Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 hands on!

By on Nov 18, 2009 at 3:24 PM
Featured November 18, 2009

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Today we hit up Sony Ericsson’s shindig in NYC for some one-on-one time with its XPERIA X10, and so far (it’s a non-retail prototype) it looks like SE has a decent device on its hands. Of course, we all know the X10 is running Android 1.6, but SE has created its own UI, or UX as it prefers to say (short for User Experience), called Nexus. Like other UI overlays for Android, Nexus focuses on social media integration, entertainment and simplifying contact info by aggregating user information. Two very unique applications that SE has integrated into Nexus are Timescape and Mediascape. Timescape is much like viewing your contact information on HTC’s Sense UI and Motorola’s MOTOBLUR: you can view your contact’s email, SMS, Facebook and Twitter updates all in one place. Mediascape allows you to access photos, video and music from your phone as well as YouTube and PlayNow, SE’s music store. The great thing about Timescape and Mediascape is that they recognize connections between your contacts (like facial recognition), music and media and it makes suggestions on how you can communicate or get a guide to new media. Now that we’ve got the software aspect out of the way, hit the jump to see not only what think of the device itself, but quite a few pretty pics and a video overview!

Our initial impression of the XPERIA X10 is mixed. The screen is a vivid and crisp 4″ capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 854 while the device itself is both light and thin. It also packs smartphone basics like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, 3.5mm headset jack and a rather impressive 8.1 megapixel camera. The device feels nice in the hand, although those with small hands might think it’s rather large. Still, it’s not cumbersome by any means. When running through the screens, we did experience a bit of lag even though the X10 is running the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. And while SE has added its own UI over Android 1.6, it still feels like a bare-bones Android device. The UI is very functional and it gets the job done, but it’s not as attractive as HTC’s Sense UI. We’re not quite sure what it is about the XPERIA X10, but we’re just not feeling that “wow” we got with the Droid, for example.

SE says it’s working with U.S. carriers to get the XPERIA X10 subsidized in the States, but in the even that doesn’t happen it could be another expensive device that might be overlooked in the Americas – we’ve got our fingers crossed that AT&T or T-Mobile will pick this up. There’s no word on when this will be released, but with all the press and fanfare we’re thinking it shouldn’t be much longer.

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  • schlomo

    I like it and it is upgradeable to android 2.0.

  • Diabl0

    first time to see Sony-ericcson all “balls-deep” on a new smartphone in particular an android phone. We agree, that Xperia has a bitter history on older models. Hopefully, this X10 release will turned out to be a happy-ending.

    detailed preview + official vid from Head of Xperia X10: http://bit.ly/xperia-x10-best-or-worst-android-phone

    thanks for the preview BGR

  • esomi

    i prefer x10 design that the ugly droid

  • jonathan

    If speed is the issue, then you really are better off with a Droid, N900 or the Iphone.

  • Sean

    Curious to see how fast the phone would be if one turned off Sony’s UX. I imagine it would be right up there with the iphone with the advantage of running apps in the back ground.

  • http://aviralsharma.com Aviral Sharma

    @Sean: (Jailborken) iPhone can and does run applications in background. Not just the music app but any app for that instance. Backgrounder is an amazing app from Cydia library.

    But iPhone OS is not meant to take all that pressure (lol) but Steve Jobs should really think about this ;)

  • rambo6

    The problem with most of these new phones is the software. They make the interfaces so fancy (eye candy) at the expense of speed and performance.

    A case in point is the new HTC Touch Pro 2 (TP2) I just bought with WM6.5. Opening contacts or browsing is slower than on my old HTC Kaiser. After tyring several WM6.5 ROMS, I flashed a WM6.1 ROM. The older WM6.1 is faster and more stable.

    I don’ think these company’s understand how important speed is. When we click on something, the device needs to respond instantly.

    • Chris

      Did you just make all of those points up Marc? Practically every one of statements is wrong. With the 2 or 3 points that aren’t wrong being either completely subjective or likely to change by the release model.

  • marc

    X10 has many shortcomings compared to Droid
    1)No Flash,so no camera/video capture at night
    2)Android 1.6 vs Droid has Android 2.0
    3)No Ambient Light sensor( Display brightness automatically adjusts as per the outside light – dark vs bright )
    4)No Voice activated google maps navigation
    5)Display /Video capture for X10 is at lower resolution then Droid
    6)Biggest of all: No physical keypad
    7)Price for X10 is more then four times of Droid
    8)Comes with only 8GB transflash vs Droids 16GB transflash card

  • Keimonen

    1) yes there is
    2) will be updated
    3) yes there is
    4) yes there is
    5) no it isnt
    6) thats a plus
    7) no it inst
    8) so?

    heh good points you made.

    • me

      there is no ambient light sensor and it does have lower resolution video recording.

  • http://www.twitter.com/iAmMrHD Mr. Hi-Definition

    This thing looks amazing. I can’t wait to get my hands on it with final software. I’m sure that will fix all the issues that it currently has.

  • Anesthesia2011

    I’m sure Android has many uses for others, but for those of us in the medical field there still is no Epocrates, Medscape or similar strong medical software that many med students, residents and attendings have come to rely on instead of pocket book guides. Going into a lecture hall or morning report you’ll see iPhones in every row because of programs like these on the OS. For basic users like myself programs and utility trump technical details and while the iPhone may not satisfy on that front, it certainly has the market on multitude of apps and simplicity. I’m still waiting for that along with many others from Android.

  • http://WWW.N3SYS.COM Kaz

    Any word on what video res the camera can do? With that 8MP it may be capable of doing 720P which would be awesome.

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