Review: Sony Ericsson X8

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 is likely to outsell the rest of the XPERIA droids. It’s neither the best phone in the line-up, nor it’s a phone to excite and inspire but it’s the common denominator. It is right in the middle. It’s an XPERIA for everyone – both size-wise and price-wise.

The X8 bridges the gap between two extremes. And it manages to find itself a niche in the process - a niche where it can breathe freely. It’s a place with healthy competition but no big egos around. The X8 is selling for as low as 175 euro and that makes it one of the least expensive Android smartphones on the market.

For a reasonable price, the phone offers the feature pack most of its rivals would give you. It has diverse connectivity options, a good music player, neat user interface, a built-in camera and access to social networks and the Android Market.

Average size and realistic price, the X8 fits snugly in the Android midrange and sets itself apart from its XPERIA siblings. That’s more than evident without digging too deep into the spec sheet.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE, HSDPA 900/2100 / HSDPA 850/1900/2100
• 3.0" capacitive TFT touchscreen of HVGA resolution, 16M colors
• Scratch-resistant screen coating
• Android OS v1.6 Donut with custom Sony Ericsson UI, featuring Timescape
• Qualcomm MSM7227 600 MHz processor
• 128 MB onboard storage, microSD card slot (up to 16GB), 2GB card included
• 3 megapixel fixed-focus camera with geotagging, VGA video @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• Built-in GPS receiver, digital compass
• microUSB port, charging enabled
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Excellent audio
• FM radio with RDS
• Accelerometer for UI auto-rotate
• Social networking integration

Main disadvantages

• Limited storage for installing third-party apps
• Outdated Android OS version
• No multi-touch support
• Camera lacks autofocus
• No DivX video support out of the box
• microSD slot under the battery cover
• No secondary video-call camera

Imaging is certainly middling: no autofocus and measly 3 megapixels. The screen on the other hand has grown to a healthy 3 inches and standard HVGA resolution.

What is still missing though is a more recent Android OS version. Like the rest of the Android-based XPERIAs, the X8 is running Android v1.6 (Donut). An update to Android 2.1 Eclair is due but there is still no word of Froyo ever coming the XPERIA way.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 has just made it to the market but parts of it still seem stuck in last year. At the same time though it is more than decently equipped for its 170 euro price tag. It has its downsides and those are easy to notice but there are a bunch of plusses too, especially if you are new to Android.

The Timescape app is one of the good things about the XPERIA X8. Another one is the Four corner UI which is user-friendly and makes good use of the screen estate. There is a great set of connectivity options too and, last but not least, the X8 screen is standard-issue 320 x 480 pixels. If you’ve been paying attention you’d know we’re not too fond of QVGA droids. The XPERIA X10 minis have a legitimate excuse.

And while we’re at it: the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini and X10 mini pro have a 2.55” QVGA display each. That’s small and low-res but we’re talking some of the smallest smartphones ever. The important point is whether and how the X8 benefits from the added size and pixel density.

The X8 gives the user interface a lot more room to work with and handling is more user-friendly. Standard resolution lets the phone make better use of the Android market. On the bigger screen web browsing is now a different story.