Sony xperia x1 specifications. Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 review – long shift. Appearance and usability

XA sequel turned out to be interesting: MediaTek Helio P20 chipset and 3 GB random access memory, do not forget about the oleophobic coating, a 23 MP camera is used, as in Sony Xperia Z5, there are nuances regarding the design ...

The most important

As for the Sony Xperia XA1, there are at least two important points here. First, we added an oleophobic coating on the front panel. This is already progress in comparison with the device of the first generation. Second - Sony did not reinvent budget line, but they remake the model already existing on the market, taking into account the wishes of users and sellers.

It would be necessary to type the line above with caps, but I will not do this - whoever needs it will understand that this is real progress.

It used to be like before. Every year, Sony shuffled the entire line, and we just had to get used to the updated nomenclature. Okay, new letters, okay. New design, new everything. While Apple, Samsung and other companies have been exploiting successful design for at least a couple of years, Sony has only now come to this. It's good that they came. Very happy.

It's good, because the XA, in general, was a good device. Reminds me of Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is suitable for both boys and girls.

By the way, XA1, like almost all other announced Xperia, all consists of matte parts. Imagine the XA1 in matte white plastic. Nice to hold, looks great.

The main differences between the XA1 and the XA are a slightly different design, a different processor, a 23 megapixel camera, that is, now this budget device has moved into another class. Almost middle class.

Characteristics and features

The smartphone will be presented in four colors: black, white, pink and gold, the last two look very cool and girls will like it. Black and white options are classic. Matte plastic, however, not all smartphones managed to feel. In the hand, the device lies pleasantly, the dimensions are small, every time I remember Ray when I pick it up.

Specifications Sony Xperia XA:

Body materials: plastic, metal, glass
Operating system: Android 7.1
Network: GSM/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE (nanoSIM)
Screen: IPS LCD, 5”, capacitive, HD), 554 ppi, automatic backlight level control
Chipset MediaTek Helio P20
Graphics system: mali t880
RAM: 3 GB
Memory for data storage: 32 GB, card slot microSD memory, cards up to 256 GB supported
Main camera: 1/2.3" 23MP Sony Exmor RS camera, flash LED flash, fullHD video. Same camera used in Sony Xperia Z5
Front-camera: 8MP
Interfaces: 3.5 mm headset, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2
Navigation: GPS/Glonass (A-GPS support)
Extras: FM radio, fast charging(Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0), sensors: accelerometer, position sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, barometer
Features: LTE supported, FM radio, 2 (two) SIM card slots and one separate microSD slot
Battery: 2300 mAh, fast charging supported
Dimensions: 143.6 x 66.8 x 7.9mm
Weight: 138.8g

It uses a USB Type-C connector, let me remind you that now type c is in all modern Sony devices, this is cheap smartphones, and flagships, and accessories. If we are going to go, then with all our might! I agree with this.

The main thing that I noticed was that the sore spots were consistently improved - the oleophobic coating, the camera, the processor and the RAM. We did the same with the XA1 Ultra, but we'll talk about that in another article.

Wait or not?

The device will appear in retail in the second quarter of 2017, the price will be about 25,000 rubles. The company says that XA1 is a people's device for everyone. Considering that the Sony Xperia XA1 does not have any skins, add-ons, problems with working with the Google store, there are good design, a good camera for this segment and functions in general, it’s worth waiting for a smartphone. I understand everything that you can tell me about Chinese devices for 25,000 rubles, but there are hundreds of "against" in addition to a dozen reasons "for".

I repeat - I'm glad that XA has not sunk into oblivion and has been continued.

Sony Xperia X may be the most handy phone of all Sony devices that I have ever held in my hands. It retains many of the best design elements of the Xperia Z, but also has a lot of new stuff. Unfortunately, its price is simply too high, because you can get better (or similar) smartphones, but for a couple of hundred dollars less.

Smartphone Sony Xperia X — Reviews

Sony has really improved its design with the Xperia X

What's good about the design of the Sony Xperia X

At first glance, the smartphone looks like the older Xperia Z, but it has some nice upgrades that make it much more comfortable to hold the phone in your hand. The first change is in the screen size, it has shrunk from 5.2 inches to 5.0 inches, and the smartphone itself is much more comfortable in the hand (depending on hand size, of course), making it a good alternative to many of the giant phablets on the market. .

Brittleness, slipperiness, fingerprints on the back of the case, they will no longer be here, because the glass was replaced by metal back panel. The sides are curved and made of polycarbonate, which strongly resembles metal. These plastic sides eliminate almost all seams and allow for a softer grip on the Sony Xperia X. Despite the presence of a 23-megapixel camera, the module is located almost on the same level with the panel in the upper left corner of the phone. On the front panel, the glass is hidden behind the edges. This helps the device look much better than previous versions, and makes it more durable.

Weak processor power

The Xperia X is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chip with 3GB of RAM. In our 3D Mark tests, the X scored around 18,200 on the Unlimited test and 850 on the newer Slingshot, putting it on par with high-end 2014 devices, including HTC One M7 / M8 and G3 LG. On Geekbench, the Sony Xperia X received scores that put it on par with last year's Galaxy S6. This worries us, as it means that the morale of the Xperia X, despite its high price, may be shorter than other comparable smartphones.

The Xperia X looks good, runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and feels good in the hand

Some positives: The microSD card slot means there isn't much storage space. a big problem The display has a 5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 pixel IPS LCD screen. There is simply no real need to have more pixels here because they hurt battery life. And on that note, the 2,620mAh non-removable battery life is pretty good! After several days of stress testing, the battery still ended the day at 13 percent. On a typical day, you should finish at 20-40 percent, and Sony's boost modes seem to really help in a pinch.

The call quality is ok, although we had a few confusing calls in the first few days, but this is not a problem with the device, but rather with the operator.

Sony Xperia X Warranty

Sony offers the usual one-year limited warranty, which only covers manufacturing defects, not problems caused by use of the phone.

Outcome

The Sony Xperia X is a beautiful smartphone that has Android 6.0 Marshmallow and is comfortable to hold in your hand. The camera isn't perfect, but it's still very good, so the shutter button feels nice to touch.

But for 40,000 rubles you can buy a lot best phone. The Snapdragon 650 processor is weak compared to other devices in the same price range. The performance of the X might be better if you opt for the Sony Xperia X Performance version, which starts at $50,000 and has the new Snapdragon 820 processor, although it will look the same as the reviewed smartphone.

Advantages

More durable construction;
Comfortable to hold in hand;
Pure Android 6.0;
You can remove applications and viruses;
There is a microSD card slot.

Smartphones are very popular among the general public today. This phenomenon may have been caused by Apple's first phone. Although the iPhone is not technologically flawless, the phone has an innovative interface, and some people are proud of the status of the owner of the iPhone. In fact, all competitors have tried to replicate the success of the iPhone, with varying degrees of success. HTC introduced the CoverFlow interface, LG launched the Prada and Renoir smartphones, and Samsung launched the WiTu Omnia SGH-i900. now and Sony Ericsson caught up with the Xperia X1 model, which, however, was somewhat late.

