This smartphone purchase was my first and I wanted to own and use this phone for making mobile cellphone calls. I read up on the CPU speed and was impressed considering the budget price of this type of smart phone. It has a camera, radio and Internet capabilities. I had the choice of going on Vodafone or Orange and choose Vodafone despite the slightly higher pay as you go tariffs. The world of Apps is something that also interested me in buying this product and have read that the Sony Ericsson has popular apps that can be used. I also researched that the mobile phone runs on the android operating system.
Sony Ericsson X8
I bought this from phones4u store for ?79,95 and had to pay an additional ?20 air time top up voucher on Vodafone which brought my total spend to ?99.95. I thought to myself Sony a global and reputable consumer electronic product provider suited my needs well, without having to spend more money on rival brands such as Apple, Blackberry. Carphone Warehouise and some other cellphone retailers are offering this same phone for about ?30 extra for the same phone. The mobile phone was available in Black color or a White and pink design. I went for the more traditional and masuline black color version. The phone I received was a brand new with the packaging, and inside the box was the phone itself, with a nice and small but compact cellphone charger and some instruction manuals. I was advised to charge the phone at first for 8 hours before using it.
The phone has a cpu speed of 600mhz which is reasonably fast, it uses the andriod operating system yet only has a memory of 128mb. The 3inch screen is a flat screen. When making text messages and making calls the phone is simple to use. The reception bar rate I receive is only 2 out of 4. I find that this is slightly disappointing, though I have been told that the call quality in general is good and clear.
The box came with a host of instructions and manuals that I read most parts of it carefully to understand how to use the phone. Also in the box was a set of headphones that can be used to listen to the radio setting, the battery charger, and a few screen protectors which is a good inclusion as well.
Design of the phone
My impressions of the phone when I looked at the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 was a positive one. I also had a look at the Sony X10 though I did not like the flip down keyboard section to that model, and in looking the Sony X8 is a well designed and easy to use phone. Regarding the navigation is made easy by having 3 buttons that enable people to carry out tasks on the phone. Similarly the side button works in taking pictures when using the camera option. I definitely like the look and the design of the phone as the screen size is compact at 3inches and I am able to make phone calls and do other tasks on the phone with effortless ease. The good aspect of the phone that I have seen is that the outer shell of the phone is not thick or wide. This in my mind makes the phone appear nicely designed.
Advantages
Despite the smallish screen the cellphone has a tilt mechanism which makes the keyboard appear bigger from the side. This makes entering telephone numbers, adding contacts and entering Internet addresses easier. I also find that when I use additional features of the phone that the navigation is quite simple and straightforward.
The camera on the phone is good quality as it has a clear image and is focused. It does not have a flash feature. I have found the images that I have taken to be clear and camera phone worthy.
I have found it easy to make calls, and add contacts to my list. I do not use the Internet facility regularly though the speed is also acceptable and reliable.
Disadvantages
Having owned this smartphone for a month now, I have used the fm radio and listened to the radio on the phone using some quite poor/average headphones and have found that the actual volume is quite low. This makes listening to the fm radio quite an average experience at best. The phone had no problems when playing music tracks that were pre-installed. The volume when listening to music is quite loud. This is good to know when downloading and then listening music on this smart phone.
Secondly the phone does take about 10 seconds to load up the main menu from pressing the power button. This will be a bit slow for some prospective buyers of the phone, but it does power up well and the battery life is also good.
Look and feel
The look of the phone is sleek and compact and is pleasant to look at. I liked the size of the screen which is quite a good size though smaller than an iphone screen. Secondly the weight of the phone feels slightly heavy though it is not really a big issue in the overall picture.
Durability & Robustness
I find that the phone is easy to handle and easy to use overall. I would not think twice regarding misusing the phone or dropping it on the floor. I do like the touchscreen navigation facility and the three silver color navigation buttons as well. The phone looks well designed and pretty neat. The build quality looks strong and does not appear to be flimsy or poorly designed in any shape or form.
Battery Standby time
Having charged my phone for 8 hours before I started playing around on it for the first time, I feel that this was a good start in ensuring that my phone battery charges up and stays charged for a good level of time. I would approximate the battery life to be around a day or 2, from fully charged. I do not use the phone for heavy usage in terms of surfing the Internet all the time and for making too many phone calls, though I do charge the phone up during the evening/night.
Range of features
The features of the phone are that it is easy to connect to the Internet browser using Wi-fi. I also can download free and paid for applications. There are a good number of games pre installed which are slightly entertaining to play. Also on the phone is a fm radio which I found ok but basic. The camera is also easy to use and can capture good quality pictures from the camera function. The pictures that I have taken so far have been clear. The button to take the pictures is a small button on the right hand side of the phone which took me a while to figure out. The phone has a contact feature which allows people to save their contacts. The phone has a fast button to download and pay for apps in the 'Market'. The phone has an alarm and people can connect to facebook, google maps, Youtube, and try out/pay for GPS navigation. The most interesting feature I have seen is TrackID which allows people to record music from a TV or any external speaker. The phone also has Officesuite installed. Overall there are plenty of features that this phone has.
Ease of Use
At first I had a few teething problems with using the phone though I am fully aware of how the phone works now. The one thing I do not like is that it takes about 10 seconds or so to get started from the moment I hit the power button. The processor speed is around 600mhz so this impacts on the speed of the navigation on the Internet browsing. I have downloaded a few apps and have the speed of the phone is quite good without being superbly fast.
Reception Quality
Having made a good number of calls to businesses and my family I am very happy with the quality of the reception and signal in my area. I spoke to my brother about the reception and call quality and we could hear each other well. Similarly when I have spoken to business contacts I feel that the conversation goes well as a result of the cellphone quality.
Value for money
So far I feel that this phone is an easy to use and has all the range of features that most people could possibly want. My own usage is primarily on making the occasional phone call and by using the Internet when I am on the move. Consequently I feel that I have got my money's worth with this phone. As such this phone is in the recommended bracket. It may not be as fast as some of the more expensive iPhones though what it does have is a good range of features and also has a reasonably good Internet browsing speed. At the ?80 mark for the phone this I feel is worth the money spent.
Conclusion
Whilst I would consider other cell phones in the future I have to say that I slightly feel good about my purchase. I think that this phone will last the test of time in the short to medium term and I feel that the Sony X8 is a good budget entry level smartphone. For the price I think it is a really good Smart phone
Source: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/smartphone/sony-ericsson-xperia-x8/1690336/
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