Sony Ericsson X8
3 DirectThe new Sony Ericsson X8 is a budget friendly Android phone with a sleek look
Best Value for Money Plan
| Price Plan | Talk 900 | 94.5% |
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| Texts/Minutes | 900 mins/texts | |
| Internet | 1GB | |
| Handset Cost | FREE | |
| Monthly Cost | £18 | |
| Contract | 24 months |
The One Plan
Currently, Three's most extensive price plan. The only One you are likely to need, this '3' price plan gives you 2,000 (yes 2,000!) anytime, any network minutes, 5,000 Texts, 1GB internet usage and 5,000 minutes of calls to other 3 mobiles each month.
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The One Plan |
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Talk Plans
A price plan which gives you flexibility, Talk plans don't tie you to a set number of texts and set number of minutes each month. As with Three's previous With Mix & Match plans, you receive a monthly allowance, which you are free to use for texts, minutes or any combination of the two. This is ideal if you find your minutes and text usage fluctuates month by month causing you to exceed either your monthly text or minutes allowance.
But Wait! There's more. Three's Talk plans also give you a generous allowance of internet usage each month.
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Talk 900 |
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Text Plans
Just like with Three's Talk Plans, Text Plans give you a generous allowance of internet usage each month, plus 5,000 Texts and an allowance of anytime, any network minutes.
Our Sony Ericsson X8 Review
Sony Ericsson X8
The new Xperia series from Sony Ericsson is the line’s best offering to come down the pipe. The first Xperia, X1, debuted with Windows and several successors have done well. Now comes the Sony Ericsson X8. The new Sony Ericsson X8 is a budget friendly Android phone with a sleek look. The question is – can a small smartphone run with the big boys?
The Sony Ericsson X8 looks deceptively like the Xperia 10 mini. However, the X8 trumps the Xperia 10 mini with a 3 inch capacitive LCD screen. The resolution for the screen is an appreciable 320 x 480 pixels – more than you need for the size of the screen. You get good viewing angles with TFT and colors are vivid.
Design
Just under the 3 inch screen you will find the Menu, Home and Back keys. These mimic the style and feel of Android phones – chrome-like – and add to the stylishness of the phone. The volume control is located on the right side of the phone along with the one step camera shutter. The top of the phone is home to the power lock key, a 3.5mm headphone port, and a microUSB port. Both ports are capped for protection.
The home screen sports one centralized widget along with four icons you can customize for your own shortcuts. While it is questionable if the phone needs the large Google Search box on the home screen, the operating system is pure Android. By this mean it is smooth and efficient. When you customize your favourite apps in the corners it is very workable. In addition, Sony Ericsson makes custom widgets available. A Data Monitor keeps track of how much data (mobile data) you send back and forth – great for monthly plans.
Phone Settings
The actual phone settings on the Sony Ericsson X8 are similar to other Android smartphones on the market. The only look different due to the blue tint. You can open up a keypad that has a tab for keeping track of call history. Contacts are listed separately. You can customize each contact with a photo or image. To flesh out the contacts Sony Ericsson’s X8 depends on Timescape, a social networking tool. Whenever you view a Facebook or Twitter message via the Timescape app you can create a contact. The contact will list through various social networks.
The speaker phone and the mic offer excellent sound quality.
What We Liked
We love the cool design of the Sony Ericsson X8. The 3 inch screen and great resolution is a good value for the price. Timescape is really a hot app for anyone who spends time on social networks. It is a real plus to have it on your smartphone. Messaging is also easy with this phone –it uses the QWERTY keyboard and offers spell check.
What We Disliked
The main drawback of the phone is the limited storage for installing those third party apps we all love. The camera does not offer auto focus and there is no microSD port. Some users feel the Android OS is outdated but that is a matter of opinion and we found it more than sufficient to meet our needs.
The Final Verdict
Would we use this phone? Most definitely. It is a good mid-level smartphone. Android is a well respected brand in the world of smartphones and the X8 offers a lot to consumers. It is a classy phone that is easy to use while giving you excellent performance.
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| Sony Ericsson X8 | |||
General | |||
| Form Factor | Candybar | ||
| Dimensions | 99 x 54 x 15 (mm) | ||
| Talk Time | 340 mins | ||
| Standby Time | 476 hours | ||
| Weight | 104 g | ||
| Quad Band | Yes | ||
Photo and Video | |||
| Integrated Camera | Yes | ||
| Camera | 3.20 megapixels | ||
| Camera Flash | Yes | ||
| Video Player | Yes | ||
Phone | |||
| Voice Recognition | Yes | ||
| Polyphonic Ringtones | Yes | ||
| Smart Phone | Yes | ||
| Internal Memory | 128MB | ||
| Memory Card Type | MicroSD (max 16GB) | ||
Messaging | |||
| Instant Messaging (IM) | Yes | ||
Screen | |||
| Colour Screen | Yes | ||
| Touch Screen | Yes | ||
Connectivity | |||
| 3G | Yes | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | ||
| Yes | |||
| WAP | Yes | ||
| Web Browser | Yes | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | ||
| GPS | Yes | ||
Music and Radio | |||
| FM Radio | Yes | ||
| MP3 Player | Yes | ||
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes | ||
Additional Content | |||
| Downloadable Content | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Games | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes | ||
Sony Ericsson X8 Full Specification
General
| Form Factor | Candybar |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 99 x 54 x 15 (mm) |
| Talk Time | 340 mins |
| Standby Time | 476 hours |
| Weight | 104 g |
| Quad Band | Yes |
Photo and Video
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
|---|---|
| Camera | 3.20 megapixels |
| Camera Flash | Yes |
| Video Player | Yes |
Phone
| Voice Recognition | Yes |
|---|---|
| Polyphonic Ringtones | Yes |
| Smart Phone | Yes |
| Internal Memory | 128MB |
| Memory Card Type | MicroSD (max 16GB) |
Messaging
| Instant Messaging (IM) | Yes |
|---|
Screen
| Colour Screen | Yes |
|---|---|
| Touch Screen | Yes |
Connectivity
| 3G | Yes |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Yes | |
| WAP | Yes |
| Web Browser | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| GPS | Yes |
Music and Radio
| FM Radio | Yes |
|---|---|
| MP3 Player | Yes |
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes |
Additional Content
| Downloadable Content | Yes |
|---|---|
| Downloadable Games | Yes |
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes |
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