Sony Ericsson has long been releasing smartphones aimed mainly at professionals, which can be seen from the price and complex interface. From the very beginning, the manufacturer began to rely on operating system Symbian, developed by a consortium of Nokia, Motorola and Psion. In this regard, the Xperia X1 stands out because new smartphone Sony Ericsson uses Windows Mobile.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 feature set:

Networks: Quad band GSM, 3G+, EDGE, GPRS
Dimensions and weight: 110.5 x 52.6 x 17 mm, 145 g
Screen: 800 x 480 pixels, 65,000 colors
Camera resolution: 3.15 megapixels
Player: MP3, AAC, MPEG-4, FM tuner with RDS
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 b/g, A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP), USB 2.0
Memory: 400 MB built-in and microSD card reader
Average retail price at the time of publication: 36.5 thousand rubles in Russia

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 | Design

Rather narrow, Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1 remains quite long and thick. This is due to the sliding keyboard, which is much more convenient for typing than touch screen. On the this moment only Prada models from LG and HTC TouchPro combine a touch screen with a full keyboard. The keys are small, but typing with the tip of your index finger is no problem, even if you have thick fingers. We tested this by asking a plump colleague to type in the text. He was able to do it without problems, although slowly, but this is due to the lack of habit.

Finishing is thought out well, the body is a combination of plastic and textured metal. Unlike its competitors, the Xperia X1 hasn't gotten rid of the keys, quite the contrary. Under the screen, you can count as many as nine keys. On the right panel are the volume and camera shutter keys, and on the left panel is a standard USB jack. This is another difference from the phones of this brand, so you do not have to carry a cable with you to copy content or charge the battery. The top panel houses an on/off button, a pen slot and a standard headphone jack.

The key in the center of the navigation bar is analogous to the touchpad and allows you to work with the menu without a touch screen.

Finally, we note the presence of the main camera on the rear panel, which is complemented by a flash. There is also a small sensor on the front panel that allows video conferencing.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 | Screen

At first glance, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1's display is unimpressive due to its size. Indeed, the case is elongated in length, and the keys under the display further cut the available space. The screen size of the smartphone is three inches compared to 3.2" for the Samsung WiTu Omnia SGH-i900 and 3.5" for the iPhone. Therefore, it is not very easy to control the phone using the touch screen and fingers. However, one has only to turn on the Xperia X1, after which the "tasty" details begin to appear.

Indeed, the resolution of 800 x 480 pixels is impressive. Photos are displayed in great detail, the text is also clear and easy to read. The phone has a built-in accelerometer that switches the screen to portrait or landscape mode, depending on the angle of inclination. However, we sometimes had difficulty confirming with a fingertip (or rather, even with a fingernail, given the size windows menu mobile). In other words, if you have fat fingers, then you can't do without a pen.

XPERIA X1 has not even appeared yet, but has already managed to become a champion. The record holder for the terms of receipt on sale. It took her “only” a year to get into our hands, as well as on the shelves of Ukrainian stores. Was it worth our wait?

Standard GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (GPRS/EDGE)/UMTS 900/1900/2100 (HSDPA/HSPA)

Dimensions and weight 111×53×17 mm, 158 g

OS Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

CPU n/a

Memory 256MB RAM, 400MB Flash ROM + microSD (up to 16GB)

Screen TFT, 3", 800×480 dots

Battery, autonomy Li-Ion, 1500 mAh, 1-2 days

Communications USB (Mini-USB) 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, A2DP, Wi-Fi

Camera 3.2 MP, max. 2048×1536 dots, autofocus, video recording (VGA, 30 fps), backlight

Working with messages SMS, MMS, e-mail

Audio formats MP3, MIDI, WAV, WMA, AMR, AAC, AAC+, Real Audio

Video formats 3GP, WMV, Real Video, MPEG-4

Internet browser WAP 2.0, HTML, XHTML, Opera Mobile

Additional features GPS SiRF Star III; radio, X-panels, 3.5 mm jack

Design; ergonomics of the QWERTY keyboard; the idea of X-panels, their extensibility; multimedia

Ergonomics of the block of control keys; X-panels need some work

An extremely interesting WM-communicator from a company specializing in multimedia devices. The result almost lived up to expectations.

Verdict

Product provided by Sony Ericsson

At the time of the announcement, XPERIA made a splash. Still, the first Sony Ericsson communicator on Windows Mobile, a new user interface, an "advanced" multimedia component, etc. Then it turned out that the release dates were postponed, then postponed again ... HTC Diamond, Touch Pro, Samsung Witu soon appeared. Both journalists and users began to forget about XPERIA. And finally, she got to us, and interest woke up with renewed vigor. I really wanted to know what we were waiting for so long. As it turned out, the interest of potential users also did not fade away: this was demonstrated both by the activity of readers on, and the reaction of people who saw this device in the hands of editorial staff. It remains to find out whether the product is worthy of such attention, did the competitors manage to get ahead in the time they received as a handicap? These are the questions our detailed test is designed to answer.

Appearance

The device looks very cool. We got the black version. It is impossible to say with certainty that it is more interesting than the combined one (we did not see the second live), but this one looks one hundred percent. The metal case with a dark coating evokes associations with blued steel and generally suggests that you have a device capable of solving any combat missions and trouble-free, like a Kalashnikov assault rifle. In a word, XPERIA looks really cool, well-assembled and really does not let you part with it. Moreover, in the open state, the device is no less spectacular: a light, again, a metallic keyboard unit contrasts favorably with a dark body. In general, for the appearance of a solid five.

Display

With a diagonal of three inches, the XPERIA display has a resolution of 800 × 480 pixels. To clearly imagine how much it is, it is worth making a picture of this size and displaying it on a computer display in “full growth”. Naturally, there can be no question of any graininess - the display is magnificent. There are no complaints about the quality of the picture and the displayed colors either. In the sun, the screen fades, but not too much, remaining quite readable. There is a light sensor, thanks to which the brightness of the backlight can be adjusted automatically, saving you battery power and eyesight. Handling of clicks is carried out without problems - everything is typical for such devices. There is only one minus, and it is not even connected with the display as such, but with its design. The screen, according to the old "communicator" tradition, is recessed into the case, which contributes to the accumulation of dirt along the edges. There is an opinion that it's even better - there is where to glue protective film. But we believe that in modern devices with an interface focused on control without a stylus, this should no longer be the case.

Ergonomics

But ergonomics, especially some of its aspects, is perhaps the weakest point of XPERIA. Although the problem is rather not even in the communicator itself (by and large, everything here is “on the level”), but in the fact that we are gradually getting used to the best and want everything to match this best. However, first things first.

Our complaints are caused primarily by the controls of the communicator. The external keyboard is a prime example of the victory of design over common sense. The layout as a whole is unsuccessful - the keys are located too low and close to the edge of the case, you have to reach for them, as a result of which the rather heavy device outweighs. But the keys themselves are extremely inconvenient. The accept / end buttons are not only the smallest of all, but also “thanks” to their shape, you have to press on the very edge. To do this without aiming is quite difficult. Apparently, the one who designed these buttons did not himself believe that they would be used, but would rely more on the touch interface.

