatever it was that we were trying to do in the first place, but the frequent and debilitating lag when switching applications, screen orientation, folders or e-mail accounts was downright pestiferous. After awhile, it would often get to the point where a hard reboot was the only option left for getting the system back to its speedy self. When things did decide to run smoothly, we found ourselves enjoying the spoils of Windows Mobile, but too often -- for instance -- we'd glance down and manually surf over to "Messaging" only to find a dozen text messages that it never bothered to alert us of.

Panels

As for the Panel interface, we found ourselves cautiously optimistic that SE could have a winner on its hands here. Just seven panels come loaded on the X1a, and for those unfamiliar, each panel is essentially a customizable home screen that provides a variety of information based on what panel you have selected. For instance, the included Google panel puts a search box right on your home screen along with one-click links to Maps, Gmail, Gcal and Photos. The multimedia panel puts your tunes / videos at the forefront of your X1 experience, while the more generic calender panel hosts up a clock, your upcoming appointments, the current weather and a small RSS feed of your favorite websites.

We've heard that SE has big plans for this initiative, possibly bringing panels for YouTube access, social networking sites, etc. Unfortunately, the "More Panels" download link within the UI was still under construction at the time of this writing, so we're left to simply hope that what will eventually reside there is enriching and worthwhile. We should mention, however, that our experience with the seven built-in panels wasn't entirely exhilarating. Oftentimes, just changing panels was a 10 to 30 second affair, and icons on the panels themselves generally took 5 or more seconds to respond to an input (read: not nearly as quickly as what we saw in a Panels promotional vid). It's possible the panels integration with WinMo could be tightened in future software updates, but as it stands, the lag times put a damper on an otherwise enticing aspect of the phone.

Multimedia

Given that the X1 managed to secure a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack (very much unlike the G1, sadly), we reckon a swath of potential buyers are probably interested in the multimedia capabilities. Thanks to SE's panel that caters specifically to that, we were able to browse, playback and skip around within our tunes right from the home screen. Our experience was generally positive, with the audio being crisp, clear and plenty audible. The interface itself will also prove satisfactory for most, with the occasional hint of lag preventing us from giving it our largest nod of approval. And as insinuated, not having to buy some unconventional headphone adapter probably helped us love this even more.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 user interface

Web browsing

It should be noted that the inclusion of Opera Mobile makes the web surfing experience entirely more enjoyable than with Internet Explorer. We pitted the X1 (using Opera Mobile, obviously) against the iPhone 3G to see which would load up the full version (read: non-mobile version) of our homepage the fastest via WiFi, and while Safari managed to load the entire page -- graphics and all -- before the X1, the X1 did get the first text up a smidgen faster than the iPhone 3G. We did administer the same test via 3G, and results were similar. All in all, Opera Mobile provides a browsing experience that's enjoyable and usable, and if you're still not satisfied, there's always Skyfire (in time, hopefully). Have a look at the video below to see the X1 and iPhone 3G race to the finish.



Usability / Reception

In the end, a phone's merits on paper are only truly laudable if the end product is easy and painless to use. To that end, we'd like to take this opportunity to focus on some of the handset's more critical functions, namely calling and navigating. In a fringe area of AT&T coverage, we compared the X1's reception with that of the iPhone 3G, and unfortunately, our findings weren't all that copacetic for Sony Ericsson's offering. In areas where we could eke out a call on EDGE with two bars on the iPhone 3G (with no crackling, drops, etc.), we couldn't with the X1. In fact, we found it constantly hopping in and out of 3G, EDGE and GPRS (yes, seriously) as it attempted in vain to secure a solid signal. Worse still, a number of calls made with four bars of 3G echoed uncontrollably to the point where we were forced to hang up, move to a different area, and try the call again.

That being said, call quality and reception in major metropolitan areas (or areas of very good AT&T coverage) was second to none. There was no hissing, no echoing, no crackling. Everyone that we called affirmed that we sounded fantastic, and we replied back that they sounded as handsome as ever. The takeaway? Those who know they live in an AT&T fringe zone may want to think twice about snagging the X1. Fringe reception was simply too poor for us live with, and anyone you'd end up calling frequently would probably agree. Of course, we now know that an AT&T femtocell (read: a mini cell tower for your house, to put it simply) trial is slated to get going later this year, so maybe there's hope for you yet.

