Gadget Review
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 review
Rating 
There is something quite nice about having a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard combined with a touchscreen interface. And if it's high-tech you want from your phone, the Xperia X1 delivers.
As its flagship smart phone, Sony Ericsson has pulled out all the stops with the Xperia X1. It is a Windows Mobile device with a 2.8-inch VGA screen and 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi and GPS. So far, so standard for a good-quality smart phone, but that's because I haven't told you about the 'panels' feature.
These are the customisable panels on the home screen, or dashboard, which allow quick access to all your favourite applications. You can set up to nine different 'panels', which when turned to the side flip into a pack of cards that you can browse through.
This feature is useful if you have a few applications such as web, address book, Google search, movies or music that you constantly use and want quick access to, but it gets in the way if a text comes through and you need to navigate quickly back to your inbox.
The keyboard works a treat though: it is big enough and the keys are spaced apart widely enough to stop any accidental mashing of keys in the heat of a long email or text message.
Another good addition was the backlighting on the keyboard - great for typing or texting in dark places, and there are four LED lights on the four corners of the handset that flash as notification for different reasons, for example, a call coming through.
Basically, I couldn't really find anything wrong with the Xperia at all - in fact the keyboard very much appealed to me - but I wasn't convinced to switch from drag and drop on the Omnia or the intuitive finger-scrolling of the iPhone 3G.
You can finger scroll through web pages on the Xperia, but I found a stylus worked better, and the optical joystick was pretty useful too.
Functionality: Innovative customisable panel feature with a multimedia focus
Design: Futuristic and clean, but ever so slightly blocky
Verdict: I'm conflicted. This phone is complicated and intriguing. I want to get to know it better, but don't know if I want that kind of intense relationship right now
Price: €499 RRP
Network: All mobile operators in Ireland.
By Marie Boran
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