The joystick is really interesting. Firstly, it is large, protrudes above the body and is very comfortable. With the OK button in the middle - everything is as it should be. And secondly, this same OK button is also a touchpad, which is quite suitable for scrolling. But if the company, so to speak, went to the end and added a free cursor to this joystick, which could be controlled like on a laptop, there would be no price for such a solution! But this is already from the category of "used to the best."

We have few complaints about a full-fledged QWERTY keyboard. The buttons are small but well separated, the action is clear - everything is just great. And although not all of the Cyrillic layout fit in their usual places, there is a slight shift to the bottom right, but there are a minimum of key combinations. You can complain about the lack of cursor control arrows, but in principle it is easy to do without them thanks to the joystick on the right side, which the thumb can easily reach.

Functionality, performance

In terms of functionality, apart from the X-panels, Sony Ericsson X1 seems quite ordinary. To paraphrase a classic, all Windows Communicators are the same inside, only each user interface is original in its own way. So the XPERIA, except for the "panels", is in principle a typical communicator, which, due to the high resolution of the display, looks rather poor in performance tests. As a plus, you can put only the presence of a 3D accelerator, which proved to be excellent in games, but unconverted video turned out to be too tough for the device, which is somewhat disappointing, especially in comparison with conventional phones, because some of them can easily cope with VGA resolution and video streaming. 1.5 Mbps.

X-panels



Spb Mobile Shell is the most interesting and functional panel at the moment, which seriously improves the work with the device

Finally, we got to the most interesting - X-panels. What is it? X-panels is an interface within which the user can work with individual applications, panels, the possibilities of which are very wide - from performing one simple function to complete control over the communicator. They are called by a special key, at the same time no more than nine can be displayed on the screen. Actions with panels are accompanied by beautiful animation - everything flies around the desktop, turns over. That's just a little slow - we hope that the programmers will be able to optimize this moment. The user is free to place the panels at his discretion, choosing the most necessary ones. Only one is fixed rigidly - the Today screen, which provides access to the traditional Desktop Windows table Mobile. Unfortunately, the choice of panels is not very wide, there are only a few on the official XPERIA page, and third-party developers have not yet paid due attention to this niche. Installation of new panels is very simple: they are familiar .cab files that can be installed using a synchronization program or downloaded directly to the device. Unfortunately, so far the implementation of the panels cannot be called final. There is a serious drawback - the lack of multitasking. So, having launched the player, you cannot exit this panel and go to Facebook - the playback will stop. But click Start and run Opera - please. Only if you then press the X-panels will playback stop anyway. An unfortunate flaw, but, as far as we know, the company is actively working on this and promise to fix everything in the next versions of the software.

Multimedia

And now, armed with the knowledge that using X-panels in terms of multimedia is possible with some reservations, we proceed directly to exploring the possibilities.

Panel Multimedia. In fact, we have before us a painfully familiar multimedia menu, which can be found in almost every new Sony phone Ericsson. In any case, it looks very similar - the same Image Viewer, Music and Video Players, Contacts (read below why they were brought here) and Games. Moreover, the games are not only pre-installed, but also installed by you. Magic, nothing else. But seriously, the presence of Contacts in the multimedia panel at first amused, but then we realized that such a solution was quite rational. Since it is not possible to implement multitasking, let's give the user the opportunity to at least conveniently call, write SMS and e-mail right from here, from the player. The solution is extraordinary and probably temporary, but, as they say, thanks for that.

The music player is interesting - it looks great and is not deprived of functionality. An ordered library with metadata and tags is welcome. Everything is updated automatically, up to the instant appearance of the newly recorded music in the menu. But the most important thing is the sound. It is simply magnificent, and without discounts for the fact that we have a WM-communicator. This is the best thing we have heard on this platform, the terminal definitely "plays" in the same weight category as the leading musical devices of our time. Record your favorite tracks on a memory card, take your usual headphones, go to the store and listen. It's worth it.

The video player is also implemented very well. True, as we have already said, it cannot cope with unconverted video, but if you adapt the video specifically for it, with a stream of up to a megabit and a resolution up to VGA, in a digestible format, for example, the H.264 codec (container.m4v), - the result will please you. You can get hundreds of videos like this different ways, and any iPod/iPhone/PSP video converter can help you with this.

Exploitation

In the best tradition of Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 multimedia devices, it is equipped with two speakers designed to provide high-quality stereo sound. Indeed, the device plays well and quite loudly. But on the street, this is still not enough, and it is very easy to miss a call. The vibration signal does not save either, in fact it is very weak - the device is weighty, it is not so easy to “rock” it. The case does not show a tendency to rub off, apparently, the paint will last a long time. The autonomy of the device is not outstanding: browsing, GPS, Wi-Fi / 3.5G network, talking - all this drains the battery very quickly.

conclusions

What is the result? Not a revolution, unfortunately. Rather a good, very good communicator who still needs some time to "finish". Multitasking panels will be added, their work will be slightly accelerated, the software will become stable - and here it is, an excellent multimedia communicator. But that doesn't mean he's not interested right now. On the contrary, it's nice sometimes to feel like a pioneer, to be the first to try new panels and firmware, to see how the device improves before our eyes. I would like to believe that all this will happen. In the meantime, we have an interesting communicator, excellent in appearance and by no means empty inside. And only time will tell whether Sony Ericsson will be able to develop the full potential of not only this device, but also the future XPERIA line - if it is destined to appear. As a result - well-deserved four stars and recommendations to take a closer look at it when choosing a new device. I would very much like to put five, but it is not customary for us to give estimates in advance.

Alternatives

XPERIA X1 or HTC Touch Pro?

HTC Touch Pro

These communicators are very close to each other - the fact that the X1 was created on the basis of the HTC model has an effect. The form factor of the products, the main elements of the configuration coincide, but the prices are almost the same at present. The most significant hardware differences are the resolution, and hence the aspect ratio of the screen and related features of the layout of the QWERTY-keyboard and, of course, the body materials. XPERIA is more elongated, which makes it feel more like a "phone" and feels more comfortable in the hand when talking, and its "sparse" alphabetic keyboard is easier to work with. Both communicators are equipped with specially designed software shells, and HTC TouchFLO 3D is less functional, but more ergonomic and better integrated into the system. As a result, choosing between these two models, we would prefer XPERIA.

XPERIA X1 or top-end monoblock communicators?

Samsung SGH-i900 Witu

If you plan to use your communicator as a universal device, that is, to make constant calls from it, it makes sense to compare the XPERIA with two models of the same class, also designed as "phones", but in a monoblock body - HTC Touch Diamond and Samsung SGH-i900 Witu. All three products differ significantly from each other, so it will be interesting to choose. If we briefly describe the competitors, then HTC is a “designer” device, beautiful and unusual, with a convenient TouchFLO 3D interface, the brand of which is quite prestigious, but the equipment looks rather weak at the present time: 4 GB of non-expandable memory and a 3-megapixel camera are no longer available today. you will be surprised, although the VGA-screen is very good.