As for its GPS capabilities, we've nothing but the highest of praise. The Google Maps application loaded up quickly, and the handset managed to get an accurate lock of our indoor location in just under 1.5 minutes. Walking about, we found that the blue orb followed along accurately, and basic navigating tests left us impressed. We know, it's hard to go wrong with Google Maps, but at least we know the GPS module in this thing is up to the task.

We also ran a quick 3G speed test in Opera just to give you all an idea of how quickly it could suck down data via AT&T's 3G network. Our DSLReports tests displayed the following (tests shown in the order they were conducted):

• 348 kbit/sec; 0.433s latency; 23.91s download time of a 1MB file.
• 748 kbit/sec; 0.71s latency; 11.564s download time of a 1MB file.
• 589 kbit/sec; 0.696s latency; 14.604s download time of a 1MB file.

Battery Life

We never hooked the XPERIA X1 up to any sort of drain tester, nor did we outsource this portion of the review to a robotic yapper who could track talk time down to the nanosecond, but we did go about our days doing what we imagine most cellphone owners would do in order to bring you the following. With moderate usage of 3G data and a moderate amount of talking / texting, we squeezed just under two full days out of the X1.

More specifically, we chatted for a few hours, surfed the web for an hour or so, sent a few dozen angry text messages while in gridlocked traffic and left it completely unplugged (while still on) around the clock before seeing it choke out its last breath around 22 hours later. In all honestly, we were taken aback by the battery life of the XPERIA X1. We've owned WinMo devices in the past that wouldn't last a solid day with moderate usage, so to us, just making it 'til bedtime is a feat in and of itself. Granted, the X1's not razor thin or anything, and the 1,500mAh battery is surely on the large size, but we never felt as if the phone was made bulkier simply to extend its life between charges.

Wrap-up

So, here we are. The moment of truth. The section you probably blazed down to without even ingesting any of the minutiae that resides above. Is the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 worth your time and money ($799.99, to be precise)? As with any handset, that obviously depends on your needs, but those looking specifically for a Windows Mobile-powered device should give this long (long!) awaited device a serious look. For starters, the HTC design is truly world class. You'll be hard pressed to find a sexier phone in all aspects than this one here, and let's face it, design matters this day and age.

Our only major cautions before buying blind revolve around the lackluster reception in fringe areas of coverage and the lag / hiccups associated with WinMo 6.1. There's hardly anything more frustrating with a new handset than the inability to reliably make / take calls and the inability to navigate effortlessly around every nook and cranny of an operating system without four reboots per day. SE's Panels UI holds some real promise, but until it becomes more seamlessly integrated (meaning less lag in every respect), we can't say it's a game-changing inclusion.

In almost every other way, though, the XPERIA X1 shines. The battery life is stellar, the browsing in Opera is delightful, the VGA resolution is drool-worthy and the integrated camera isn't too shabby, either. This here truly is a case of matching up the pros and cons with your specific needs and determining which list outweighs the other. Now, if someone figures out how to get Android up and running on this thing, we wouldn't say a "wholehearted recommendation" would be too far from the realm of feasibility.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:09AM]

No bad at all.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:19AM]

Yea only 10 seconds behind the iPhone browser....

this phone comes out 2 years later and is still slower than an iPhone... the diamond buttons look like shite.

But I implore everyone to run, not walk to your local dealer and procure one... help the economy... buy up the crap...

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:13AM]

It's a lot of money, and let down by lazy OS programmers.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:42AM]

yes- thank goodness that Sony came to the rescue and made a phone that I can use to accompany my beautiful iPhone. I begged Apple to add some of these features- such as A2DP, video recording, keyboard, etc- and they flat-out refused saying that most of those wouldn't be implemented until the 5th generation of iPhone.

Now I can buy this phone for all the features I want and still keep my iPhone; I will have the X1 in my pocket and proudly wear my iPhone on my belt and no one will be the wiser!

I also hear that Apple is considering buying Sony so they can add their iPhone talents to the Xperia X2.

[rock99rock Posted Nov 12th 2008 11:07AM]

@iEye

I see you are back to original form.

I would like to see the iphone generate the 800x480 webpage in the same time as the x1. I enjoy my iphone most times, but am always looking for something better. This or the Touch HD will replace my iphone.

Darren, thank you for the very thorough, informative review.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 6th 2008 12:17PM]

$799?! note to sony: there's this little thing called a recession. You should look it up.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:43AM]

799.00 to much.......

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:02AM]

It is only that much UNSUBSIDIZED and UNLOCKED. How much do unlocked iPhones cost? Over a grand USD?

