The official availability maybe some time off, however that hasn't stopped us from getting a hands-on with the Android sporting Xperia X10 for a second time (this time in New York) so we can bring you a First Look (over two sittings) of the new handset from Sony Ericsson. Will it be a game changer that will bring the company back into the spotlight? Read on to find out.

On the surface the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is another Android 1.6 handset with a large screen and yet another user interface or User Experience (UX) as Sony Ericsson calls it, promising to improve the usability stakes over everything else.

The hardware sees you get a 4-inch touchscreen display that dominates proceedings. Beneath this there are three additional buttons that allow you to access menus, the home screen, and skip back a step, and in between this there is even two white tiny LEDs that give you notifications as to what is going on although you will no doubt loose track over time. A dedicated camera button and volume controls pepper the side.

For the Droid or G1 fans out there, there is no slide-out keyboard. Get over it.

Around the back you'll get an 8.1-megapixel digital camera top centre and beneath that a flash - something not present on the HTC Hero or Apple iPhone.

Although impressive, specs are nothing out of the ordinary, certainly not for your top-of-the-range model and that means you get virtually every tech acronym you can think of including HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DLNA, A-GPS, 3.5mm jack and Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Storage is provided by an 8GB microSD card in the box and connects to your computer/charger via Micro-USB on the top. Unfortunately we weren't able to confirm what the storage allocation for applications is, but let's hope it is more than 256MB as with the Motorola Droid.

It is large, comparable to the Apple iPhone, but not as big as the HTC HD2. Underneath all that User Experience you get Android 1.6. Sony Ericsson are currently sending out mixed messages as to whether or not the handset will sport Android 2.0 when it eventually launches in February, with some spokespeople for the company saying it will and others not so sure.

What this means is that you will miss out on some features, like the ability to search the contents of your phone at the press of a button and Google Maps Navigation (US only). With a strong integrated interface in the guise of what Sony Ericsson is calling Nexus, you get, like the Sense UI from HTC, a lot more friendly functionality than Google offers as standard.

Of course you do get that "standard" approach. The Nexus UX Platform sits on top of Android 1.6 meaning you can run all the standard Android apps as well as apps designed for the phone and UX.?Unlike Motorola and HTC, both of whom have also decided to customise the Android experience, Sony Ericsson is hoping for further development by releasing a WebSDK.

The move means that developers will be able to develop applications specifically for Sony Ericsson handsets (the X10 is the first of many) that work only for Sony Ericsson. It's a brave move and one that will be interesting to watch. As a developer are you really going to be bothered to develop an app for an as yet unproven smartphone when you've got Apple, Android, Palm's WebOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Samsung's Bada and BlackBerry to develop for as well?

Either way in reality it seems that Sony Ericsson are playing the "you can play with us too" card and regardless of this forging on with their own apps to impress and improve on the Android OS.

In steps Timescape and Mediascape. Timescape is a communications app, which aggregates email,?Facebook, Twitter, IM, and SMS into one big lifestream that you can navigate through. Each "event" is represented by a tile, which you can tap to view in more detail, or long-press to get a preview of. The experience is very "Aero" from Windows Vista and in practice not the easiest thing to read.

Each tile has a button marked with an "oo" infinity symbol. Hitting that will take you to related content - which could be content from the person in question, or it could be web content related to whatever is on the tile. It's a bit like HTC's contacts feature that shows you all the contact you've had with that person, however it's no Xobni. The list can be filtered by medium, and you can reply to individual messages within the application.

Mediascape is the other "signature" application. It's built around music, video and images and organises all three on your device. It incorporates players for all three, too, and can hook into various bits of online content. YouTube was named explicitly, but we'd expect Last.fm and perhaps Flickr to show up here too with talk of Spotify being banded around at our briefing (something that might be harder to do than Sony Ericsson realizes thanks to Spotify's poor API).

Items in Mediascape also have an infinity button and pressing this will again summon related content. For a band, that could be songs on your device, YouTube videos, or even other artists that are similar to whatever you're listening to. The overlaid controls of this section looked quite similar to the Zune HD's UI, though that's only a good thing.

