Looks like Sony is coming up with another low cost budget range Android phone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8. This look similar to the Xperia X10 mini without the slide out QWERTY keyboard. From what I see from the brochure that I just picked up from the Sony shop it has a lower specification than the Xperia X10 mini.
Technical Specification
Dimension: 99x 54 x 15mm
Weight: 104 grams
Display: 3 inch, 320 x 480 pixels HVGA
Camera: 3.2 Megapixels
Platform: Android 1.6
Memory: 128MB internal
Connectivity: aGPS, 3.5mm audio jack, WIFI, Bluetooth A2DP
Review
At about RM100 or US$30 cheaper than the X10 mini, however I’m sure some amount of hardware specification would be reduced such as the processing power and for sure the digital camera has been reduced to 3.2 megapixels. If you don’t need that processing power and larger size megapixels for your digicam, you probably can live with it.
It has a slightly bigger display at 3 inches which is slightly more than my current X10 mini pro at 2.6 inches and nicer shell casing.
Unfortunately it is still running on the older Android 1.6 although listed in the brochure that it is upgradable to Android 2.1, up till now, I’m still waiting for the software upgrade for my X10 mini pro which was suppose to have been released by now. This is the disadvantage about Sony when everybody else is pushing their Android phone with version 2.3, us Sony users are still waiting to upgrade to 2.1 and using an older Android 1.6.
Of course, for added functionality, head on to Android market and download additional Android Apps many of which are free! See My Best Free Android Apps List review!
Sony’s Android phone still can’t sync with Microsoft Outlook. For that you have to use a software to synchronize outlook with gmail contacts. They aren’t perfect but it might work for you.
The only thing going with Sony is the slim size and nice design. If not for the size that just like an ordinary mobile phone and for me, a very easy to type slide out QWERTY keyboard on my Xperia X10 mini pro, I wouldn’t be choosing a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro.
Hopefully the battery life for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 would be better, because I find my X10 mini pro battery is rather poor with only 970mAh at 3.7V, I seldom get it to last 2 days.
Choose Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 if you like the design and don’t mind the lower 3.2 megapixel mobile digital camera, but if you are a power user, this Android phone is not for you.