This will cost just as much as the Touch Pro et al. when it releases on att.

[ack154 Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:11AM]

Well if you go by first gen prices... $500 and $600. And I don't think the 3G variant would be too far from that.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 11:24AM]

It was $500 and $600 WITH A CONTRACT, i.e. subsidized.

An unlocked iPhone when it released was over $1000.

[ack154 Posted Nov 12th 2008 12:05PM]

Uh... just because the original ones were with a contract DOES NOT MEAN that they were subsidized. How do you think they got such a price cut on the 3G version? They are NOW subsidized.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 14th 2008 6:26AM]

Resistive touch-screen??? ARGH! Like a shitty Treo! Why do these companies even use those pieces of crap anymore! I didn't realize how awesome touch screens could be until I used an iPhone. Capacitive touchscreens are the ONLY way to go!

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:13AM]

$799?!

I think only Apple could pull that one off...

[nelagster Posted Nov 12th 2008 10:02AM]

and Nokia...

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 10:55AM]

well, somebody must be buying those Diamonds and Pros from Best Buy.

[wako Posted Nov 12th 2008 12:28PM]

yeah... they just totally lost a customer over here because of that price tag...

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 13th 2008 12:44AM]

Did you guys just crawl out from under a rock??? Sony Ericsson and Nokia have sold high-end phones at that price for ages. The N95 had the same price tag when it hit the market and the HTC Touch Pro cost just as much. Obviously the up-front price is lower when you buy it subsidized but this is such a normal price.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:13AM]

Am putting this on my wishlist, anybody? christmas gift?

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:23AM]

The keyboard is in fact so bad that it is barely a step up from an onscreen keyboard done right, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a hardware keyboard. It is quite awful, truly - a HTC Touch Pro is miles better.

Also, the WVGA resolution is fantastic, but on such a tiny screen some of the utility is lost since the OS doesn't scale quite properly (a completely resolution-independent OS that could make use of the resolution intelligently would mean the higher the resolution the better, as all that would happen was that sharpness went up. Here everything gets tiny.)

And finally, TouchFlo is really quite a revolution for finger-based use of a WinMo device. It's not quite iPhone level, but it does improve things immensely compared to the stock WinMo - and Xperia is essentially stock WinMo with Panels on top, which is another strike against the X1. All these things are a shame, I wanted to like the X1 but just can't.

Fortunately, there is my next phone instead... the HTC Touch HD. Same resolution, usable screen size and TouchFlo with a good on-screen keyboard instead.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:55AM]

I love my diamond and have no issues have my Serene for sale :)

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 10:25AM]

so load the TouchFlo interface and stop complaining... many people have done it and seem to work well if you like the interface.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:26AM]

$799 is a lot, but it sure is nice. My only problem is AT&T is waving around the HT Touch Pro in front of me for $299. It has similar features, missing a few, but still very nice.

Maybe if the government gives us another "stimulus" check I will do my part and buy one. :)

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:09AM]

799.00 is the unlocked price before carrier discount. the htc pro and hd are all very expensive as is the iphone without the carriers added discount. these discounts down the road cost you more then they help you. believe me they do their math before they make a price! take that 299.99 and add what you expect to pay based on contract for whatever number of years and you get what looks like a really bad lease where you are buying a product 10 times over before you can upgrade. for the smart people who buy unlocked and know paying the premium is always the better way. the question then becomes is it worth it period.

the htc hd is not for north america and will only operate at edge speeds here.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:40AM]

Do your part and buy a Japanese phone??

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:46AM]

HTC Touch HD is just a beta version of a future product, IMO. And its quite expensive.
Just wait a few months and there should be a better HTC product. What makes me think so? HTC Touch HD isn't going to be sold in Russia. And not 3G in America. Then who they made it for? Testers! :)

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 10:06AM]

You know I've never really understood this contract price argument. I'm not going to be paying any more than I currently am for my service. I don't know where you all get free cell phone service from. Here are a few scenarios:

Now: $75/month with old phone
Touch Pro : $75/month + $299 Touch Pro
X1: $75/month + $799 X1

For $799, I could get the Touch Pro on contract AND and unlocked phone (like the N85 ~$500) and still be paying $75/month. It only makes sense if you have the extra money to blow. But then again you could end up like me, waiting around for a year after my contract expired for AT&T to pick up a decent feature phone.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 11:06AM]

Do it. The AT&T Fuze (HTC Touch Pro) is amazing.
I am a senior in high-school so yeah money is kinda tight, so that was a factor when choosing the Fuze over the X1
however if i really wanted, i may have been able to wait and buy a X1.

