No, I’m not talking literally. =] I’m talking about my new phone…the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10! ♥
Remember back in April when I blogged about phones? Well, this post is basically my follow up to that one. I finally picked between the two phones I was considering (the Yari and the X10) and got the X10 near the end of May. Yes, I did get it in white, like I said I would. =]
Unfortunately, I’ve actually already gotten the screen protector replaced and dropped it once, which scratched the corners of it. Oops. I guess that says something about the durability/sturdiness of the phone…but I did drop it onto rough pavement rather than smooth floors and the phone itself actually comes with its own screen protector (hence why the added layer comes off easier than it should). However, the one that comes with the phone is hard to remove and so it would be next to impossible to change if it got scratched up. If you’re really particular about your phone like I am, definitely go and get the extra screen protector.
Since I am so particular about my phone, you can tell I’m one of those people who get that twitchy feeling if there are fingerprint smudges on it—which is bound to happen with a touchscreen phone. So you’re probably wondering why on earth I got one with such a huge touchscreen phone…(it’s 4.0 inches, to be exact)…but I’ll tell you why by doing something similar with this phone like I did with the S500i and the K350, and tell you about it’s functions and whatnot.
Aesthetics/Appearance: 4.5/5
- Simple, sleek design in two colours
- Sensous Black: matte plastic back
- Luster White: smooth plastic back
- Ridiculously big; bigger than iPhones, does not fit in pockets very well (but it does fit in back pockets =]), and hard to be subtle with
- Curved sides and corners to fit in palm better
- Hook for cellphone accessories is at the bottom of the phone
- Few exterior buttons: menu, home, back, camera, volume, and power
- 3.5mm audio jack at the top of the phone has no cover (but hey, no more silly SE type plugs for ear phones right?)
Texting(/Emails): 4.5/5
- Keyboard orients itself automatically to portrait or landscape (but landscape only when tilted left, not right)
- 90% accurate prediction/auto-correction; you can also add your own words to the built in dictionary
- Threaded SMS view
- Touchscreen may not be as responsive at times
- Unsure for now as to how much the inbox can hold (I’ll update you on this when I find out)
- Email and Gmail apps are available (although I seem to be having an issue with my email app being synced with my actual inbox)
Other Functions: 5/5
- Easy access to Android Market for limitless apps, games, themes, and various other downloads
- Alarm: can set up to 12 and has variable alarm tones, snooze times, and repeat cycles
- Browser: no flash, but links to youtube app; multiple tabs are available
- Calculator: basic one with an advanced setting panel is available, but you can find more on the Android Market
- Display: accurate light sensor for auto brightness
- Homescreen: unfortunately limited to 3 (I’m looking for an app or something to change this); able to add widgets
- Multitasking: holding the home button brings up 6 recently used functions or apps
- Notifications: easily accessible as a slide down menu from the status bar at the top of the screen
- Notes/Memo: not present on phone, but available on the Android Market
- Phonebook: basically limitless entries with multiple number/email entry for each
- Speed Dial: nonexistent on the phone, but available on the Android Market
- Stopwatch/Timer: neither are present on phone, but available on the Android Market
Camera
- Located on the back of the phone, light is right below it
- 8MP resolution with 6MP wide, 2MP normal, and 2MP wide choices
- LED light for darker settings (only works for a close range though…but it’s an excellent flashlight in the dark!)
- Precise (but almost slow) zoom
- 4 capturing modes: normal, scene recognition, smile detection, and touch capture
- 5 focus modes: single autofocus, multi autofocus, macro, face detection, infinity
- 9 scenes: normal, portrait, landscape, night scene, night portrait, beach/snow, sports, party, document
Media
- Mediascape plays your media (duh): music, videos and photos
- No access to notifications menu or status bar when viewing photos or the now playing page for music
- Speaker is located on left side of the phone (sound quality is decent enough, but I don’t think much it)
- Excellent display for decent quality photos and videos
- Face recognition; able to automatically tag faces after the first
- Ability to crop photos right on the phone
Communications
- Timescape displays all your forms of communication on one page: calls, SMS, emails, MMS, music, photos, Facebook, and Twitter
- Requires a data plan (preferably unlimited) or wi-fi
- You can replace your home screen if you choose
- You can also update your status or tweet directly from Timescape
- Pretty cool to look at but novelty seems to wear off for me…definitely new and useful though!
Despite how much I rave about this phone, it is a bit pricey (think iPhone price…without a contract). And, unlike the iPhone, it doesn’t react to multitouch, which is quite a let down after all its awesome functions. But for those looking for a phone with a spiffy appearance with all the average functions (and more), and you don’t mind the price, I’d say to go for it. I love Sony Ericsson phones and I’ve yet to be really disappointed. Cheers!
(And as a side note, leave the mouse/pointer over the photos for a quick caption. =])