HTC Touch Diamond

Samsung is a rather high-tech product, the strongest of the three in terms of equipment. Here and 16 GB of memory plus a microSD slot, and a 5-megapixel camera, and a touch joystick with a "virtual mouse" function, and a gyroscope that works in all applications. However, the name Samsung is not as beloved among "techies" as the other two, and in our experience it is better to change the TouchWiz software shell to the paid Spb Mobile Shell 2.0. As for Sony Ericsson, it has the best ratio of "external data" (design, body materials) and equipment, and the QWERTY keyboard is still very important for a Windows communicator. Therefore, the decisive argument in this dispute will be the price: if you are ready to spend $ 800, take the XPERIA, if you want to save money, pay attention to Samsung.

XPERIA X1 or glofiish M800?

Glofiish M800

At first glance, these communicators are very similar, while the product from glofiish promises significant savings. And the equipment of the device is not much different from each other, because the M800 is almost an analogue of the HTC Touch Pro, also with a screen of 640×480 pixels. But the quality of the Sony Ericsson product is objectively higher in many respects, so despite the difference in price, we recommend the XPERIA.

XPERIA X1 or "super communicators"?


ASUS P835	HTC Touch HD

AT recent times in in large numbers There are devices with the same screen resolution as the X1 (800×480 pixels), but with a larger diagonal - 3.5-3.8". We compared the XPERIA with two such products - ASUS P835 and HTC Touch HD - with similar equipment. The result is the same in both cases: with a seemingly insignificant difference in the screen diagonal, the devices are perceived completely differently, because the "super communicators" are noticeably larger.And ASUS and HTC products are more oriented towards those who actively use the mobile Internet and multimedia , respectively, the difference in screen size is of great importance for them.Comparison of external design, dimensions of products reveals a more fashionable character of XPERIA - it seems that the Sony Ericsson device is "for people", while its competitors are "for computer people". one should approach the choice, although no one will deny the benefits of the XPERIA QWERTY keyboard, including “computer experts”.

: Hooray! In less than a year, almost the final pre-commercial sample of the Xperia X1, a communicator that made many reconsider their attitude to Windows Mobile, got into the hands of your humble servant. And whether this communicator is worth reconsidering your attitude to these devices, let's try to figure it out in our today's review.

Introduction

You can talk about this device for a long time, you can not talk at all, but one thing remains a fact: on the first day of MWC'08, the main attention of the public was concentrated on the Xperia, which then still existed mainly in the form of dummies or completely working prototypes, but with a basic Windows version Mobile 6.0 Professional. A little later, by April of the past year, the first samples with the operating system version 6.1 began to appear, and at the same time with the beginnings of one of the main functions that were actively promoted for this new product. But the path of the device to the shelves was truly a long one, if we consider November 2008 as the date of commencement of sales.

What was the first reason for the delays in the release of the model, which was planned to be launched already in July-August? The first reason lies in the original intention of Sony Ericsson to become the first manufacturer to use the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system in its device, the announcement of which was planned in June 2008. But already in May, all the company's plans began to crumble, as Microsoft decided to focus on the early announcement of Windows Mobile 7.0, which was originally planned only for 2010. In this situation, Sony Ericsson programmers faced the fact of the final Windows usage Mobile 6.1 only by the time HTC announced the Touch Diamond in spectacular fashion, with the same OS 6.1 and Today's own screen skin called Touch FLO 3D.

But this only partially delayed the communicator's entry into the market, while other ambitions associated with an unusual hardware and software component ensured Sony Ericsson's banal unpreparedness for parallel fine-tuning of the communicator before its launch in England, and in a number of other markets where the option turned out to be not ready local keyboard layout. Russia was also among the countries with incomplete localization, which is why the communicator did not have time to hit store shelves before the new year, but at the moment when you are reading these lines, the novelty has probably already taken its place on store windows, so it's time take a closer look at it.

Appearance

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 can rightly be called one of the most beautiful communicators based on Windows Mobile, which is due to one uncomplicated property. Unlike most other E-TEN, ASUS and HTC devices, the Xperia case is made mainly of metal, and metal is not called aluminum, often used in other Sony Ericsson products, but steel.

As a result, Xpreria, made in the form factor of a side slider with dimensions of 111.2 x 52.7 x 18 mm, fully corresponds to the title of a technologically advanced fashion solution. If we compare the body dimensions of the Xperia X1 with other communicators based on Windows Mobile, it will be easy to notice a certain minimalism of Sony Ericsson's novelty, although the comparison with and minimizes the dimensions of the communicator.

If we take smartphones based on Symbian OS for comparison, we will not be able to notice a significant difference in size, and this is taking into account the fact that we are not in front of a monoblock, but a slider.

The Xperia X1 lies comfortably in the hand, fully concentrating tactile impressions on the steel parts that make up the lion's share of the communicator's surface. Initially, in the mechanics of the communicator, you can notice a tight transverse play of the lower and upper edges of the front half, which is caused by the mechanics of the guides without frills, as in a monolithic one. An additional refinement to the densely assembled body of the X1 gives a significant weight of 158 grams, deleting the chest pocket of a shirt and trousers from the list of places to carry, while in jeans and a jacket, the communicator can be worn without negative feelings all day.

The entire front surface of Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is made of a single sheet of steel, most of which is concentrated on top. We are dealing with a matte surface, the corners of which are polished to a high gloss. Alas, since this is not stainless steel, the wear of the matte areas appears after a week of use, and after a month there is no doubt that the device was used daily.

Close to the upper edge of the front surface in the steel panel there is a narrow rectangular cutout, on the left of which the light sensor is visible, and on the right is located additional camera for video calls. The rest of the space is occupied by a protruding silver insert, from the bottom edge of which you can see a speaker slot.

A centimeter lower, another cut begins in the steel sheet, this time much larger, since it ends only 5 mm from the bottom edge. The purpose of the cutout leaves no doubt thanks to the familiar film touch screen, which acts as the main means of controlling the communicator.

Actually the area of the touch screen suggests that it protects a widescreen TFT - a matrix with a diagonal of 3 inches, capable of displaying up to 65536 colors. The physical dimensions of the communicator's screen are 38.7 x 65 mm, but the matrix resolution is 480 x 800 pixels. It would seem that a similar screen was used in the communicator, but the similarity between the matrices remains only from the position of a record small grain size of 0.08 x 0.08 mm, while the color rendering and white balance parameters are clearly on the side of the Xperia X1. The image on the communicator's screen is distinguished by a rich color palette, only software-limited to 65536 colors, with a good level of brightness and contrast, but the development of white color is slightly diverted towards the warm range of 5000-5700K, which made it possible to achieve deep blacks without going into gray tones. As for the brightness of the backlight, here we are presented with a uniform scale of 11 gradations, the minimum value of which is comfortable in the case of reading texts at night, and the maximum value is perfect for watching videos or reading the same texts during the day.

