Sony Ericsson X8 - An Appealing Android All Rounder
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 is ideally placed to fill the gap between the XPERIA X10 and the XPERIA X10 Mini. Rather more compact than the X10, it still boasts a lot of the same features including the Android operating system, however this is a handset which is likely to suit those who are looking for a functional Smartphone on a budget.
The handset is relatively compact measuring just 99x 54x 15 mm whilst weighing in at a mere 104 g. The light weight and compact measurements make it a comfortable phone to hold and use on the move whilst remaining easy to fit into a pocket or handbag. The handset features a 3 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen which can display up to 16 million colours within a pixel configuration of 320x 640 pixels. The screen features both accelerometer and proximity sensors as well as the TimeScape user interface which allows users to customise the widgets in each corner of the screen.
MP3 files can be assigned as ringtones which functions alongside vibration to alert users to incoming calls and messages. There is a built in speakerphone system which conveniently allows users to carry out handsfree conversations, as does the 3.5 mm audio jack. The latter can also be used with earphones for listening to music via the internal media player.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 comes with a 128 MB of on board storage alongside 168 GB RAM. There is an integrated microSD card slot which comes with a pre-installed 2 GB memory card, however this can be replaced with a memory card of up to 16 GB meaning users have the potential to store a large number of files be they photos, videos, music or documents.
Class 10 GPRS and EDGE are both utilised to keep the handset connected to the appropriate cellular networks on the move. In order to browse the Internet, the handset relies initially on 3G coverage via an HSDPA connection. Whenever users have access to a Wireless Network they can take advantage of the handsets full Wi-Fi compatibility to browse the Internet at much faster speeds. The package of connectivity features is rounded off with micro USB and Bluetooth connections.
A handy 3.15 mega pixel camera is also provided and does a great job of taking decent quality still images. This is thanks to its pixel configuration of 2048x 1563 pixels. It also boasts the increasingly popular geo-tagging feature which, based on GPS allows users to keep track of where they took their photos or shot with their videos. Video footage is captured in VGA quality at 30 frames per second.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 comes with a good number of entertainment features which includes a versatile internal media player which can support many different file types of both music and video files, along with a selection of pre-installed games and a stereo FM radio player.
Being a Google android phone (v1.6, Donut) it comes with the package of Google features pre-installed. These include Google search, maps, Gmail Google talk. Social networkers are catered for with the Facebook as well as YouTube integration. Style conscious users will not be disappointed thanks to the availability of a number of different colour variants.
Based on its functional everyday technology and impressive styling, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 makes for a versatile Smartphone which won