Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Review

Overview:
After all the hype surrounding the release of the Xperia X1 towards the end of last year, how has the phone fared in a market  already dominated by the iPhone and Blackberry? We’ve given the Xperia a few months to do the rounds, and now we’re taking a close-up look at just how this handset really is to live with.

Review:
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 made its grand debut about five months ago with SE’s marketing department going into over drive to let everyone know that this phone was going to be something special. But after circulating the market for a few months, is this phone actually easy to live with?

According to Sony Ericsson’s sales figures, things aren’t looking good. The company has just announced that it is set to record a loss of £318 million – £ 365 million for this financial quarter, ending at the end of March 2009.

This isn’t the fault of the Xperia, which is thought to be Sony Ericsson’s saving grace, as it’s the company’s only modern smartphone. So let’s see how it’s done as the flagship model handset that is geared up to save Sony Ericsson some pride.

Upon opening the box, we were greeted with a very stylish phone that was heavier than expected, but I take that as a sign of solid build. This handset really does stand out as a designer object and I for one would be proud to pull this out to show off to mates down at the pub.

The Xperia features a diamond shaped button design with an "X" theme to them. After playing with the phone for awhile I have found these buttons to be quite fiddly and am more than happy to use the stylus on the touch screen whenever I can to avoid the buttons.

The screen itself is extremely well done. It is a wide WVGA screen at 800×480 resolution which is really sharp. It is also perfectly responsive to a light tap of the stylus. If you’re the kind of person who could forget where you left your right eyeball, there is an extra stylus included.

Another great design element is the arc slide of the screen which means that when you slide the phone to reveal the QWERTY key board, the screen subtly arcs towards you so that you can easily see the screen while you’re typing away.

The keyboard itself feels sturdy and has decent space between the keys which is grat for better typing accuracy. You also have the option of bringing up n on-screen keyboard in profile position, which you can just tap away at with your stylus.

Moving onto the software, the phone runs Windown Mobile 6.1, giving you access to the necessities of office life such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

What makes the Xperia X1 really different is the unique panel interface. There is the option to show up to 9 panels on the screen which allows you to easily select what function you need at any particular time.

The panels are Sony Ericsson’s way of trying to display as many of the phone’s functions as possible at the same time. Yes, it’s pretty user friendly, but I still get a feeling of sensory overload whenever I tap into the phone to make a selection. This may possibly be overcome by using simpler icons on each panel instead of my shrunken monthly calendar or web browser home page.

We had spoken before on the interesting mini aquarium panel that contains fish to symbolise different actions within the phone. The basic function of the fish is that they would excitedly swim to wherever you placed your stylus on the screen.

There is reason to this madness however as if the sound was muted, an orange fish would turn clear to let you know. If your battery's getting low, one of the fish starts to turn red, and if you miss a call another fish will turn yellow.

I’ve found that switching between the panels is a bit slow, but not as slow as the phone is to start up in the first place which is quite surprising.

The Xperia X1 comes with WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS which all work just as they should. There is also a MicroSD slot for memory expansion.

There is a 3.2 megapixel camera, which isn’t the best spec on the market but it does have auto focus and an LED light.

The Xperia comes with a 3.5mm headset jack which is great news for audiophiles as you can plug in your high-end Sennheisers for a fantastic music experience.

All in all the Xperia X1 has lived up to the hype that accompanied it’s release. It’s got all the features you’d expect from a high-end handset, and brings it own bit of uniqueness with its panel interface. Priced around the £500 mark though, you would want all this for your money.

The Gaj-It Verdict:
Design: 9/10
Usability: 8/10
Features: 8/10
Value: 7/10

We Say:

The Xperia X1 is a terrific handset with enough features to keep you going throughout your entire phone contract and not get bored. It’s easy to use and the attention to detail in its design really stands out. A perfect phone to blend your professional life with your social side.