Review date: September 22nd, 2010.

What we like: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 has an exceptionally beautiful screen, 8.1MP camera, and a unique interface that allows the user to work and socialize on the same stage as the best phones in the marketplace.

What we don’t like: Android 1.6.  Why do some Android handsets like the Droid 2 get Froyo and others don’t?

Review: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Only available on the AT&T network in the USA.  The tagline for this phone is that it’s ready for work, the Exchange active Sync is the main difference with this US market release and all the other X10’s around the world.  You have full calendar sync, the ability to create meetings, global address listings (not just outlook contacts, full corporate contacts), when you create a meeting you can see availability of the participants which you can’t do with the iPhone.  It comes pre-installed with remote wipe (called remote kill).  Navigating into the advance settings, you can use your exchange password and input a kill code which wipes the phone.  You can also send an email to the phone that wipes the full device.  For the business user, it’s easy to open up attachments in various formats including Word, Powerpoint, PDF, and email folders like you can on a PC.  The Virtual Keyboard was easy to use and sensitivity was just right.

Camera:

8.1MP Sony CMOS sensor provides the ability to use spot metering and smile detection which I found to be very useful.  When taking photos of my daughters, I set the level of smile detection that I wanted from a slight smile to an ear to ear grin.  The photo snapped automatically when enough teeth were showing.  Face detection and face recognition allow you to tag images to an individual and easily pick them out in other images.  Have a look at the detail shown in this photo that I snapped of the aftermath of the battle between the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and the iPhone 4G.  Clearly the 4G lost badly.  Can’t wait to battle this beast against the Droid X.  Of course I’ll photos when that titanic battle ends.

Music & Video

In mediascape unlike the iPhone you can download album art with 1 click, which is much easier than connecting to iTunes then downloading artwork.  When you click on the infinite button it shows all the albums on the phone, side swipe it then populates with all clips.  Data feeds from YouTube pulls up the same logic.  For example when I typed Black Eyed Peas the results were the same as when I typed it into my PC browser.  Searching YouTube without leaving the app makes for a very seamless search.  In the same way you go to the infinite button, click web search and it will pull up Google Search results.

In the photo section of mediascape, it has photos online in Picasa and Facebook as well as stored photos on the device. It pulls up results in 1 location which was a very insightful way of viewing data feeds.  Consolidating social media sites with stored multimedia was one of the most powerful and enlightening innovations.

Timescape is graphically beautiful and animations are very fast and fluid.  With Timescape you can filter the information in the way that you want to see it.   Clicking on the infinite button for an individual, pulled up results with all resources for the individual, messaging history, email history, call history, contact info, facebook, twitter, and photos tagged with the person’s name.  The best way to explain it is “you just have to try it yourself to understand how powerful it is.”  If you are a poker player, you will absolutely love this application as it’s very like shuffling a deck of cards.  I suggest that you go to your local ATT store and play with the handset.  Photos are the same ones that show up in mediascape.  Music is also shown in timescape and show up as events.  This is an example of one of the cross functions between the signature apps.

The Xperia X10 has a large 4 inch screen.  Subtle curves around the side and back.  It’s lightweight but solid enough that the build quality feels good.  Like all quality camera phones you activate the camera by using the hard key on the top of the handset and not a soft key.  As expected with Android phones they are the keys for back, home and menu.  At 4.7 inches long by 2.5 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep, the X10 is nearly the same size as the iPhone.  Colors are fantastic and navigation and swiping through screens is lighting fast.

Conclusion:

This is a device for everybody.  This is for people who’s worlds are merged together.  I see people that are always connected to each other finding even greater and more insightful meaning to the spiderweb of social media data available.  Timescape brings it all together and allows you to sort through it very easily.  People that create and share will love this phone.  Business users will find powerful tools to compete with RIM and other devices.  If you work, play, or like most users now days a combination of both, Sony Ericsson have put together a very strong offering that should appeal to everyone.

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