Get it now, Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

Sony Ericsson has had a bit of a topsy turvy time with its Android phones over the years. Its first few attempts, including the Xperia X1 and Xperia X10, didn't quite get the balance right but the X10 mini and X10 mini pro both impressed us and were intriguing options if you were looking for a particularly small phone.

The company's latest attempt, then, is the Xperia X8. It sits somewhere between the X10 mini and full-size X10 in terms of size, making for a small-but-not-tiny Android smartphone. It's also relatively inexpensive at just £130, or free on £15pm contracts.

The X8's design is a tough one to nail down. It's clearly not the most elegant device going and its plastic construction certainly makes itself known. However, it feels solid and well put together, and has a certain charm. If colour's your thing, you'll be pleased to know the backplate is available in a variety of thereof, though the front remains pearlescent white whichever you choose.

Where perhaps the phone most prominently shows its budget orientation is the front and more specifically the screen. The markedly grey (rather than black) and plastic 3in rectangle is slightly recessed into the bezel, which slighty hampers usability. The bezel is also rather wide, making the screen appear smaller than it actually is.

Otherwise, the general hardware of the X8 is rather impressive. The three buttons under the screen are responsive and easily distinguished while the sides are home to more features than you might expect at this price.

Up top there's a microUSB socket (underneath a somewhat annoying plastic flap), the power/screen lock button, and headphone socket that is compatible with Sony Ericsson's inline headsets – thus the odd shape. A headset that provides reasonable quality audio and decent noise isolation comes in the box however it isn't actually of the aforementioned Sony Ericsson proprietary type.

The left and bottom edges are devoid of features but on the right is a volume rocker and, joy of joys, a shutter button for the camera. Finally, there's the camera itself that sits on the back, sadly without an LED flash to accompany it.

Source : TrustedReviews

Posted on 5:38 AM / 166 Comments / Read More

Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 Arc is simply amazing

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 Arc offers one of the most comprehensively functional handsets, that utilises advanced technology, within a stylish and eminently appealing mobile phone. The unit measures 125 mm high by 63 mm wide and is only 8 mm thick, within which it offers such delights as an 8.0 megapixel camera, fast Internet access as well as a multitude of entertainment options.

One of the key facets of this handset is its impressively large display screen which is an LED backlit LCD that offers capacitive functionality whilst also offering touch screen capability. The screen itself is 4.2 inches in size, within which it is able to display an impressive 16 million colour combinations, all of which are represented within a 480 x 854 pixel screen size. The display screen comes with a scratch resistant surface and utilises the Sony mobile Bravia engine, which is a name better known within the television arena. Accelerometer and proximity sensors are also provided, whilst navigation is provided by the popular Timescape user interface.

The handset comes with a multitude of connectivity options, which includes fast Internet access, by virtue of its HSDPA connection, offering speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, or the alternative of Wi Fi in addition to micro-USB, Bluetooth, microSD as well as GPRS and EDGE connections. The unit comes with 8 GB of memory included, which can be significantly enhanced by utilising the aforementioned microSD card slot and relevant cards.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 Arc utilises a 1 GHz Scorpion processor as its central processing unit, whilst also utilising the Gingerbread version of the android operating system. Additional features include a NeoReader barcode scanner, twitter and Facebook integration as well as several Google related features. In addition a stereo FM radio is provided, with RDS, in addition to satellite navigation, and an MP4 multimedia player as well as an MP3 music player. For photographic purposes the handset provides an impressive 8.0 megapixel camera, which is also able to take effective video imagery. The camera comes with image stabilisation, face as well as smile detection and also includes both autofocus and touch focus.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X12 Arc, like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8, offers extensive technology, combined with an obvious aesthetic appeal. It offers almost every conceivable function and feature that is currently available within a mobile phone. For those who enjoy the latest gadgetry and functionality, this particular handset will be one that is not to be missed.

(Source : Newsbroadcast)

Posted on 4:25 AM / 22 Comments / Read More

Top 5 Camera Mobile Phones

The first camera phone that I ever bought was the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, way back in 2006. It was BlackBerry’s first real attempt at competing in the multimedia market, and my first tentative step into the revolutionary world of camera phones.

I was always a late developer, technologically speaking of course, but the Pearl was a market leader. Not only did it offer seamless e mail capability for the man on the move, but it also came with a 1.3-megapixel camera which was enviable at the time.

Wind the clock forward 4 years and this is now laughable. I can draw better than a 1.3-megapixel camera. Back in the day, a camera on a mobile phone was little more than a novelty or selling gimmick.

These days, people consider the quality of a phone’s camera to be one of the most important deciding factors when choosing a handset. In fact, there’s very little to differentiate between some camera phones and actual cameras, so since you can’t tweet or update your Facebook status on a camera, for many of the younger generation they’re becoming obsolete. Below are the best camera phones on the market today:

1. Nokia N8 – this is the Daddy of camera phones right now. It’s rare for Nokia to top any list these days thanks to Apple and HTC, but nobody can hold a candle to the N8 right now. With its 12-megapixel camera, the Nokia N8 is actually superior to many of its standard camera peers. But it’s the HD video capability of this handset that makes it untouchable. With its near-perfect image resolution, and ingenious digital editing and sharing software, the Nokia N8 represents a giant leap forward in camera phone technology.
2. Apple iPhone 4 – nipping at the heels of the Nokia N8 is the Apple iPhone 4. Granted, there is a significant reduction in megapixels to 5, but there’s no equivalent degrading of picture quality. The front facing camera differentiates the iPhone 4 from its competitors, enabling FaceTime calls and precision self-portraits at long last, even when drunk. The iPhone 4 really stands out with its video capability though, shooting in stunning HD with a permanent backlight for night time video. Paris Hilton and her contemporaries will certainly find this feature invaluable.
3. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 – weighing in at a whopping 8.1-megapixels, this handset runs the old Android OS version 1.6, so it’s already lagging behind on this front (though updates are finally beginning to roll out). But the screen is a massive 4 inches, so you can view videos and photos on the Xperia X10 with incredible clarity, as well as online images through the phone’s unique Mediascape application.
4. Motorola Defy – this handset comes with the usual line up of camera features that we expect as a bare minimum these days: 5-megapixels, digital zoom, dual LED flash and autofocus. But it’s the image optimisation settings that get the Motorola Defy onto this list. This natty little application allows users to edit images and video in real time, including colour effects and a variety of scene modes. It’s also water and scratch resistant, making it the first handset to be practically drunk-proof.
5. HTC Desire – the Desire tops plenty of polls right now thanks to its stunning features and the latest Android OS, but this list is purely concerned with camera capability, hence its lowly position. The Desire’s camera has an impressive 8-megapixels and all the trimmings, but it doesn’t hit the same quality as the competition on this list. But all is forgiven thanks to the 4.3 inch display and Dolby surround sound. So this may not have the best camera on a handset right now, but as an all-rounder the HTC Desire is tough to beat.

Posted on 7:59 PM / 17 Comments / Read More