Then there is the image viewer in Mediascape that supports facial recognition. What this means is that you can tag up to five people in a photo and then the handset will attempt to identify those people in other images too - the more you tag, the more accurate it is, very much like Apple's face recognition feature in iPhoto. The feature can also hook in with your contacts list - you can tap a person in a photo to call them, for instance, however won't talk to Facebook or Flickr.

Those apps, and others for the Nexus UX, will be available from the PlayNow store.

Elsewhere and it's pretty standard Android fare for the handset. The software is, and acts, as you would expect for an Android 1.6 handset, however for some reason, one that continues to baffle us, is no multi-touch support.?With a touchscreen so large with no keyboard we think it's a catastrophic move, but then hey, what do we know?

As for performance? Well it's a little too early to say. The models we looked at both in London and New York have all been pre-production, and early builds at that. It certainly wasn't as zippy as we would have hoped, certainly for a device with a Snapdragon chipset, but then its too early to tell whether this is just because it's early code, or because Sony Ericsson has baked in so many graphical, almost PS3-like niceties, that it's buckled under the weight. We expect it's the former.

Verdict:

So is this going to be the Android handset that you wish you waited for? At the moment it's too hard to say as the software wasn't (we hope) working at full speed. That said on the hardware front it really is just a screen with some buttons and every acronym you can think of, looks good and has the potential to perform well.

We get the feeling though, that as soon as HTC announce an HD2 with Android, probably called the HD3, that shininess – i.e., the 4-inch screen - will soon disappear.

So how can Sony Ericsson hope to win your hearts? By getting developers to embrace the Nexus UX platform or for Sony to roll out as many apps as it can including dedicated apps like a PlayNow store, PSP emulator and PS3 Remote Play. Now wouldn't that be nice?

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is expected to be available in February 2010.

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Related links:

• Photos - Sony Ericsson Experia X10 hands on

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Sony Ericsson Android First look Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mobile phone - First Look originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Back at Mobile World Congress 2009 Sony Ericsson introduced us to the concept of Entertainment Unlimited, typified here by the Aino. The phone drops to the Walkman and Cyber-shot branding, but punches hard in both the camera and multimedia sectors, including Remote Play on the PlayStation 3.

Out of the box you get a slider handset measuring 104.0 x 50.0 x 15.5mm. You'll find a 3-inch widescreen display with a 432 x 240 pixel resolution. The screen is touch-enabled, but the Aino is a hybrid device, meaning sometimes you can touch and sometimes you can't, which we'll come to later.

The design of the phone is pretty sleek: the front is free from buttons with the screen closed and moving around the body the only other buttons are the lock on the top and the volume rocker and camera button on the right-hand side.

Slide the screen up and it opens with a nice crisp action, exposing the 12-key keypad and usual range of control buttons across the middle. The keyboard is pretty average for Sony Ericsson's handsets, giving a reasonable response, but not the best for fast action messaging. It does feel like a good quality keyboard and feels like it will last the length of your contract. Our review version was finished in black throughout and it looks like a cool phone overall.

The menu system is typical Sony Ericsson stuff, with a main menu divided into icons giving you access to all the main areas. It is looking a little tired, as essentially the layout and content of these menus hasn't changed over the years, it's just expanded. With Apps now taking centre stage on many phones, Sony Ericsson still has "Applications" languishing in "Organiser".

You get the feeling that things are no longer cohesive: you have Entertainment, Media, Music Player menus, but they don't contain all the options for media control. The main media menu employs Sony's XMB, which is great to use and mirrors the PSP and PS3 layout.

You also get a separate media interface that is operated by touch control when the phone is closed. This is the only time that the Aino does accept touch however (except to take incoming calls and set camera controls), and gives you access to the camera, photos, music, video and radio. Sadly, this touch menu has its own design, dropping the XMB, but it does give you access to media without opening the phone.

It is a shame that you can't do more via touch. Whilst being able to access your media and use the camera is nice, it seems like a missed opportunity not letting you browse your messages for example.

Our Aino came with an 8GB microSD card in place, so it is ready and willing to get funky with all your tunes on the move. It is perhaps a surprise to find that the Aino doesn’t feature a 3.5mm headphone jack given that it is pitched squarely as a multimedia beast. But our rage was thwarted by the inclusion of the MH100 Bluetooth adapter, meaning you can simply plug your headphones into the Bluetooth dongle and stash your phone in your pocket. The MH100 even gives you volume controls, play/pause and track skip functions and a mic for when you need to make a call.