In the sun, the behavior of the Xperia X1 screen is quite expected due to the use of a film touch screen, which reduces the sharpness of the picture by half, while reducing the image contrast. Accordingly, a comfortable viewing of images and graphics is already difficult, although all the contrasting areas are readable, and navigation through the menu is not satisfactory. In addition, the X1 screen matrix used also provides excellent viewing angles without inversion, both horizontally and vertically, and when viewed from the corners of the screen.

Immediately below the screen display, a black area of the key block begins, the beginning of which is a monolithic strip with a logo and floating corners along the edges. Significantly protruding thin keys are inscribed in these ledges, duplicating the virtual strip of the lower contextual elements. Continuing to move around the edges, our gaze appears triangular answer/end call keys, the latter of which is also used to lock the keys and the screen. From below, the keyboard block is interesting with the OK key on the right, as well as the panel launch button on the left, which we will talk about in more detail in the corresponding part of the review.

All the remaining space is given at the mercy of a large navigation key with elongated triangular edges on the left and right. Due to the millimeter protrusion above the surface, working with the four-way navigation key is quite convenient, although some may not like the clear click of all the buttons with a sonorous mechanical click. Only one button has a silent click, namely the recessed confirmation key inscribed in the center, whose soft stroke adds to ease of use. And one of its interesting features can discourage the need to use mechanical cursor deflection keys.

We are talking about the presence of an optical navigation pad, on which it is enough to swipe your fingertip in the right direction to move the cursor one position to the side. Using only an optical element for navigation, there are no particular problems, but in conjunction with the navigation key, erroneous actions are too frequent not to use the option to turn off the “optical joystick” in the settings.

Continuing downward, we again come across a steel front panel, from the bottom end tightly adjoining a plastic chrome insert. At their junction, you can see a tiny microphone hole, and already from the end of the main half, you can see a hole for attaching a strap with a thin loop.

From the upper side of the case, a slightly recessed power key is of interest, located right on the verge of a spectacular end strip of a break that forms the angular relief of the Xperia ends, with an arcuate bend of the rib from the bottom and top. In addition to the power button, there is also a 3.5 mm headphone jack - a first for Sony Ericsson, but familiar to communicators based on Windows Mobile.

On the left side of the case there is an ordinary miniUSB - a connector for connecting a communication cable with a PC, which, in turn, can be connected to a power supply charger. From the bottom edge there is an empty recess of the ribbed edging of the case, identical to the other three, also located along the edges of the left and right ends. Closer to the rear surface under the recess, you can see the opening of the polyphonic speaker, often blocked by a finger during operation, which reduces the sound volume by 70%.

The right end of the case is no less interesting, since there is a key on top - a volume rocker with an adjacent central risk. Working with the key is inconvenient for one reason only: the distance between the volume up and down buttons is less than a centimeter. In addition, the flat shape of the button and the indistinct click with a short stroke do not add ergonomic points. From the bottom edge of the butt there is a silver key of the same size, also equipped with two degrees of pressure, but this time we are talking about the shutter button. The focus preload is quite expressive and accurate, but to release the shutter, you will have to double the pressure, resting your thumb on the speaker hole from the opposite edge of the case.

Instead of proceeding to the description of the rear surface, we suggest taking a closer look at the left and right ends of the case, where two black stripes of the front half of the case are clearly visible. On the edges of these plastic inserts, four LEDs are inconspicuously placed, effectively acting as an indicator of missed and ongoing events by pulsing flashing.

And now we return to the lower and upper faces of the case, where a curved gap between the halves is clearly visible, suggesting thoughts about an unusual opening mechanism. The mechanism really looks interesting, although we are talking about two ordinary steel guide rails, as well as a halfway finishing mechanism. On paper, everything looks ordinary, but in practice, the side shift of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is able to surprise even those who have tried the HTC Touch Pro in practice. Holding the device in the right hand, the middle finger pushes the front half of the case to the right without any problems, and halfway through the auto-adjustment is triggered, completed by a dull metallic pop. After that, the thumb easily gropes for the rebounded edge, and the half is easily pushed back. And again cotton with a pleasant dull sound. It's funny, but you can just clap the halves of the communicator because there is nothing to do - some owners find exactly the same entertainment interesting, so there is nothing strange in this.

Keyboard

Opening the body of the Xperia X1, we immediately meet a large block of QWERTY - a keyboard consisting of 4 rows of keys separated from each other, the total number of which is 42, and 32 keys can be used for various keyboard layouts. As you understand, the letter “Ё” fell under the write-off of Cyrillic characters, while all other letters found their place on the layout, and the characters were placed on the keyboard in the same way as NUM - a block on the keyboards of ordinary laptops. By the way, since we remembered laptops, it's time to talk about two interesting points:

Xperia X1 keyboard looks similar to the Sony VAIO P-series keyboard unit

the rectangular keys are spaced apart in the tradition of Sony laptop keys.

In addition, strengthening the similarity of the communicator's keyboard is ensured by the presence of a massive Enter key, as well as a brick structure of the arrangement of horizontal rows at a 50% offset from the neighboring block. The secondary points include the presence of a button for changing the layout, a large Tab key, a small Shift, a monstrous space, duplicating the Start and OK keys.

And now it's time to move on to the impressions of working with the keyboard, albeit in the case of entering text on English language, due to the lack of factory Russian letters. The buttons themselves practically do not protrude above the surface, so their rough matte texture becomes the only reference point for the fingers, in contrast to the glossy panel that frames the keys. A funny moment is a kind of convex texture of the keys, with a diagonal relief under the thumbs of the right and left hands. Due to these bevels, quite acceptable tactility of the keys is provided, while their mechanics leaves only pleasant impressions. The noticeable elastic movement of the buttons is completed by a clear click with a dull click. As for the text input speed, the situation here is quite comparable with the HTC Touch Pro, so we can take 80 characters per minute as the base value, with possible deviations to the side.

The back surface of the communicator continues to delight the eye with brutal protrusions and a metal surface. From the top edge, two screw plugs are easily visible, immediately under which there is again a rectangle, and again with corners along the edges. This protruding frame is inscribed with a slightly recessed protective glass with a black substrate, under which a weak LED flash and a 3.2 MP camera module with autofocus optics are hidden.

Another protrusion runs from the opposite edge of the case, together with the first one, protecting the steel cover of the battery compartment from excessive contact with the surface. The metal is under such symbolic protection for a reason, since its textured matte surface is prone to small scuffs, which will become noticeable after a couple of months of using the communicator.

The lid significantly floats on the ends of the body, where the grooves under the nail are visible, allowing you to hook it and pull it towards you. As you understand, you have to pull on the end of the sheet steel, so it's better to forget about the safety of the manicure, since the external forms of the communicator are designed mainly for the male hand, where even a nail remains a tool. The lid is fixed due to metal protrusions soldered from the inside and two guides on top, which are in contact with the recesses in the plastic frame, the condition of which has not worsened during the month of using the communicator.

But before looking under the lid, let's look again at the top of the back surface. On the right edge, the head of the stylus is inconspicuously located with convenient risks for prying with a fingernail. Fixing the stylus is devoid of magnets, however, the tight fitting of the cap to the groove in the case provides a moderately tight movement of the control in the slot. Having taken out the stylus, it remains only to note the convenient execution of this thin steel stick with a small plastic tip, as well as a comfortable length of 85.7 mm.

