Sony Ericsson Xperia X8
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It's fair to say that Sony Ericsson’s grand Android adventure hasn’t exactly had the most impressive start. The much-hyped X10 had oceans of potential but was ultimately left standing by phones like the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S, while its smaller sibling the X10 Mini boasted truly pocket-sized dimensions but too many cut corners.

To make things worse, both phones remain marooned on Android 1.6, which is woefully outdated when you consider that 2.3 is looming on the horizon.

Despite these initial teething issues, the Xperia range continues to be a solid performer at retail and Sony Ericsson remains committed to the Android cause, as the newly-launched X8 attests. Looking very much like a beefed-up X10 Mini, this latest device is a mid-range proposition and looks set to go head-to-head with the increasing number of budget Google phones.

Like for like At first glance the X8 looks almost identical to the aforementioned X10 Mini. The design is strikingly similar, with familiar button placement and case design. The biggest change is the larger capacitive touchscreen – up from 2.5-inches to 3-inches – and this marks a massive improvement in terms of usability.

The X10 Mini’s screen was just too small to be of use to serious mobile addicts, a fact which forced Sony Ericsson to radically rethink that phone's interface. ‘Hot corners’ were introduced to allow swift access to key functions, an idea which worked surprisingly well.

This concept has been retained for the X8, but sadly it’s less convincing here: with a larger screen the X8 doesn’t really need to resort to such shortcuts. The phone shares the X10 Mini’s single-screen widgets, too – a massive disappointment, especially when you consider that pretty much every other Android phone on the market can display more than one widget on each of its home screens.

Time's up for TimeScape

Another drawback is Sony Ericsson’s TimeScape software. Like Motorola’s oft-derided MotoBlur, this attempts to collect and present your social networking alerts in one convenient location. In practice, it’s too piecemeal to be of any real use.

For example, it shows updates from your Twitter timeline but tapping a tweet just dumps you into the web browser, rather than displaying the information in a dedicated app. Needless to say, you’ll probably end up ditching it and resorting to an app downloaded from the Android Market instead.

Like the X10 and X10 Mini, the X8 is lumbered with Android version 1.6. You get the updated Market but you miss out on the latest applications (many of which require 2.1 at the very least). A recent report suggests that fewer than 10 per cent of active Android phones remain on 1.6, so the X8 is part of a very exclusive – but not necessarily desirable – crowd.

Version delusion Of course, there’s a good chance that it will eventually get upgraded to 2.1 or 2.2 – but seeing as the flagship X10 hasn’t been given the update treatment after almost a year on sale, it would be foolish to purchase this device in the hope that you’ll be at the vanguard of Android developments.

But then, perhaps that’s the point: the X8 is unashamedly a budget handset, and Sony Ericsson’s custom user interface does an excellent job of covering up the fact that it’s running outdate software underneath.

The X10 Mini has been something of a hit with casual mobile users, many of whom probably don’t even realise they’ve purchased a smartphone. The X8 could be the next logical evolution, offering a larger capacitive touchscreen for more comfortable use but retaining the same swift and intuitive interface.

Single-finger frolics

In terms of gaming, that capacitive screen comes in very handy for titles that require lightning-fast reflexes, but again, the spectre of Android 1.6 means that you may find some of the latest games refuse to run on the device. Another killer is the lack of multi-touch support, so pinch-to-zoom is out of the question – not just for games, but for web browsing and gallery viewing as well.

The X8 is clearly not going to steal a march on the likes of the HTC Desire HD or Samsung Galaxy S any time soon: it’s even outclassed by some of its rival budget blowers, the majority of which are running more recent versions of Android and feature multi-touch displays.

However, like its spiritual forerunner the X10 Mini, the X8’s ultimate success may not be affected by this issues. It’s a phone that's easy to use and offers the ideal springboard for people moving from traditional ‘dumbphones’ to their first smartphone.

Dedicated Android lovers will balk at its simplicity, but less demanding users will find plenty to enjoy, and for around £130, it ranks as a solid purchase.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

The outdated software and lack of multi-touch hinder the X8’s ability to compete with other serious Android phones, but for less stern critics it has the potential to be a very agreeable handset
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Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.