Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 review – extensive price tag without any U.S. carrier backing
For:
The Xperia X1 is a Window Mobile smartphone with full QWERTY keyboard and attractive design. It has an interactive panel interface with lot of customization options.
Against:
Xperia X1 does not have U.S carrier backing, still has an extensive price tag. Its navigation array is a bit more difficult to use. Sony has to focus on Web browsing experience.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is based on WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM technology that supports dual band of WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900. It has internal 400MB user-accessible memory and micro-SD expansion slot that accepts up to 16GB cards. Sony is also supplying 2GB micro-SD card inside the box. Supported wireless interfaces are Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11b.
3-inch touch screen LCD display is based on TFT technology. It has 800×480 pixels that display 16-bit (65,000) colors. The basic features of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 are LCD touch-screen, Melody composer, Screensaver, Wallpaper, Backlit, Multi-language menu, and White display illumination color.
3.2-megapixel camera features 3x digital zoom, LED light, and automatic focus adjustment. The additional features are HSDPA, Java applications, Internet Explorer Mobile, Opera Mini, EDGE, Video calling, and GPRS. The messaging features are Mobile Email, text and multimedia messaging, support for POP3/IMAP4/SMTP, and Microsoft Direct Push Technology. The data features are Mobile blog, and RSS feeds.
Accessories included package are user manual, software disc, wired headset, 2GB micro-SD card, USB cable, and power adapter.
Razzle Dazzle:
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is 2.1 inches wide, 4.4 inches tall, and 0.7 inch thick and weighs 5.6 ounces. It is available in both black and silver colors. Our test model had black color. It feels cool and attractive while taking in hands.
Inside Dope:
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is the first Sony phone to release with Windows Mobile 6.1. It is a luxury smartphone with solid construction and extensive price tag. We appreciate the Sony Ericsson to work perfectly on hardware to provide a wow factor to the Xperia X1, but it works like other Windows Mobile devices. It features slide-out QWERTY keyboard, optical joystick, various multimedia features and easy-to-use panel interface. There are standard seven panels and you can download more from Sony Ericsson download site. Its unlocked version costs $799.99 and available at Sony Style stores. We are disappointed that currently no U.S. carrier is supporting the Xperia X1. Its navigation array is a bit difficult to use and Sony need to focus on Web browsing. The Xperia X1 supports 850/1900/2100 UMTS/HSDPA bands, which means it fully operates with AT&T SIM in the United States. On the contrary, the X1 only works for calling and Web surfing at T-Mobile with EDGE because its 3G network runs on 1700/2100 bands.
Design
The display and navigation array are located on the front of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. You can slide the front surface on the right side to access the QWERTY keyboard. Mini-USB port sits on the left spine, whereas camera activation/capture and volume rocker buttons are located on right side. Power button and 3.5mm headset jack is located on the top. The camera lens sits on the back, whereas the micro-SD card slot is located behind the battery cover on back. There is no locking mechanism for battery cover, but there are two indentations where you can pull off the cover with fingernails.
Display
3 inches touch screen LCD display of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 has 800×480 pixels resolution that exhibits 65,536 colors. It shows vibrant color and text as well images look crispy. Sony Ericsson has added one-touch access to selected features and ability to personalize the smartphone. As already said, the Xperia X1 has panel based user interface. You can select any panel out of nine and customize your Today screen. The preloaded seven standard panels are Media Experience, Xperia Radio, 3D Fish, Google, two variations of Sony Ericsson, and Microsoft Today.
We like the 3D Fish panel in which the notifications are symbolized by three fishes on the screen. Ryukin – speckled fish will display missed call alert and other fish will change color on arriving a new message or for low battery life. Moreover, you can also customize the displayed information on Today screen and add/remove widgets like weather forecast, clock formats and Web feeds. You can download more panels from Sony Ericsson download site. Again, we appreciate the Sony to give us such a beautiful panelized interface.
Navigation Array
Navigation array sits underneath the display and consists of optical joystick with middle select button, Ok key, End/Lock button, X1 panel key, Talk key, and two soft keys. All these buttons are small in size. The joystick functions quite similar to optical mouse of Samsung Epix and Omnia, but still small in size that limits while moving at a page. The joystick also works as four-way directional track-pad for navigation.
