Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 Review

Introduction:

out year and a half ago Sony Ericsson gripped the attention of many with the Xperia X1, the first handset of the manufacturer to run the operating system of Microsoft. With its elegant look, compact size, powerful hardware and ingenious panel interface, the X1 managed to become a daydream of quite a few high-tech buffs. The market release of its successor, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 had been delayed on several occasions, but the newcomer finally arrived at the beginning of this month. Before we get down to what it´s capable of, however, let´s take a quick look at its specifications. This is the second WM phone of the manufacturer - it utilizes the latest version 6.5 of the operating system and comes with improvements to the panel interface that should be able to deliver richer functionality and meet the whims of any customer group. The overall design has also been altered, the display has grown and the flimsy camera has been replaced by a heavyweight player, because the pixel count of the sensor has been increased from 3.2 to 8 megapixels. The hardware, however, remains virtually the same – the handset is equipped with 528MHz processor, 256MB RAM and 512MB ROM, with the only difference being the lack of FM Radio in the Xperia X2.

What´s in the box of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2:

•    The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2
•    Stereo headset – the Sony Ericsson MH500
•    microUSB cable
•    Wall charger
•    4GB microSD card
•    TV-out cable
•    User guide

Design:

Just like the Xperia X1, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 is a truly dainty-looking device. Its design has had a facelift, although the generic style of the X1 has been retained, as well as the utmost build quality. The overall size and weight are similar and the X2 is almost as compact a device as its forefather – it seems to have put on just 0.35 oz (10 grams). As a whole, the cell phone feels equally and really comfortable to operate in both portrait or landscape modes.



You can compare the Sony Ercisson Xperia X2 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The buttons on the front side have lost their prismatic shape - they are now flat, smooth and go with the overall design much better, but sadly, they don’t feature clearly pronounced travel. The D-pad has been transformed into an optical pad that we neither like better, nor feel mighty annoyed at.

We have already mentioned the screen size has grown. The display now measures the healthy 3.2 inches (used to be 3´´ with the X1), but its characteristics are virtually the same – native resolution of 480x800 pixels and 65k color support (restricted by the software). The image quality is remarkable once again and everything looks great indoors. Well, there are some reflections in the sunlight, but still, the screen remains totally useable. Just like its counterpart integrated into the X1, the display utilizes resistive technology, but its overall sensitivity is lower, which is by no means a commendable feature for any high-end handset, not to mention even mainstream devices like the LG Cookie KP500 and Samsung Star S5230 are equipped with resistive screens with better sensitivity.

One of the features of the X1 that Sony Ericsson vaunts of is the arch that forms when you open the slider. The QWERTY keyboard has gained four extra buttons aimed at better navigation. The upper part of the keys is slightly raised, which allows for enough room in between, so pressing several buttons at the same time is something that happens quite rarely. Their travel is not great, although the action is clearly felt, which enables you to type away fast and with almost no mistakes. Similarly to the X1, the numeric keys are on the right hand side and arranged in four rows, not in a single one at the top as it is with most sliders equipped with full QWERTY keyboards, say the HTC Touch Pro2, Motorola DROID (MILESTONE), Nokia N900 etc. You will get used to this in time and eventually, you are bound to find out the layout actually allows you to enter digits more easily, simply because you don’t have to stretch your fingers to reach the uppermost row of buttons. All told, we are truly pleased at the keyboard of the Xperia X2.



There are noticeable changes in the outer shell of the Sony Ericsson X2 and more precisely, on either side of the handset. The miniUSB has been replaced with microUSB port located on the left hand side, along with a switch that locks the back panel into place. The volume rocker and camera shutter are on the opposite side once again, while the power on/off button, 3.5mm jack and stylus compartment are on the top. Aside from them, the handset sports LED indicators on the top and bottom sides that blink in a pretty nicely looking pattern and varying colors, depending on the type of the missed event (call, message, meeting), the current battery status etc.





