Google’s Android operating system is making its way to more and more new phone releases and the first from Sony Ericsson is the highly anticipated Sony Ericsson X10, part of the Xperia range.
With the likes of Motorola launching its first two Android-powered models, the Motorola Dext and the recently launched Motorola Milestone (with BACKFLIP on the way), HTC with its Tattoo phone, and the popular HTC Hero, Acer has launched its first model called the Acer Liquid. and probably the most talked about of all if Google’s own brand of Nexus One, which while branded as the search company, is actually made by HTC.
The biggest difference between these recent releases and the upcoming Sony Ericsson X10 is the version of Android they’re using, the Sony X10 is set to feature the older version 1.6, dubbed ‘Donut’, which is also available on the HTC Hero phone. The latest Motorola Milestone offers the Android 2.0 operating system, while the new Google Nexus One is the first to incorporate v2.1 (or 2.0.1).
With that being said, you might be thinking why go for the Sony Xperia phone when these new phones offer a more up-to-date operating system, well the manufacturer has also built its own user interface on top along with two strangely named features called ‘ Timescape’ and ‘Mediascape’ – Not too catchy? No, but very useful.
These two parts of the new ‘UX’, which is apparently short for ‘user interface’ if you work for Sony Ericsson, seamlessly organize your media and communication files in the background, building your contact database from data. User ID and facial recognition. There’s even a piece of software that can recognize your friends while they’re in camera mode from existing pictures of them in your albums!
To facilitate this, the Sony Ericsson X10 offers an 8.1 megapixel camera, this is the first Android phone to incorporate this technology and far better than the Motorola Milestone and Nexus One phones that offer a 5.0 drive. megapixels. The camera offers geotagging, a dual LED flash and autofocus, among other almost standard Sony Ericsson camera features.
Running Android 1.6 in the background means the Sony Ericsson X10 offers good support for multimedia playback, including a YouTube app and other Google products, there’s also support for Microsoft Exchange email, web browsing and access to Sony’s PlayNow service. Ericsson for downloads.
A standard 3.5mm audio jack means you can use your preferred headphones instead of the ones in the pack, which also contains a 1GB memory card to store your music and media files.
When it comes to speed, the Sony X10 offers the same processor speed as the Nexus One with a 1GHz Snapdragon unit on board, the Motorola Milestone packs a much smaller version at 550MHz.
If the new Xperia X10 surpasses the Nexus One and the Motorola Milestone in general, it is definitely because of its larger screen, offering a 4-inch touch screen, the Sony X10 is ideal for browsing the Internet and playing videos.