AT&T Sony Ericsson Xperia X10: A Review - Mobility Site

Even though the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 runs Android 1.6, features like the 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 1 GB on-board storage, storage expandable to 32 GB via card slot, and 8.1 megapixel camera still make this phone a formidable smartphone contender across all American carriers.

Hardware

At a glance, the Xperia X10 has a beautiful, scratch-resistant 480-by-854 pixel display with three hard buttons directly below the screen for quick access to application settings, on-screen keyboard, home, and back function. The screen also respectably repels fingerprints, but I immediately put a screen protector over it to avoid any accidents.

There are no hard Start or End Call buttons, which takes some getting used to, but I love the fact that the volume rocker doubles as a Zoom button when in camera mode. A long press of the Camera button activates the camera, but there is a noticeable lag before the camera turns on. The quickest way to activate the camera is to use a Camera shortcut on the home screen. The phone also features an LED camera light; I say “light” and not “flash” because this light has to be manually turned on and off through the camera settings. I’m hoping Sony includes an automatic LED flash setting in a future software upgrade.

The Xperia X10 also includes the all-hallowed 3.5 mm audio jack at the top of the phone beside the Power button. The phone includes Sony Ericsson earbuds, but any 3.5 mm jack earbuds work just fine. Since I still plan to use my iPod Classic for music and podcasts, I’ll have those familiar white earbuds nearby for when I feel the need to stream music. Still, the Xperia does include a 2 GB microSD card in the box, and the phone is expandable to 32 GB of storage via the microSD card slot. Making the Xperia my new MP3 player is entirely possible, although the battery life will suffer.

Included with the phone is a standard Li-Po 1500 mAh battery, which has the same pitfalls as any other smartphone. Turn off Background Data and the battery lasts all day on one charge from dawn to dusk with approximately a 30-percent charge to spare. If Background Data is on with streaming music, the battery life meets and quick end like any other smartphone.

Interface

The highlight of this category is the the Xperia X10’s sleek Timescape interface. Instead of traditional text lists for SMS, emails, Twitter, Facebook, missed calls, and photos, Sony has integrated all that online content into dynamic, vertically floating tiles. All photos and avatars are visible in Timescape mode. When a tile is selected, it expands to show a full message or post from that source. On the upper right of the tile there is an infinity symbol, which when pressed will list all connected contact, photos, or posts throughout the phone.

I’m shocked that Google and Facebook contacts don’t automatically associate themselves like on the HTC Hero. Even though the initial setup pulls information from Gmail, I had to manually enable syncing with Google Calendar and Contacts through the phone’s general settings. Otherwise, I’ve had to connect Facebook and Twitter friends with my phonebook Contacts one by one.

The lower right of an expanded Timescape tile shows an icon that classifies a file type. For example, a quick click on a lower right symbol for a Twitter post will open my Twitter client, twicca. A click on a photo symbol will open the full photo, where swiping left or right will scroll through other photos on the Camera Roll. Mediascape beautifully handles browsing through photos and videos. I would love a Mediascape widget similar to the Timescape widget so I can just see recent photos on my home screen instead of all of my friends’ online content.

Despite how demanding an app as fluid as Timescape can be, the Xperia’s 1 GHz processor handles swiping through different feeds and stacking tiles very well. There is a slight lag when going into the photo submenu, which may be dependent on photo resolution settings. The bigger the photos, the longer the load time.

I’m a huge fan of all the touchscreen camera options! Capturing Mode, Resolution, Scenes, Focus Mode, Exposure, Video Mode, and access to the Camera Roll are all available on-screen. Combined with the volume rocker button doubling as a zoom rocker button, the Xperia’s camera is versatile and extremely responsive even when switching from portrait to landscape mode.

The on-screen keyboard has gotten a bad reputation since this phone’s release. I will say that the keyboard is very responsive but accuracy suffers while in portrait mode. That may be partly my fault, but since I’ve been using a touchscreen phone for over a year now I don’t think there should be much of a difference. There are no issues with the keyboard while in landscape mode. If anything, typing accuracy is everything it should be.

