Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 Review

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, the latest technological wizard from the mobile giant, is a gizmo that packs a serious punch of features. It is the first amongst the various Windows Mobile smartphones that has WVGA video recording and a camera of 8 megapixel quality. Besides, its display runs the sleek Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional technology, which is a serious improvement over the 6.1 version in the XPERIA X1. In fact, it is almost universally acknowledged that the X2 is a serious improvement over the glitch-ridden X1.

Design-wise, the XPERIA X2 is quite similar to the X1. It is a compact device and fits comfortably in the palm for regular one finger use. The QWERTY keyboard is a smooth slide-out feature, and on the whole, the phone has the look of a smart plastic device, that neither appears too bulky nor cumbersome to handle.

The phone has virtually every connectivity option available. The only things you may miss are automatic screen rotation and the FM radio option. The screen features touch technology, and the only difference between this touchscreen and the one in X1 is that this one is marginally bigger at 3.2 inches. The difference is not insignificant, since finally the tiny screen icons are accessible to all sizes of fingers. However, a stylus would definitely have made life easier.

The Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, with its new scroll and display features, is a definite improvement on the 6.1 in terms of user-friendliness. However, at times the system is noticeably slow in responding to commands, which suggests that more processing power is needed to handle the demands of 6.5.

The 8.1 MP camera fitted with a single LED flash is a seriously high-end tool on a work phone, but it is an impressive bit of gadgetry for those who have photographic tastes. This phone retains the panel system feature of X1. There are 25 panels to choose from, and you can display up to 9 at a time. A really cool feature here is that you can pre-set the times of the day at which you would like panel re-arrangements. So, the panels you see on the homescreen will be in-sync with your schedule. A continuing problem, though, is that the processor struggles to handle the panels system.

The embedded music player is a very neat system, and the level of navigation and control that the user has here is very convenient. Sony Ericsson’s own video player is also very good, and much better in clarity and functionality than the Windows media player that has been pre-installed.

All in all, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 definitely emulates its predecessor. However, the software still feels inadequate to handle the variety of features that have been packed in. The 528 MHz processor just cannot ensure speed of operation, and users not blessed with more than a usual dose of patience are bound to feel frustrated with the responsiveness.

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