So, the battery cover has already been removed, so it's time to head to the microSDHC memory card slot located on the left side. Removing and installing cards does not require the presence of long nails, and the edge of the fingertip can be dispensed with, which is convenient.

And now it's time to take a look at the massive lithium - polymer battery BST - 41, whose capacity is 1500 mAh. It seems that everything in it is good, and the capacity is optimal for such a functional device, but it reminds of something. To answer this question, it does not hurt to take and look at their battery. Also lithium-polymer and also - 1500 mAh. We take both batteries in one hand, and doubts disappear by themselves. We are dealing with an accessory produced by Panasonic for both companies, so you can be sure that in a year the battery capacity of the Xperia X1 will remain at the proper level.

And this means that on one charge you can:

read books at minimum illumination for about 22 hours

5 hours of watching videos at maximum backlight

17 hours listening to music or radio

6 hours to surf the net via Wi-Fi.

In normal operation, with half an hour of calls a day, an hour of using Wi-Fi for browsing WEB pages, two hours of listening to music and 20 minutes of extermination of balls in a standard game, the battery charge reaches a critical 2% after three days. If you use the communicator even harder, the operating time will be about 1.5 days, and a more gentle mode is already irrelevant for Xperia. Accordingly, we propose to count on 2 days of work, deviations from which will be insignificant.

An interesting slot for a SIM card is waiting for us under the battery, with a large plastic stop pressed down when the card is removed. To install it, first, the edge of the card is threaded into the black casing, after which it remains only to drag it until the plastic stop is flush with it.

Hardware features

Taking into account the well-known fact, regarding the production of Xperia X1 by HTC for Sony Ericsson, it seems quite logical to use the Qualcomm MSM7200A complex component as the basis for computing power, which is based on a computing processor with a clock frequency of 528 MHz. On the one hand, there is an optimistic picture of a high-performance device, but in comparison with the HTC Touch Pro, one small detail immediately becomes clear. The HTC communicator uses the MSM7201A, which differs from that used in the Xperia X1 by the active video processing component with the QTv codec, while in the hero of our today's review all tasks are performed by a single processor, and nothing more.

As for the amount of memory, here Xperia looks more than interesting, offering the user:

256 MB DDR RAM - more than 200 MB available for running applications

512 MB ROM - memory for storing user data, although in practice only 281 MB is available

slot for microSDHC - memory cards, up to 32 GB.

The characteristics look quite impressive, but they clearly do not pull on the title of records. However, this is another result of a long delay between the announcement and the release of the communicator on sale.

Software features

As mentioned in the introduction, Sony Ericsson's plans to dominate the use of the operating Windows systems There was a lot of Mobile 6.5, but in the end, the Xperia X1 received by no means a fresh operating system from Microsoft with an index of 6.1 Professional. In terms of basic capabilities, the system is so typical that it is once again necessary to describe software doesn't make sense.

But we will definitely tell you about all the other interesting applications today. Let's start with the panels.

X-Panels

It was under the Xperia Panels brand that Sony Ericsson promoted this software idea in the minds of users for almost a year to bring personalization of the standby mode, since Windows features Mobile Crossbow allows you to place anything on the Today screen, from standard shortcuts to 3D applications with PC-level graphics, from the year 2000. In theory, these features looked so tempting, and HTC's first step, with its Home plug-in utility in Touch Cruise, looked so insipid that the February announcement of the panels managed to surprise many Sony Ericsson fans, and communicators in general. But time turned out to be so fleeting that now the panels already have a tough competitor in the person of Touch Flo 3D, where the level of visualization is an order of magnitude higher than all kinds of third-party add-ons, and convenience is quite enough for real operation, which could not be said about Touch FLO with its slow animation triangular bookmarks.

The original idea behind the panels was to use the entire Today screen space to accommodate the main windows, the format of which depends on the current situation or the need for entertainment features. From the company's point of view, the panel profile provides users with the opportunity to:

use the device as a familiar communicator;

keep abreast of current affairs and promptly monitor communications;

quickly view current tasks and quickly launch applications of interest;

use Multimedia Menu without any restrictions;

listen to your favorite radio stations;

be able to quickly find necessary information on the Internet.

On paper, everything looks tempting, but in practice we are dealing with the very add-ons on the idle screen, which are changed by pressing the dedicated panel key, after which a window with thumbnails appears before our eyes.

Our attention is drawn to two small virtual buttons at the bottom of the screen, the first of which toggles the display of panels, and the second allows you to customize the matrix of 9 panels to your liking by removing the existing panel or selecting other panels from the Sony Ericsson/Fun website. At the moment, no interesting panels could be found there, but they promise to develop the service for at least six months, which
already happy.

Panels

Clock, screen and more

The first and second panels are identical in terms of capabilities, and differ only in content. By the way, the thumbnails of these panels are drawn anew each time, so you won’t have to be surprised at the discrepancy between the depicted content and the real appearance. Having called the panel, our eyes are filled with rows of various icons and indicators, where you can turn on / off any wireless communication, view the date and weather in the selected region, and at the same time be aware of the current time.

If you are not satisfied with this content, most the right step there will be a transition to the settings, where it is possible to change the clock, select a different window theme, adjust the number of bands on the callouts, and add application shortcuts.

fish

After the service panel with many labels, the description of much easier-to-learn fish, slowly swimming around the virtual aquarium of the Today screen, looks most organic. In total, there are four fish available, among which all carry various functions on their shoulders, or rather their backs. So, a small goldfish can turn white sharply, as soon as you turn on the silent alert profile. And if there is a missed call, another one will join the trinity of funny fish. But these are just one of the variations on the theme of the life of fish on the screen, while we are not so much interested in their serene life, but in the reaction to the user's subconscious desire to knock on the wall of the aquarium when a fish swims nearby. And this moment is well taken into account by the creators of the panel, since not only vague contours of the impact appear on the screen, but the reaction of the fish remains quite expected. Any of the fish instantly swims to the side, sometimes releasing more bubbles, which looks interesting, even after 2 weeks of using the communicator.

Those who often resort to the help of the Google web search engine will certainly find it interesting to be able to return to the search bar along with returning to idle mode, and at the same time use the capabilities of Maps, Gmail and Picasa web services.

Multimedia menu

Recently, not a single Sony Ericsson product of the upper price range is complete without a proprietary multimedia menu, first seen in. In Xperia X1, the menu has found its place in a number of panels, which automatically brings this add-on into the ranks of the most functional and well-implemented panels. However, let's take a look at how Sony Ericsson programmers managed to port the menu to Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.

When you turn on the panel, we are greeted by a pleasant unobtrusive menu background, whose color scheme depends on the current time, varying between sky blue and bright orange. At first glance, exactly the same menu items are presented as in the A200, but after scrolling down the list a couple of positions, there is a contact label, immediately after which there are settings.