But i have been watching the Touch Pro since it was announced, i love HTC, and then when it was announced for AT&T i was pretty damn sure i would get it- $300 on contract is MUCH better than $700+ for an unlocked version.

When i first bought the phone i loved it, first of all it is very fashionable, and the keyboard is small but easy to use.
Then when i turned it on the new TouchFLO was awesome as well, weather tab = gorgeous.

By the time i got home i noticed that TouchFLO was getting laggy and a freezing up sometimes, so i googled HTC Touch Pro Hacks, and found a guide to changing the system cache, etc.
I was skeptical at first, but these tweaks made TouchFLO run amazingly fast- no more lagging or freezing!

and I didn't even have to flash the rom, i've done it on a cheaper phone and its worked wonders, but on something i payed top-dollar for like this- I'm not gonna risk bricking it

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 2:22PM]

If you picked the subsidized Fuze over the unsubsidized X1, you would have saved $500 in initial costs. That's $500 you can use towards paying your monthly $75 service. Depending on how you look at it, you could consider that to be 6 months of "free service" (Fuze + 6 months = X1 + 0 months). Otherwise your $75 monthly bill stays the same, but AT&T helps pay for your Fuze by having you sign a 2 yr contract (under which you cannot get another subsidized phone).

[carcomptoy Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:25AM]

Why would putting Android on this make it worth the $799.99 price tag??

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:27AM]

WOW, now VGA on engadget is the new WVGA.

[Dahk Posted Nov 12th 2008 12:58PM]

Ah it's the same number of vertical pixels. Not too much of a biggie.

In any case, anyone know the differences between the X1a and X1i? Is it just running on different bands of frequencies?

I've been playing with the X1i for a while now, and I don't necessarily find the top row of the keyboard to suck. I actually found that to be the most tactile of them all, because for some reason, they click more. The 3rd row is a disaster, as it seems all mushy and whatnot.

Also, I think Panels has the POTENTIAL to be better than TouchFLO. Because, well, since TouchFLO is one interface, Panels has the potential to have way more interfaces, including TouchFLO itself. And it's already been done! I just hate that it's so insanely slow.

Oh MS ActiveSync included is a nice touch. A bit slow to use, and sideloading is quite slow on it. My G1 seems to sideload faster.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:40AM]

Screen looks lovely, and ideal for web browsing.

Think i'd probably do without the physical keyboard and get the Touch HD though, but I know how some love their keyboards!

You didn't mention video recording.. which is really good on the X1. 640x480@30fps

[ack154 Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:38AM]

No way that thing would be worth $800... fully functional and lag free or not. No way.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:39AM]

Touchflo is available as a panel on the X1, which really gives you the best of both worlds.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:45AM]

I was once excited about the X1 but the G1 and i-phone came out i see no need to spend $800 on this phone i could but so much with $800 so i wont go out and buy this phone. Its mediocre at best but looks good that's about all i can say about it. To those who will purchase enjoy it. Because i certainly wont

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 8:50AM]

God I'm getting thoroughly sick of hearing that 'HTC designed the X1', etc, etc. And really a mobile phone reviewer should know a hell of a lot better!

The X1 was designed by Sony Ericsson, and all the software was developed by Sony Ericsson. HTC built the device. Just like ASUS or Acer or one of them builds computers for HP. That is all that HTC did, so quite acting like it's an HTC phone.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:28AM]

Yeah, I thought that was kind of weird too. HTC historically does a lot of manufacturing of other company's phones, it doesn't mean that they did all the design work on them. It's possible that HTC's manufacturing abilities had some degree of influence over the phone's design, but suggesting that HTC designed it themselves is very likely inaccurate.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 13th 2008 12:18AM]

EngadgetMobile is STUPID. This is the only explanation.

HTC DID NOT DESIGN THE XPERIA X1.
HTC DID NOT DESIGN THE XPERIA X1.
HTC DID NOT DESIGN THE XPERIA X1.
HTC DID NOT DESIGN THE XPERIA X1.
HTC DID NOT DESIGN THE XPERIA X1.
HTC DID NOT DESIGN THE XPERIA X1.

They just "built it". SE designed the entire phone.
They just "built it". SE designed the entire phone.
They just "built it". SE designed the entire phone.
They just "built it". SE designed the entire phone.
They just "built it". SE designed the entire phone.
They just "built it". SE designed the entire phone.