The bundled headphones can be bettered if you have a decent set of your own, which will really get the most out of your music, but the bundled set aren't too bad. Taking things a step further you also get a neat dock to sit both the handset and the MH100 on, meaning you can charge and sync your phone with your PC with minimal hassle.

One of the big headline features in the Aino is the PS3 connection. In reality it isn't that exciting and isn't very reliable as you are given little guidance for configuration. However, once you have made your connection you can connect over 3G or Wi-Fi. You don't get to remote play games, but you can access content on your PS3, if you have any, or drive PlayTV whilst you are away from home.

You can also connect up to UPnP servers to play music over a network, if you have such a service available. The handset is DNLA certified and also supports BBC iPlayer, so you can download programmes you've missed and watch them on the train, or stream them.

The second big headline feature of the Aino is an 8-megapixel camera. But hold your horses and remember that 8 is just a number and not a gauge of performance. In fact, the 8-megapixel sensor here inhibits the performance terribly.

The camera interface is fairly clean, with controls selected through on-screen options. You can capture an image either through the button, or by pressing the screen, which in reality is a bit of a pain, as the slightest touch and you'll be taking a picture of something you didn't want.

Writing a full-resolution file to the memory card takes about 10 seconds, so this is time you'll just be sitting and waiting. Better performance is offered by turning the thing down to a more reasonable 3-megapixels, which will save you standing around for such a long time waiting, at least. Unless you have perfect lighting and a perfectly still subject, it isn't worth using the full resolution anyway as there is a lack of detail to offer opportunities for large scale prints or cropping, so best to stick with something more manageable.

The camera suffers not only lag on buffering, but also in the shutter, with noticeable delay. The shutter speeds are often slow, even with the LED "flash", so any movement in low light, or even average lit indoors scenes, result in blur and high contrast scenes attract a great deal of fringing around edges.

Video is offered at a top setting of 640 x 352, giving you a widescreen aspect, or 640 x 480 for 4:3, captured in MPEG4. The results aren't too bad, but there is a noticeable lag on the display when filming. It captures at 25fps, so copes with moving subjects better than some but low light shots can be very noisy. Given the phones media "sharing" angle, we'd have expected a higher video resolution, but as it is it performs well enough.

In terms of data you get HSDPA and Wi-Fi, so you can enjoy the rich media experience whilst on the move or at home. There is a GPS too with Google Maps doing the usual business. The browser does leave you wanting however, so if browsing the Internet is high on your list of priorities, you might want to look elsewhere.

The Aino doesn't really step to the plate against smartphones. It doesn't give you access to thousands of applications to further expand what the phone will do. You do get a Facebook app pre-installed, with Facebook links appearing in photos and messages for example, and a homescreen status update "widget" that although nice, took about 3 days before it would show us any info.

We also found that the battery life was surprisingly poor for a slider handset. We found ourselves charging it every day during testing.

Verdict:

The Sony Ericsson Aino offers features galore, but fails to wrap them into a package that really wows. There is a lot on offer here, but you feel like you have to work for it at times, finding the best route to get to the content you want. The link to the PS3 is a nice addition, but doesn't feel like a reason to buy the phone.

The same can be said for the 8-megapixel camera offering. It is just a number and comes with limitations not found on your compact camera, so don't choose the Aino because you think it will replace your compact camera – it won't.

The Sony Ericsson is something of a premium handset too, because it comes in a quite a price, comparable with smartphone rivals, which will ultimately offer greater flexibility and a better user interface.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson Aino 8 megapixels PS3

Sony Ericsson U10i Aino mobile phone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:35:02 +0000

The Sony Ericsson S312 is pitched as an entry-level handset, with a few added touches that bring the camera to the fore. But is this a viable camera phone, or does it struggle to drag itself out of the bargain basement?

The S312 is a typical candybar phone from Sony Ericsson, with the screen occupying the top half and the 12-key keypad the bottom, with the usual shortcut keys across the middle. It is relatively compact, measuring 100 x 46 x 12.5mm and weighing 80g.