In the settings, you can change the dimensions of the icons, select the animated effect of interest, and at the same time hide unnecessary menu items, whether it be contacts, or music, or something else that is not interesting specifically for the owner. As for the animation and speed of movement between points, everything here is implemented much more interesting and . and compared to phones on the A200, during navigation, the items literally fly, and the background animation is smooth and without delay. As for the description of the remaining points, in our opinion it would be much more correct to describe them in a separate part of the review, while we will move on to the last point.

Radio

Of course, from a certain point of view, the output of the radio separately from the multimedia menu does not look the most logical way, but from the standpoint of expanding the number of panels, this step is quite justified. We can only state that under the soundtrack of your favorite radio station, viewing photos using the multimedia menu is impossible, but through third party programs there are no restrictions, as for other programs.

The interface of the radio receiver is made without any animation and other interesting points that we could observe in the same . Moreover, the interface also lacks a list of memory cells, instead of which there are only six shortcuts to which you can save the currently found radio station. But before that, the receiver must be turned on using the virtual key in the lower right part of the screen, after which the designation of the current radio frequency will appear under the large digital clock. To navigate the supported band from 87.5 to 108 MHz, you can use automatic search two extreme virtual keys with the image of double arrows, and fine tuning in 0.1 MHz steps can be done using the central navigation buttons. In addition, there is a 12-step volume control, the maximum value of which does not put pressure on the ears, but is sufficient for most situations.

As for the visualization capabilities, the scope of thought here is limited only by the description of the supported RDS line output function, as well as AF adjustment. There are no complaints about the quality of signal reception, and there are no complaints about the sound quality. Moreover, there is a pronounced emphasis on the low-frequency Kick BASS in the sound, which is relevant in the case of radio stations broadcasting rhythmic electronic music.

Panels in practice

To be honest, I wanted to avoid much desire in describing the subjective views from the panels, but it still turned out that there were no other justifications for the idea. What is the main convenience of the panels, and can they make life easier for the user? See what the picture looks like: if you need to call the right person, you can display the multimedia panel, go to the contacts tab, scroll through the list, select the person you are interested in and call him. And you can press the call button, dial the first digits of his number, or start right away, enter his first / last name according to the T9 scheme, after which the Windows Mobile filter system will quickly display the desired number, to which the call will be made. You can call the multimedia menu and get to the music, or you can install Pocket Music with an equalizer and a bunch of different themes, or limit yourself to Windows Media Player. Photos can be viewed standard program from the OS kit, or you can install a much more functional and convenient utility from a massive list of third-party software. You can display a bulky panel with shortcuts and a calendar, or you can take the SPB Panel. You can disturb the fish on the screen, or you can look at the top line of indicators, where silent mode and missed calls are succinctly indicated by their icons.

It turns out that the meaning of the panels lies beyond ergonomics and convenience, allowing you to diversify the desktop of the communicator, only in cases where you do not see in the device a really demanded means of facilitating work with various tasks outside the PC. To some extent, the situation resembles the multimedia menu in Nokia smartphones, where ergonomics are also questionable, and a separate key is reserved for launching. However, it's more about a functional smartphone, and the relevance of such functions in similar devices was clearly shown back in the G700/G900, while the Windows Mobile-based communicator is too flexible in terms of individual adjustment, and the panels reduce the capabilities of the Today screen to the area of widgets. If we put some intermediate ratings for the panels, they deserve the attention of fans of Sony Ericsson solutions, and for users of other communicators, this function in Xperia X1 will seem funny in the first week of use. Then, with each passing day, the feeling that the device is not suitable for a thorough adjustment to the necessary tasks will increase, since simply switching to a different panel deprives you of all the information available in the previous version.

Communications

In terms of communication capabilities, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 does not open up new opportunities for us, as is the case with , and the implementation of existing wireless communications is standard.

A Bluetooth 2.0 communication module is available with support for EDR and most other profiles, including:

Dial-Up Networking Profile

File Transfer Profile

Generic Access Profile

Generic Object Exchange Profile

Handsfree Profile

Headset Profile

Object Push Profile

Personal Area Network Profile

Serial Port Profile

Service Discovery Application Profile

Synchronization Profile

SyncML OBEX binding

Phonebook Access Profile.

The speed of data transfer to another device with similar characteristics does not exceed 120 Kb / s, but data can be received at speeds up to 130 Kb / s. In the case of using wireless headsets using the A2DP profile, there are no complaints, since everything is identical to other communicators on Windows Mobile.

The communicator also has wifi module IEEE 802.11b/g communication, which uses a standard utility that combines wide opportunities adjusting WLAN parameters - access points and wireless networks, with a frankly inconvenient interface.

Finally, it is worth noting the possibility of changing the usual connection to a PC with the launch of the Active Sync utility to the mode removable disk blocking access to installed map memory via the communicator, and at the same time displaying only the connected media on the computer. On the one hand, this connection method deprives us of the possibility of synchronization, but on the other hand, the read / write speed increases to 6 Mb / s.

Performance

The use of Qualcomm MSM7200A hardware components in the communicator looks quite justified from the point of view of the balance between power consumption and performance, although in reality everything is limited by HTC's unwillingness to modify the QTv drivers - the image display algorithm for Sony Ericsson, and those, in turn, were more interested in panels. As a result, we are dealing with exactly the same display speed results as in Touch Diamond using Direct Draw. The only amendment concerns the Xperia X1's screen resolution of 800 pixels in length, which imposes some restrictions on maintaining 100% image sharpness when encoding an image.

Sample 1
489 kbps, 320 x 188
1.31 Mbps, 267.42%

Sample 2
1.29 Mbps, 640 x 272
1.35 Mbps, 105.15%

In addition, in the applications section, you can see a utility for working with JAVA - midlets from Esmertec, which provides the ability to work with MIDP 2.0 applications, while MIDP 3D is not supported. Accordingly, it was possible to test performance only with the help of the first two versions of JBenchmark.

JBenchmark: 5408
Text: 1415
2D Shapes: 2446
3D Shapes: 413
Fill Rate: 184
Animation: 950

JBenchmark 2.0: 228
Image manipulation: 232
Text: 386
Sprites: 291
3D transform: 347
User interface: 68

Yes, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 has SIRF Star III - a signal receiver with
GPS - satellites, and it is quite functional. Yes, this is the same common component from HTC solutions that most navigation software can work with. Accordingly, since there are no hardware differences, the start time and signal reception quality can be taken from memory, focusing on 30-40 seconds of a “warm” start and a couple of minutes of a “cold” start. As for navigation out of the box, we have nothing to say here yet, since there seems to be a disk with Wifinder 7, but the program itself has to be installed from a PC, initially having only a utility for loading data similar to those received via aGPS.

Menu items

We have already mentioned the graphic component of the multimedia panel in the description of Xpanels, so now is the time to go directly to the description of the menu items themselves.

First of all, let's take a quick look at the games section, where two demos and a standard set of ball solitaire are hiding.

This is followed by contacts, where you can search for records by names of subscribers, or scroll through the boring list. The selected contact cannot be edited, but the communication options are not limited to calls. In the drop-down list of actions, it is also possible to switch to the message editor, which supports the display of correspondence in the form of a chat.

