SONY ERICSSON Xperia X8
Also known as the Shakira - we have no idea why!
The brilliance of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 is clear for to see, quite literally, with its full-sized 3 inch capacitive touchscreen displaying 16 million colours so you're guaranteed vivid colours and excellent clarity. The screen also has a scratch resistant surface, auto-dimming and a proximity sensor, which locks the screen when close to your ear so you are not accidentally prodding it. A good start then.
From there it just gets better. The Xperia X8 is a quad band 3G smartphone using the Google android operating system - in our opinion the best operating system on the market today. This is powered by the highly respected Qualcomm 600 MHz MSM7227 processor complemented by 168 MB RAM for lightning fast operation. There is also a built-in accelerometer, which auto rotates the screen to landscape mode when required simply by turning the phone.
The android operating system means that you get the choice of literally tens of thousands of applications to download from the android market directly onto the handset (no need to connect to a PC); it's a simple one touch operation and most of the 75,000+ applications are free, with many more costing just a few pence. The majority of these apps only takes seconds to download via the built-in broadband speed modem and because the phone as Wi-Fi built-in it is very quick and easy to download practically anything you want from just about anywhere.
You get GPS too, ideal for satellite navigation and applications such as the built in Google maps which can ensure your exact location as well as quickly calculating routes to where you want to go as well as locating points of interest or other locations such as places to eat, places to fill up with fuel, the nearest cashpoint and so on. Advanced A-GPS features too for quick start-up. It works by remembering the last known location of the satellites and calculating where they are now enabling the device to link up with them quickly.
Built-in applications include a multiformat music player and FM stereo radio with RDS, complemented with standard 3.5mm headphone socket for use with your favourite headphones (although there is a very decent Sony Ericsson set included in the box), and stereo Bluetooth is included too should you wish to use a cordless headset. Sony's TrackID music recognition program is also included which can recognise a tune that’s playing simply by starting the program and holding the phone close to the music source.
For the snappers amongst you there's a very decent 3.2 megapixel camera included, an excellent video recording facility that operates at 30 frames per second. The inclusion of GPS on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 means you also get geo-tagging with which you can instantly find out your location simply by taking a photograph. It's also very handy for tagging your photographs, as the name suggests. If that's not enough there is also a built-in digital compass too.
Encased in white with blue coloured back cover, it’s a pleasing compact size and weight to touch and hold, and we can confidently assure you that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 performs as well as it looks. As good as Shakira? Well only you can decide that!
Main features and specifications
- Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 smartphone
- Quadband 850/900/1800/1900 GSM
- 3G HSDPA 900/2100
- Android 1.6 operating system, upgradable to v2.1
- 3 inch capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colours, HVGA resolution
- Scratch-resistant screen
- Proximity sensor
- Auto-dimming sensor
- Timescape UI customisable user interface
- Qualcomm MSM7227 600Mhz processor
- 128Mb built-in memory
- MicroSD card slot, hot swappable, accepts memory cards up to 16GB
- 3 megapixel camera with Geo-tagging
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g connectivity
- GPS Global Positioning system with A-GPS support
- Stereo Bluetooth A2DP v2.1
- Digital compass
- USB connectivity
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Video recording at 30 fps
- Video playback (MP4/h.263/H.264/WMV
- Threaded SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, Instant Messaging
- Multiformat music player (MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC)
- Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter apps
- FM stereo radio with RDS
- Accelerometer for auto-screen rotating
- Social Networking integration (Facebook, Twitter etc.)
- Enhanced Li-Po 1200 mAh battery
- Up to 480 hours standby
- Up to 340 minutes talktime
- Size: 99 x 54 x 15mm
- Weight: 104 grams
Supplied brand new boxed with UK charger, enhanced battery, user guide, USB cable and quality stereo headset.
Price include FREE UK delivery and full 1 year warranty
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