QWERTY Keyboard
You can slide the front surface to right side to access the QWERTY keyboard. Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 has smooth and easy to use sliding mechanism that is strong enough to withstand multiple opening and closings. The slide-layout keyboard looks like that of Sprint Mogul and AT&T Tilt. There is a slight curve to prop the display at a nice viewing angle and to hold phone comfortably while using the keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard is very easy to use except for the oddly located numeric keys. Its buttons are spacious, but small in size.
Operating System and Applications
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition. As a result, you will get complete Microsoft Office Mobile Suite to use your Office documents. Microsoft Direct Push Technology allows for delivering/receiving messages on real-time and automatic synchronization with Outlook tasks, calendar and contacts through Exchange Server.
Moreover, Xperia X1 has inbuilt support for POP3/IMAP4/SMTP email accounts, Internet Explorer Mobile edition, Opera Mobile, and Windows Live integration. The Google Panel allows accessing Google Maps, Gmail, and Google search; whereas Sony Ericsson panel provides Web feeds from your selected 10 Web sites. There is an inbuilt QuickGPS utility that downloads current satellite information via Internet. The preloaded Google Maps provides text-based driving directions. In addition, Sony provides Wayfinder Navigation – an online application in CD that provides voice guided prompts and real-time tracking.
Phonebook and PIM features
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 can store contacts limited to available memory and SIM card is able to hold additional 250 contacts. Each contact can save multiple phone numbers, birthday, instant-messaging handle, and email addresses. You can organize the contacts into caller groups and pair them with a group ID, ring-tone, and photo for caller ID. The basic feature set includes multimedia and text messaging, conference calling, speakerphone, quad-band world roaming, calculator, notepad, and task list.
The advanced highlights of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 are integrated Wi-Fi, 3G/3.5G support, A-GPS, and Bluetooth. Supported Bluetooth profiles are dial-up networking, hands-free kits, and stereo as well as mono headsets.
Camera
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 has 3.2 megapixels camera that has similar interface as that of Sony CyberShot digital camera. The still image options are six shooting modes, face detection, ability to tap on screen for focusing at any object, three quality settings, and five picture sizes. These same options are applicable for video recording with two shooting modes as well as two scene options.
We captured some pictures and recorded video with the Xperia X1 for testing. The overall picture quality was impressive with nice object definition. The colors were natural and rich, but photos had little softness. The recorded video quality was also good, but there was some minimum pixilation for moving objects.
Music Player
The media player interface of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 resembles that on Bravia TV, PSP and PlayStation3. It supports audio formats of WMA, AAC+, M4A, MIDI, WAV, MP4 and MP3, as well as video formats of WMV, MPEG4 and MP4. The other media highlights are FM radio, streaming media player, and pod-cast support.
Call Quality
We made few calls through quad-band based Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 via AT&T. The overall call quality was good. However, we received little background hiss while making calls that only finished when callers answered. We received loud and clear sound with a bit of voice distortion at our end. The callers also received good sound at their end and they could not tell we were calling through cell phone. We did not face any dropped calls while testing.
The speakerphone call quality was average. Both us received garbled sound with weak volume. We did not face any problem while pairing Bluetooth headsets with the X1. We loaded some Web sites at Internet Explorer Mobile to test the 3G speeds. The GSMcellulars.com and Microsoft.com loaded in 40 seconds and 25 seconds.
Performance Check
We played few WMV clips and all of them played back excellently on the sharp display. We received smooth playback of images and synchronized sound with minimum pixilation. The music playback quality on speakers was impressive, but a bit brassier. We received perfect audio quality on using the included wired headset jack on 3.5mm headset jack.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is a quick responsive device with a little lag on activating any panel. However, we faced some sluggishness while opening all applications typically due to Windows Mobile problem. We did not face any system crash or stall. The Web browsing seemed more limited even with HSDPA support than others.
Battery Life
The battery life of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is 10 hours talk time on EDGE/GSM and 6 hours on 3G, whereas the idle standby time is 20 days.
Verdict:
If you need a luxury smartphone with extensive price tag and do not mind some sluggishness while using, then you can buy – Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.