Applications

AT&T trial versions of apps dominate preloaded applications. AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Hot Spots, AT&T Maps, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Radio, and YP Mobile are the obvious apps. Where™ will fly under the radar until it’s opened, which is when the gobsmackingly large subscription screen appear. I appreciate the up-front message regarding the risks of data usage and additional fees. The funny fact is that the most useful AT&T application available, AT&T myWireless Mobile, was not preloaded. Mobile Video, MobiTV, OfficeSuite, and Work Email for business users are also included. I was also thankful to see Google apps like Maps, Talk, Navigation, and Places available out-of-the box. The top three apps I feel should come preloaded on all smartphones are a respectable file manager, photo editor, and mobile billing account manager. The inability to delete multiple photos through Mediascape is annoying. I’m sure I must be missing something here.  I also have to remember that deleting a photo through Timescape does not delete it from my device.

For more experienced smartphone users, there’s no problem with replacing preloaded apps with better options from the Android Market. Some general users new to smartphones may get the Xperia X10, be alienated by Timescape and Mediascape, and ask for the accessibility of an iPhone. Timescape is optional and can be set as the default home screen option for the Home button, but I prefer to get my detailed weather updates, date, and time through LevelUp Studio’s Beautiful Home.

Phone Calls

The lack of hard Start and End Call buttons forces me to take up space on the home screen by adding a Dialer shortcut. The lack of a settings submenu accessible from the Dialer is weird, and even more unconventional is the ability to post Twitter or Facebook updates from the top of the Contacts list. Yes, the contacts search bar also doubles as a status updater, although I don’t know why someone would want to feed status updates through a dialer over their preferred Facebook or Twitter widgets. I love the easily accessible New Contact button at the top of the contact list.  The letters along the right side of the contact list are nice for finding certain people fast, but I wish the letters were bigger than a nine or ten-point sans serif font.

Verdict

I am in love with the Xperia X10’s sleek and light-weight form factor, but I do acknowledge the slow responsiveness of the camera button and the annoyance of having to manually activate the LED light. Plus, the lack of Start and End Call buttons are not my personal preference.

The beautiful large screen, powerful 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 8.1 megapixel camera with LED light, and ability to expand storage to 32 GB makes the X10 the top smartphone offering among AT&T’s current Android handsets. I also love the ability to connect my phone contacts with their Facebook and Twitter accounts via Timescape. Mediascape is also a beautiful way of handling photos and videos both on my phone and on Facebook, but I would love to add other accounts like TwitPic, yFrog, or Photoshop Mobile instead of just Facebook and Picasa.

There is also the possibility of an HD video option via later software updates. Not being able to install third-party software and the old Android 1.6 OS are annoying, but are neither are deal-breakers. Plus, Sony is committed to later software upgrades, so I’m optimistic about getting the latest Android OS in the near future. I can also live with the preloaded AT&T apps even though I won’t use them.

While I will keep my rooted HTC Magic as a back-up handset, the Xperia X10 is a fabulous day-to-day phone to keep up with online life and a wonderful alternative to a point-and-shoot camera for any smartphone enthusiast.

Source: Sony Ericsson

Marilyn Torres (62 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

Marilyn Torres is a contributing blogger for Mobility Site. She also blogs about movies, books, comics, Disneyana, and recipes at her personal blog at Posterous. Marilyn has a Bachelor of Arts in English and currently lives with her other half, Cavalier-Poodle, and tabby cat in Central Florida.

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Sony Ericsson Cedar review

Great design3G and Bluetooth connectivityHome screen widgets save timeUses standard micro-USB connectorPoor camera, with no LED flashWeb browsing is a painTwitter client is awkward to use

Like its eco-friendly predecessors the Elm and Hazel, the Sony Ericsson Cedar forms part of the company's environmentally conscious GreenHeart range. Constructed from -- and packaged in -- predominantly recycled materials, the Cedar is the perfect handset for mobile users with lofty morals.

The Cedar is available for free on a £15 per month contract. Alternatively, you can pick it up for about £60 on pay as you go, or around £150 SIM-free and unlocked.

Although Sony Ericsson's GreenHeart proposal does tend to come across as a little disingenuous -- especially when you consider the vast quantity of mobile phones that end up as nothing more than landfill -- it's certainly a step in the right direction. The Elm and Hazel marked the opening shots of this righteous eco-warrior campaign, and impressed us with their functionality and range of features.