The stereo loudspeakers on the back of the X2 hint at proper audio capabilities, but we will tell you how they stack up against the competition a bit later. As a whole, the design of the back side of the Xperia X2 has been changed somewhat, alongside of the X1´s – there are rounded, curvy surfaces and the panel itself is not flat, but sunk inwards. Aside from lending color to the overall look, the novelties make the QWERTY keyboard of the Sony Ericsson X2 more comfortable to type away with and on the overall, operating the phone in landscape has become much handier.

Interface:

Long live the panels!

Windows Mobile comes with an ageing interface and despite the fact the latest version 6.5 has brought along certain improvements that are not half bad, manufacturers still need to develop and integrate their own personalization packs in order to make the interface more comfortable and enjoyable to use. Both HTC and Samsung make for illustrative examples. The guys at Sony Ericsson seem to be of the same opinion and the panel interface got introduced with the market release of the X1. It is available on the Xperia X2 as well, but features evolutionary improvements. Its integration into the standard WM interface is not as deep as in the case of HTC´s TouchFLO 3D or Samsung´s TouchWiz 2.0, but the concept is unique.



The menu that we know well from the Xperia X1 and allows for changing of panels has been revised and delivers new options. Now it not only offers access to various panels, but to personalized views of your call history, messages, calendar and multimedia content. There are also two additional options for fast access to PlayNow and Sony Ericsson Sync.

Now, let´s get back to the panels. Several come preloaded onto the device and they all feature different overall look and varying functionality. Some of them personalize the standard WM interface more profoundly, including the way some of the available applications look, while others provide quick access to services only. For an instance, the SPB Mobile Shell panel is actually the full version of the popular software developed for WM phones that replaces a large part of the standard WM interface with a handier and more enjoyable skin, while the CNN panel is simply an application that provides access to the information from the popular website. Aside from these two, the other that come pre-installed are Pixel City and Pixel City Night, Growing Panel, SupportPanel, MSToday that reverts the handset to the standard Windows Mobile 6.5 interface and one, called Tilewave. The latter is probably the most spectacular - it has a truly futuristic look due to the beautiful 3D effects that tip you off the Xperia X2 sports a dedicated video chip.




You´ve got the option to set up the phone to automatically switch between panels at certain time that you can choose yourself, which is a truly bright idea of the manufacturer.

You are allowed to download additional panels, although just a handful of them are available as of now. Still, Sony Ericsson already offers the relevant SDK necessary for the creation of panels, so we hope software developers will come up with more and soon.

The main concept of the panel interface is to enable users to lend variety to the home screen quickly and easily and to provide fast access to certain functions via various panels. Of course, you get all this with the Xperia X2, the thing is there is a single, huge problem here – more often than not the phone gets sluggish beyond belief and this does spoil the pleasing feeling that the beauty of the enjoyable effects creates.

Contacts, Organizer and Messaging:

The phone contacts application looks like a survived participant in one of these TV Shows where people change their look dramatically. It has been remade and its interface has almost nothing to do with either WM6.5´s standard one or the software version of the X1. You can scroll the list of names using kinetic scrolling, there is a search pane at the top and a band of letters on the right hand side and they all make searching really fast and easy.  The icons at the bottom call up your favourite contacts and call register on screen.

Just like any other WM phone, the Xperia X2 supports almost all means of modern, text-based communication – SMS, MMS, E-mail and IM. As we have already mentioned, the hardware QWERTY keyboard is quite handy and allows for fast entry. What you also have is a personalized screen keyboard with large buttons and several handwriting recognition options. The more interesting thing, however, is the interface of the messaging menu depends on the currently active panel. What pops up on screen with some of them is the standard OS interface, while others like Tilewave, bring you into a completely different world. All things considered, however, you invariably end up in the standard WM interface on opening messages.



The organizer functionality of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 does not differ from what any other device running WM 6.5 delivers. Calendar, alarm, calculator, world clock, notes, tasks etc., anything you might need is at your disposal and the interface of some of the applications changes depending on the currently active panel.





