The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 is a phone I have had the privilege of using during the past four weeks, it came as part of a monthly O2 24 month contract package at £30 a month so I didn't pay for the handset separately. It is a well designed phone with an overall finish of brushed metal that makes the shell case feel solid and pleasing to hold in the palm of the hand. The sleek design is enhanced by stylish peripheral buttons and the fact that there are no irritating floppy rubber doors covering ports. Yes, there are lighter and slimmer phones out there, but such attributes are really a matter of taste and fashion. Its dimensions are 17mm deep by 53mm wide by 110mm tall. Personally I really like the slim width of the phone and I like my gadgets to have substantial weight (the phone weighs in at 145 grams) to remind one that they're in your pocket or on your person. Perhaps the one let down in terms of design are the plastic front buttons. On first impression though, the phone comes with some pretty outstanding hardware that seems to deliver what the makers promise.

Design and Features

A TFT touch screen dominates the front of handset. The screen has an impressive 800x480 VGA resolution and is brightly lit and crystal clear - impressive when you consider it's all tightly packed into a screen that is 2.8-inch square. Videos and images are truly bright and vibrant even in bright sunshine. The phone has a total of four navigation options: the touch screen controls, a four way control key, optical joystick navigation and the keyboard. The phone has an optical sensor stuck in the middle of the four-way directional pad that lets you flick your thumb over its surface, and it will scroll up and down, side to side. This at first seems impressive until you realise that the touch screen and d-pad make the sensor somewhat unnecessary. The 5 way d-pad doubles up as an optical joystick and allows you to perform more discrete movements. Other front features include the speaker and video camera. There are also XPERIA panel buttons and a Windows Mobile OK-key. A useful microphone is situated at the base of the front panel, whilst the power switch is located at the top of the phone alongside a 3.5mm headset jack for headphones. On the left side of the phone is a mini-USB port, the micro-SD card slot, and a speaker. On the right hand side of the phone there is a camera shutter button, the camera zoom button and a volume key. The phone incorporates Bluetooth wireless technology that gives you cable free connection to other Smartphone & other Bluetooth compatible devices. A GPS system is one feature that many might find useful, but it's not something I personally have used that much. One reason for this is that it really does run down the battery. Nevertheless, if you're lost up some dark alley it might be a lifesaver. The GPS makes use of Google maps and WayFinder Navigator that come pre-loaded with the handset.

The keyboard

I really like the smart keyboard of this phone. It slides out very easily in horizontal fashion and uses a full qwerty keypad, although the keyboard does not include dedicated number keys. These have probably been sacrificed in order to keep the overall design as slim as possible. The X1 has a "curved slide" that angles the screen up when you slide out the keyboard - a nice touch. I find the overall ergonomics more than satisfactory, the keyboard seems very strong and the slightly raised separate keys are very solid and comfortable to use. Although only a millimetre apart there is plenty of horizontal space between the keys. This facilitates use and reduces incorrect keying during two-handed use.

Power and Battery

The phone is packed with a 528MHz processor and 256MB RAM, but this doesn't guarantees smooth running all of the time. There are 400 megabytes of internal user memory, but this can be extended by adding a memory card depending on requirements. The phone supports MicroSDTM type memory cards which are easily fitted into the allocated memory card slot. The battery is a 1500 mAh BST-41 battery that's hidden behind a stylish cover at the back of the handset. This is easy to open. Behind the battery you will find the SIM card slot and the micro-SD card slot. According Sony Ericsson, the battery life is supposed to last over 6 hours of talk time or browsing time. This is difficult to measure accurately, but I would say I get just over four hours of fairly intense use.

The Interface Panels and Software

The Xperia X1 is the first Sony Ericsson mobile to use the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 professional software. This can be used with the Power Point, Excel and Word processors. The phone comes with a graphical Windows interface called the X-Panel. This is made up of a number of start screens that take the form of a grid or a fan. The X-panel is impressive but also a bit fussy. There is a lot of information that is duplicated on the same screens and this merely clutters the screen. By way of the touch screen you can access various panels that allow you to customize the device and integrate disparate functions of the Smartphone onto a single screen. In effect you can select an appropriate panel on the touch screen to access the camera, multimedia, messaging, web and other applications. There is even a Google-oriented screen. Probably my favourite panel interface though, is the impressive clean and streamlined Media Player that features large icons and buttons that function well without a stylus. From the same screen, you can watch movies, listen to music, view your photos or even bring up a contacts list.

One problem I noticed, and one which is likely to irritate in the long term are one or two faults with the graphical displays. When switching between screens it is often the case that images from the previous screen stick when you move on the next page. In other words the interface is slow at times. Although I am still not sure if this is just a fault with my handset or a fault with the phone in general. At first I thought this might be the battery but after several days of use and recharging it was clear that the fault seems to lie with the loaded software. It only takes a few seconds to open the X-Panel and another few seconds to open the media library, but these few seconds really do drag when you're using the phone on a daily basis.

Camera

For such a up market product one would expect a pretty advanced camera on board but this is not the case. The integrated 3.2MP megapixel digital camera on the back of the handset is nothing more than average, in fact I would say it's below average for phone in this price range. The camera can be used to record video as well as take pictures. The photos are satisfactory but the videos are pretty basic quality with limited sound quality - OK for You Tube rather than home movie entertainment. The LED flash light on the camera works well enough but soaks up the battery power if used excessively. The camera comes with standard auto focus and a limited 3 x digital zoom.

Performance

The reception is good, but of course this will vary depending on where you live and how far away you are situated from a transmitter. I live in an apartment block and have suffered previously from poor reception with my cell phones. It could be my imagination but this phone's reception seems to have improved in this department. The promise of super fast internet speeds with 3G HSDPA connectivity are also justified and I have no complaints in this area. It's actually faster at present than my landline broadband.

Conclusion

Despite one or two minor flaws such as the relative slowness of the software, the Ericsson Xperia X1 still stands out as something a bit special and is a phone with a lot going for it. As a state of the art gadget it has every awesome feature that you could possibly want... well, almost. It probably won't come cheap, but if you've got the spare cash then this awe inspiring little device might be worth the investment. It is a product that has an ability to seduce as well as entertain. Despite some fierce competition, it still remains one of the best Windows Mobile-based Smart phones on the market.