It feels a little light in the hand, a little too light perhaps. That said, the weight is something of a problem and probably not for the reason you'd think, so bear with us. The choice of materials used for the S312 matches its budget status, but takes it in the wrong direction: it feels cheap, but sitting on the table it looks pretty snappy. The plastics are smooth and lack any sort of tactile properties, so we dropped the phone a couple of times as it slipped through our fingers.

This cheap feeling rolls over the keypad too. The buttons have a distinct enough click to them, but as a phone it doesn't feel great to use: if you are an avid texter looking for an affordable device, you might find this doesn't really suit.

The design of the two shortcut buttons under the screen is rather odd too - the text at the bottom of the screen which they refer to is never in line with the part of the button that actually moves and "clicks" to confirm that action. You get used to it, but it does feel a little funny.

Moving around the handset you find the first glimpses of another purpose to the handset: using the camera. Around the back is a 2.0-megapixel camera, with a small LED light in place of a flash. The right-hand side also sees a dedicated shutter button, a video button and the volume rocker, which doubles as a zoom for the camera.

The zoom is digital, so isn't worth using - you are better off sticking with the full resolution and cropping the image to get the detail you want later, or just taking two steps forward. The video button is interesting as this is something of a unique feature. It means that you don't have to dive into the settings, select video, and then start shooting, so you might be more likely to capture whatever it was you wanted.

Along the side of the keyboard (on the 3, 6, 9, # keys) are further shortcuts pertaining to the camera. You get continuous or single shot toggle, white balance, self timer and the option to turn the LED "flash" on and off. There is no auto mode for the flash, just as there is no autofocus - it is a fixed focus camera.

The LED flash is only really useful for finding keyholes in the dark, as it lacks any power to illuminate the subject - when it does, it results in a nasty blue-ish cast over everything. But the shortcut keys are useful for accessing the camera features on offer and it does encourage you to play around with these settings, rather than just accepting the defaults.

Video capture is rather lacklustre at a max resolution of 320 x 240 at a flaky 15fps. The audio capture is a little better, but the video doesn't really stand-up against any of the VGA or higher resolution devices and isn't really great for sharing online either.

The camera performance is reasonable outdoors in good light, although images are never sharp like you'd expect from a real camera. Images are fine for use online, but won't stand up to viewing at full size. The sensor does easily become overwhelmed, so high-contrast shots result in a lot of purple fringing around edges and highlights tend to be blown out. Images can be cleaned up slightly using PhotoFix, but there is no control over what it does, and the screen on the phone is really too small to judge any changes.

Images or video viewed on the phone look ok, but the screen is only 2 inches, 176 x 220 pixels, so it is pretty small. The screen is residing behind some sort of mirrored finish too, meaning that once you step into daylight, you can only really see your reflection in it. Using the phone in bright conditions, therefore, is rather difficult, and it is constantly covered in fingerprints.

The menus are fairly standard Sony Ericsson stuff, with main menu icons giving way to simple lists. The normal Sony Ericsson PlayNow is present, along with a basic browser, several Java games and a basic music player. There is an FM radio which requires the headphones to be connected.

There is no 3.5mm jack unfortunately, so you are stuck with the bundled headphones. The external speaker isn't great quality, but it loud enough to be irritating in the street.

The battery life is rated at 8 hours of talk time and 400 hours of standby time. The S312 is an GSM/GPRS/EDGE handset, which will probably be adequate for your minimal data needs. Bluetooth is also present for transferring data to or from your phone and hooking-up to speakers or headphones.

Internal memory is minimal, so if you plan to take many photos, or carry around any music or other content, you'll need to invest in an M2 card.

Verdict:
The Sony Ericsson S312 attempts to deliver a little more convenience for camera users, without really upping the results at the end of it. To call it a camera phone will only set it up for a fall: this is an entry-level handset, which unfortunately due to a few design decisions feels exactly that.

It may be cheap and if you are an infrequent phone user who just needs a handset for occasional or emergency use, then the S312 is simple and reliable. If you are a heavy phone user you might be looking for more.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson S312 Sony Ericsson S312

Sony Ericsson S312 mobile phone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0100