The software dedicated to working with Office documents is just a few clicks away. The Xperia X2 is great at handling both Office 2003 and 2007 files. Adobe Reader 2.5 LE comes preinstalled and allows you to open of PDF files.

Connectivity and Internet:

One of the most distinguishing features of all high-end devices is that they allow for connecting to the Internet via Wi-Fi and 3G. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 is not an exception to the rule. Unlike the X1, however, Opera Mobile is not preinstalled onto the handset and the default browser is the standard application integrated into WM 6.5 - Internet Explorer 6. It visualizes pages in much the same way as computer browsers and all told, it´s not bad at all. In our opinion, however, Opera Mobile and more precisely the latest version Beta 10, is better, because it has comfortable interface, utilizes tabs, meaning you can open several websites simultaneously and not last, features Opera Turbo, proprietary technology of the software developer that makes pages load substantially faster.



The Xperia X2 allows for synchronization of calendar events, contacts, messages, pictures and videos via Microsoft My Phone, Sony Ericsson Sync or Exchange Server. You can sync content via your personal computer using the boxed USB cable as well, but you would need relevant software – ActiveSync for Windows XP or Windows Device Centre for Windows Vista and 7, in order to synchronize the information to Outlook.

GPS:

Being a high-end model, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 is equipped with a built-in A-GPS. The pre-installed software that you get is Google Maps – a proper solution on the overall, although it requires active internet connection to function properly. Anyone who doesn’t like the program, whatever the reason, can opt for a paid application like TomTom, Nav N Go iGo and the likes.



And how fast, exactly, is the GPS itself? Well, quite a lot actually. It pinpoints your location in 2-3 minutes after cold start and 5 seconds after hot start. If the weather conditions are bad, you will still be able to get information on your current position, because the X2 can use your carrier´s nearby infrastructure (base stations) to locate you. The latter is, however, neither accurate, nor comfortable for navigation.

Software:

Aside from the standard WM applications, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 comes with two preinstalled games, Experiment 13 and Xtrakt. Both titles offer decent 3D graphics and gameplay that is not boring, so you can kill quite a lot of time playing either of them.



The Support panel is a whole lot different from the others the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 features. It allows you to contact the customer support of Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 and get a brand new handset within 48 hours if something happens to your device. In case your own X2 has received severe injuries and is fatally wounded, you can get in touch with the dedicated team via the manufacturer´s website. We do like the idea indeed, although we do hope you won´t need to fall back upon the service.

Camera:

The presence of an 8-megapixel camera makes the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 the only WM phone equipped with such a powerful sensor. Everybody knows, however, that when it comes to image quality, size doesn’t really matter. The camera interface offers quite a few options, including touch focus, but is certainly not the snappiest piece of software we have seen. It needs about 6 seconds to start up, not to mention focusing and saving a snapshot takes about that much time as well, meaning you will have to be really patient. The overall operational speed means you might have certain troubles capturing funny or memorable moments, especially if you need to react fast.

Fortunately, patience is a virtue and typically it gets rewarded and in this particular case - with proper results. Snapshots taken in bright lighting conditions have realistically represented colors, very good details (more often than not) and no noticeable distortion. The overall picture quality is lower in poor lighting conditions, which can be expected, but in this case you better try not to move much if you intend to capture a snapshot with proper quality. All told, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 performs slightly worse than the best cameraphones equipped with an 8 megapixel camera, but the difference is not significant. This, however, means the X2 is the WM phone with the best camera to date, a truly commendable achievement indeed.




The situation with the video capture capabilities is slightly different though. The maximum resolution is high (800x480 pixels), but the frame rate (about 19) and the overall quality are mediocre. Clips are suitable for being published on YouTube and social networks... just don’t expect them to look great on a computer or TV screen (you can connect the Xperia X2 to a TV set via the TV-out port of the handset).

Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 sample video at 800x480 pixels resolution

Multimedia:

Multimedia playback is probably one of the overused functions of any cell phone these days. The Xperia X1 is a pretty capable performer, so its successor is expected to be even better. The video player of the X2 comes with a jazzed up interface that is simple and easy to use.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 plays MPEG4, DivX and Xvid files right out of the box, something that just a handful of handsets have to their credit. Everything looks great on paper, but in reality things are quite bad indeed. The smartphone is capable of playing files coded in the above-mentioned formats and resolution of 1,280x800 pixels. As the old saying goes, however, don´t hallow until you´re out of the wood, because the stuttering and hang-ups are excruciating. What´s worse, the same problem affects the playback of files with lower resolution as well and things normalize with content coded at a resolution of 480x360 pixels or lower, although images get rather pixelated in this case. What a shame really, you just cannot enjoy the full potential of the beautiful display. Using Media Player, the default application of the operating system, yields absolutely the same results.

CorePlayer handles files with resolution of 800x480 pixels and high bitrate much better really, but you will have to buy it, because the program is not free. Well, there is skipping of frames yet again, but as a whole, content plays smoothly and the playback is acceptable. The issues that plague the video functionality of the device reveal Sony Ericsson has done a slapdash optimization of the multimedia capabilities of the Xperia X2.



The audio player comes with brand new clothes and its interface features contemporary look that we do like. Unfortunately, just like with the Satio, it delivers scarce number of options – you can filter content by several criteria, there are basic audio playback controls... and that´s pretty much all – no equalizer, no audio effects. We would have liked to see something like the rich functionality of Walkman Player 4.0 that is preinstalled onto the latest models of the music-oriented series of the manufacturer, but sadly, this is not the case.



The boxed headset, the Sony Ericsson MH500, packs some punch indeed and offers great sound quality. It delivers balanced sound, but its most powerful weapon is called rich and clear bass frequencies, a feature that many people who love proper bass reproduction would not be able to resist. The performance of the X2 and the boxed headset makes the handset one of the best WM phones for listening to music. The stereo loudspeakers aren’t bad really, but they lack enough power and appear to be rather quiet alongside of their counterparts integrated into the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Samsung OMNIA HD i8910.

Performance:

In the introductory section of the current review we mentioned that the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 is equipped with pretty much the same hardware as the X1. Having seen the cool-looking improvements to the panel interface and its brand new 3D visuals, we can definitely say the guys at Sony Ericsson have tried to squeeze whatever they can out of the silicon heart of the handset. They have done a great job in certain respects, because there are many menus and applications that hit the hardware heavily, but get properly visualized and without noticeable lagging. On the other hand, it is exactly the opposite in other cases when the handset gets overwhelmingly sluggish for no obvious reason. As a whole, the operating system is stable and doesn’t freeze, but every now and then a message about a problem that makes the device close all running applications will appear.

The in-call quality is high, although not as good as what the X1 delivers. It doesn’t matter whether it´s you who´s talking or not, because the situation is virtually identical on both ends of the line. Voices are loud, but too sharp and tend to get monotonous at times. This, however, doesn’t mean you will be unable to have a proper, normal conversation. We are pleasantly surprised by the loudspeakers, because the sound they produce is much louder during calls as compared to when you listen to music - everything is intelligible and your callers will hear you relatively well.

Battery life is of utmost importance with smartphones. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 performs great in this respect, because it can make it through a whole day of heavy usage, including surfing the web over Wi-Fi, sending emails, listening to music, watching videos and playing the available 3D games.
 

Conclusion:

We were pleasantly impressed by the Xperia X1 when it rolled out, so we just could not wait to take a closer look at its successor. We had to  wait for more than a year until our wish came true and as time went by, our expectations hit the ceiling. Now, when we have examined the handset in details we feel disappointed at its performance. It is merely a jazzed up version of the X1, but not a worthy successor. Aside from minor improvements to its overall design and panel interface, the Xperia X2 doesn´t offer anything new, there is nothing about it to wow us. Was it worth waiting for? No. Does it deserve your attention? Only if you are looking for a handset that is more exotic than its Windows Mobile brethren.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 Video Review: