Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Windows Mobile smartphone
Could have been a contender
Review Sony Ericsson's answer to the iPhone is finally with us, and though there's much to admire, it doesn't feel like it's quite the phone it could have been.
First, though, the good stuff. The X1 is a good-looking handset, with its matte black face offset by silver trim around the sides. The front is dominated by its large, 800 x 480, 65,000-colour touchscreen, though this isn't really enhanced by the muddle of buttons beneath it. These are arranged in a sort of twin X shape - do you see what they've done there? - and include two soft-menu keys; call stop and start; an OK button and another for 'Panels' - more on that later.
Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1: not as chunky as other Windows Mobile phones
The buttons surround a touch-sensitive navpad - or "optical joystick" as Sony Ericsson calls it - which helps when skimming through menus, though you can disable this feature if you prefer. Navigation-wise, the X1 makes little pretense to be a one-handed handset. Around the sides and on top, in order, a USB power slot, a volume rocker, camera button, power button and 3.5mm headphone socket.
The X1 isn't as heavy or as fat as some other recent Windows Mobile models, which is all to the good, though it will still make a hefty bulge in your pocket thanks to a thickness of 17mm and weight of 145g.
The reason for the girth is, of course, the slide-out Qwerty keyboard and fortunately this is a winner. There's just enough resistance to prevent it opening by accident, but when pushed it flies open with a reassuring thunk.
COMMENTS
I <3 Levente Szileszky
As someone said previously - stop comparing everything to the bloody iPhone.
And Levente is correct - there are so many horrible shortcomings in the iPhone... you can't forward an SMS? What's that about?
Can't wait to get my X1 when my o2 store has stock ;)
WM unresponsiveness
It's true and unfortunately the X1 suffers from it too. IMHO what causes it is the absolutely fucking humungous amount of files in the windows directory. It takes and age to read anything out of it and any app that touches \Windows will suffer as a result.
I have touch-flo 3d installed on the X1 now and I'm as happy as a pig in shit, nonetheless.
@Robin
"but my experience with other phones before iPhones were invented and trying to buy and install apps left me in no doubt that a non technical person wouldn't have a hope in hell"
So the average user can't manage "download .cab, tap it to install" or "download installer to PC, connect up phone to PC, run installer"? Even my mum can manage that.
Also, both of Levente Szileszky's posts are correct.
Ehh?
I wasn't pissed or anything, I just wish to see this stupid, false urban legend about the "innovative" iPhone (or Apple, for the record) would die once and forever.
"If the iPhone was so bad then Google and others wouldn't be ripping off it's design, app store etc."
Ummm who's ripping off Apple? You got it backward, pal - iPhone came to the party pretty late, taking clues from all smartphones out there, mostly from HTC WM phones.
The Google G1 is another HTC-made phone and it is exactly just like any other one they made, beginning many years before Jobs even dreamed of the iPhone: slide-out QWERTY keyboard, powerful CPU, lots of memory, nice touchscreen, slick design.
Also G1's design couldn't be more different from Apple's: G1 is a nice anodized matte black phone unlike Apple's shiny, chromish-trimmed unit (at least here, in the US) - which, BTW, is rather a copy of certain Asian HTC competitor phonesfrom earlier times.
And FYI: application stores exist since Palm days (~late 90s), a DECADE before Apple, I have no idea what are you talking about - have you ever heard of Handango? Started as Palm and its WM-specialized area opened in 2001...
As it's always, once again Apple didn't 'invent' crap, it merely copied others and marketed as their own idea and people with no clue whatsoever keep parroting their PR BS, sorry but this is what it is.
Pathetic, that is.
@Hardly cutting edge then?
>Having used WM6 on a phone I have to say it's absolutely pants!
>SE's hardware is often very nice - why saddle it with a joke o/s that is well past its best?
You'd better get used to it, WM8 is where all interface design is due and WM7 isn't out in 2010. So WM8 won't be around until 2011 or 2012!!!
It's astounding how long Microsoft can keep dragging their heels with WM development. I bought a Toshiba E800 in 2003 and some other WM phones. From a user perspective the OS has barely changed since WM2005!