The Sony Ericsson Cedar continues the good work achieved by its forebears, and proves that being sympathetic to Mother Nature doesn't have to mean being saddled with an ugly phone. The Cedar is arguably one of Sony Ericsson's more attractive offerings of late, combining a two-tone colour scheme with smooth lines and a visually pleasing, ridged keypad.

The phone isn't especially small, but it is light. At just 84g, it certainly won't add a significant bulk to your pocket. The only real complaint we have about the design of the Cedar is the ergonomics. The back of the phone curves at both ends, which can make gripping it somewhat difficult. The weight of the phone is focused in the middle, which causes it to tip out of your paw should you grip it too tightly at the base.

The Cedar's curved back is visually pleasing, but can make the phone hard to grip.

With 280MB of on-board storage available, the Cedar has an unusually generous amount of room for photos, videos and music. Thankfully, it's also possible to boost this total with a microSD card of up to 16GB in capacity, which can be inserted in the card slot located rather cunningly under one side of the battery cover. Sadly, a microSD card is not included, so if you do intend to load up the Cedar with your tunes and snaps, you'll need to purchase one separately.

The Cedar's multimedia aspirations are enhanced further by the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack, which allows you to use your own personal set of cans to listen to music. The on-board media-playback software is based on Sony Ericsson's Walkman program, and offers an above-average range of options and customisation.

A 2-megapixel camera can be found on the back of the Cedar, which takes decent shots and is able to shoot low-quality video clips. Sadly, it lacks an LED flash, so low-light images look predictably muddy and ill-defined.

Finally, it's worth noting that unlike the Elm, the Cedar uses an industry-standard micro-USB connection for both charging and data transfer. No USB cable is included in the box, but the standardised nature of this particular interface means you're bound to have a compatible one lying around somewhere in your house.

It could be argued that the Cedar occupies a shrinking portion of the mobile phone market devoted to mid-range 'dumb phones'. As cheap smart phones like the HTC Wildfire and Huawei Ideos encroach ever further into this territory, manufacturers are being forced to get creative with their products.

In the case of the Cedar, you have limited connectivity to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, thanks to a suite of smart-phone-style widgets, which can be docked on the main home screen for easy access. Another advanced feature is the ability to upload photos to popular sites such as Blogger, Picasa and Flickr.

Home-screen widgets for Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are all included, although the quality varies greatly between each one.

The phone's 3G connection makes accessing these services quicker than it would be using bog-standard GPRS, but some elements of the software -- the Twitter widget especially -- are incredibly flaky. Loading data seems to take forever, and we were unable to refresh our personal Twitter timeline, despite being logged in and connected.

The Facebook client works much better, and is even integrated in the phone's operating system. For example, in the standard messaging menu, there's a shortcut link that takes you directly to your Facebook inbox. Unfortunately, the Cedar's level of net connectivity isn't always convincing -- the Access NetFront Web browser struggles to cram image-heavy pages into the phone's 2.2-inch, 240x320-pixel screen, for example.

A curious inclusion in the Cedar's software armoury is video calling, perhaps influenced by the recent hype surrounding the iPhone 4's FaceTime feature. The Cedar lacks a front-facing camera, so users are expected to shoot a still image of themselves and present it to the other caller for the duration of the conversation. It's a neat bonus, but we can't imagine many people will actually bother to use it.

The Web browser automatically attempts to reformat large pages, with often confusing results.

On the whole, the Cedar's user interface and selection of software makes a pleasing impression. The operating system has remained essentially unchanged for years, but Sony Ericsson has slowly been adding in more modern features.

For example, there are plenty of smooth transition animations to liven things up. Even something as simple as receiving a text message results in a little animated sequence in the top-left corner of the display, as the message envelope pushes it way past other, less important icons. These are minor things, but they go a long way in enriching the user experience.

As a continuation of the GreenHeart brand, it's hard to see the Cedar as anything but a success. It boasts a better design, improved functionality and a generally pleasing interface -- although the poor camera and often sluggish widgets do diminish the impact slightly.

The phone's biggest challenge is finding an audience. It could be argued that the sector of the market it seeks to conquer is rapidly falling to budget smart phones, against which the Cedar looks technologically anaemic. If you're looking for a device with impressive features but don't want a confusing selection of PC-like options to contend with, we recommend it. Who knows -- its environmentally focused manufacturing ethos may even make you feel good about yourself.

Edited by Emma Bayly

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