This has been stressed upon -like nothing else- in many many MANY SE interviews and hands-on. DAMMIT ENGADGET.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:55AM]

lol 799 its look so plasty :S

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:02AM]

Nice review, thanks.

Strange to see that you guys had a problem with the reception, I have no problems with mine, but it should be noted that I live in Holland, and the networks here have great reception all over, and I also think that it is important to say that I do have an X1i and not an X1a, so I guess that they are a little different.
I use my phone for everything, and I travel a lot inside the country, and it works perfectly even while riding a train, with 3G on, between cities.
Still, I always switch 3G off if I don't use it, I do the same with wi-fi and bluetooth, and I get by without a recharge for 3 days.
I also have to say that I never noticed a 30 seconds lag while or pressing an OK button or changing panels, it is always fully loaded (with icons and everything) in less than 10, always.
I also compared the internet speed with an iPhone 3G of a friend, and the X1 was always a little faster, but we considered the test not really fair, because I could use a real fast 3G network and he couldn't, even if it was with the same provider, the capabilities are higher than what the iPhone can reach. (sorry, I don't know the technicallity of this, but he assured me that is so).
Also I'd like to say that the keyboard feels great to me, but it might be because I have very thin fingers, I could see how somebody with thick fingers can get in trouble with the top row.
My last mobile was a P1i, so this one was a natural buy for me, I alwyas used a stylus, if you don't, I woudn't recommend buying an X1, it is meant to be used by a stylus, it is incredible fast that way.

Can it be that the X1a and the X1i are so different???? I guess that it can, but I didn't know that before.

Cheers, Hermond.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 20th 2008 11:58AM]

Nope it´s not a issue a vs i,have an i and the reception really sucks,totaly unusable.
This is just a pda as a phone it simply fails.
Worst ever XPERIAence trust me, if you want a phone do NOT buy folks..

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:06AM]

Guys, it is 799 unsubzidized. Read: No carrier contract. 799 for a no term, unlocked handset. Okay?

With a 3 year watch the price of this thing plummet.

And you are so concerned. Give it a few months. You can essentially grab this is Europe for free with a contract. That is how fast phones depreciate.

If you like it, but the price is throwing you off, wait 4-6 months and watch it drop a few hundred.

[ryaninc Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:14AM]

Why oh why would they make it a resistive touchscreen? After using the capacitive screen on my G1, I don't think I could ever go back to a resistive. :-(

Also, I understand why they made it a 4 row keyboard (to save space), but, again, why? I type numbers way too often for this to ever work for me.

Nevermind the fact that nobody I know will ever be able to afford it.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:35AM]

To my knowledge, there is no Windows Mobile phone on the market that has a capacitive touch screen. I'm not an expert on mobile phone technology, but it seems possible to me that Windows Mobile simply doesn't support capacitive screens.

Just look at the G1: HTC clearly has the ability to manufacture (damn nice) capacitive touch screens. Yet every single one of their self-branded "Touch" WinMo phones uses a resistive touch screen despite having an in-house designed Touchflo 3D home screen designed to be used with a finger instead of a stylus. I think the operating system is to blame, not the design choices of the manufacturer.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:40AM]

Windows Mobile does not support Capacitive screens, thats why.


Kev

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 10:12AM]

The diamond and touch pro both have capacitive screens and are windows mobile however you are right they don't work perfectly with a capacitive screen, things don't respond sometimes with corner presses.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 11:06AM]

@projekt84

do the corner presses still not work as well even when using the stylus? I think the part of WinMo that doesn't work well with capacitive is the small icons. I found precise screen presses more difficult with a capacitive screen than I have with resistive. I like the tactile feedback of resistive. Finger movements (scrolling, swiping) work better on capacitive, though.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 5:01PM]

@projekt84

I just did a quick google search and found numerous sources, including Engadget, stating that the Touch Diamond uses a resistive touch screen. It does use a capacitive panel for the buttons below the screen, but the screen itself is resistive.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:15AM]

just wanted to make a comment about the echo, often times the echo can be fixed by just lowering the volume on headset speaker a bit, more often than not thats the cause, and not the reception.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 12th 2008 9:43AM]

It is. But in most cases you should also ask the other person to decrease the volume too. And I noticed a funny thing: while on some phones there is echo problem, on others there is no echo problem. And there is no echo problem with headsets (bluetooth headsets for example, but quality is usually lower).