Video

In the video section, you can view all MP4 and 3GP videos available in the memory, among which you can initially find the trailer for the latest film about 007, since Sony Ericsson remains one of the brands actively advertised in this series of films.
By selecting the video of interest, the video immediately opens in landscape orientation to the full screen, and with a simple touch on the display, playback is interrupted by a navigation bar that supports scrolling along the scale, changing the display mode between real
resolution and scaling, and completes the list with a volume scale of 16 gradations.

A photo

As it is easy to assume, the possibilities of the photo section also do not shine with variety, although there is the same sorting by months, displaying pictures separately from photos, and the animation has not become smaller. This is not about the image library, but about the implementation of the image viewing itself.

After selecting the image you are interested in, a full-screen image viewing window with navigation icons appears on the screen. The top line contains icons for deleting an image, viewing information about the image, calling the zoom window, and also rotating the image. Of these functions, special attention should be paid to the rotation of the picture, since in this mode you twist the picture around the corner along the central axis with your finger, and it is independently centered in the nearest position. Taking into account the smoothness of the rotation animation, the work on changing the position of the pictures may well take you a few minutes, putting aside the thought of Multi Touch - navigation. However, thoughts about controlling with two fingers on the screen again come up while scaling the image, since the speed of image enlargement is by no means pleasing to the eye, although then you can move around the image area again with smooth movements of the image on the screen.

The next wonders of animation for Windows Mobile - communicators open when scrolling through images with your finger across the screen, as a kind of carousel of thumbnails appears with reflections, and the image selection is again tied to centering.

The last thing worth noting in the image viewer relates to the bottom line of virtual keys, where there are tools for scrolling through pictures, returning from the library matrix, as well as the Play button, which launches the usual Xpict Story, without any advanced features and other delights from the G700, G900 .

Music

To listen to music, there is a quite familiar tool from the multimedia panel, reminiscent of the organization of the library in the Sony Ericsson G700, G900, and only then similar to phones on the A200. It is quite natural that a different level of hardware capabilities entailed getting rid of possible slowdowns in the process of moving between menu items. And in the music section, items can be sorted by artist, album, and playlist. However, on top of this meager list of criteria, there is also a display of all the songs in a crowd, which can hardly be called the current listening mode. Of the interesting features of the display of lists, it is worth highlighting only the view of albums with the display of the cover in the upper right corner of the screen, while all other lists are more than standard.

In playback mode, the screen is literally crammed with all sorts of buttons and icons, although the first thing the hand reaches for is the album cover in order to bring it to full screen. But this does not happen, and you can not look for visualization in the player, while the rest of the possibilities are present, with the exception of one more. We are talking about an equalizer, which is simply not in the music player, and in the options menu there is a list setting, on / off repeat and random playback mode.

Sound quality

This parameter can be given a lot of attention, since in the Xperia X1 we are dealing with a dense sound at a sufficient volume level, a third higher than the latest phones on the A200. There is also clear reproduction with a minimum of noise, and deep bass, and soft highs, which could indicate an excellent implementation of this parameter. But, alas, a good study of the frequencies separately does not at all indicate a high-quality reproduction of the music itself, where the complex study of the frequency range is important. And here we are already faced with a low DAC bit depth, resulting in a flat, unexpressed middle and a drop in lows on multi-instrumental compositions. And we have no way out of this situation, just like there are no sound settings. Accordingly, at the output we have the usual audio path of HTC communicators, with a little more volume and an unnaturally flat sound without colors and dynamics. However, for pre-installed jazz compositions at 192 Kbps, the quality is quite enough, and for audiophile sound, you should turn to other solutions.

Camera

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 has a 3.2 megapixel camera module with autofocus optics and a weak LED flash. The module used in the communicator is quite comparable to what we saw in the C702, although this is where the camera similarities end and the series of differences begins. The camera interface is partly taken from the G900 smartphone, where we also actively used the touch screen for most actions, and here the widescreen display allows you to take out the main buttons and indicators without affecting the main area of the full-screen viewfinder. By the way, if you are still interested in using the entire screen area under the viewfinder, there are always image size options available that correspond to the Xperia X1 screen with an aspect ratio of 16 x 10.

But the main attention of the user quite naturally attracts the virtual key settings in the lower right corner of the screen. The key is assigned to call the already familiar two latest smartphones company menu settings for various shooting modes, whether it be:

selection of ready-made shooting scenes

selection of the type of focus to taste (the usual auto, macro, infinity and focusing on the part of the frame indicated by the finger)

turn on/off the LED backlight.

As you can see, the possibilities are by no means surprising with the breadth of coverage, although everything basic for operational adjustment is collected here. For the rest of the camera settings, you should already refer to the other settings section, located behind the same button in the lower right corner. In this section of settings, you can find almost everything that we lacked in the initial adjustment of the shooting, whether it is setting the white balance and color effects, choosing the image resolution and other little settings, which includes adding Geo Tag - marks and changing the sound of the electronic shutter.

Initially, it is better not to deal with evaluating the quality of photos from a communicator, since everything here is still divided into tolerable and good quality of images. Actually, as you can see for yourself in the following photo examples, Xperia X1 does not just belong to the category good cameras in the communicator, but also raises the quality bar a step higher.
.

Like a phone

Despite the abundance of metal in the finish of the body, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 boasts good quality signal reception cellular networks, slightly exceeding most of the company's phones and smartphones. The earpiece in the device has a 40% margin for volume in the room, but in a noisy subway car, you can increase the volume to the maximum. In the speech of the interlocutor, it is worth noting a somewhat unusual harsh transmission of medium frequencies, slightly muffled clean tops and a hint of a low-frequency range. The polyphonic loudspeaker cannot boast of loudness, and it will not be difficult to block it tightly. In addition to the average volume level, nothing interesting can be heard in the polyphonic dynamics, since there are practically no bottoms. And the middle creaks already at 70% volume, without pampering us with quality. The vibration motor in the communicator performs a little better, providing tangible vibration in the pockets of clothing over the entire area of the device, and again thanks to the steel case for this.

conclusions

It's funny, but more than a year has passed since the announcement of some mythical Sony's flagship Ericsson represented by Xperia X1 communicator. Now we are again fed with some new product without an index in the face, and we just have to calmly present our review to your attention, and to top it off, talk about the realities of the product on the market. This communicator today occupies an incomprehensible niche in the showcases in communication stores, providing a frightening mixture of a fashion product with an impressive price tag of 32,000 rubles, and on the other hand, this is the very "Xperia" about which there were rumors and some opinions of a diverse nature a year ago. Oddly enough, but over the past year the veil of novelty of characteristics really disappeared, the spark of manufacturability died out, and only two strong features remained in the product, if you forget about the Sony Ericsson logo for a moment. The product has a solid brutal design with a Sony Style keyboard, and there is a thick steel in which this fashion communicator is chained. And everything seems to be fine, but its cost somehow does not justify the year of waiting for the device on the market. At the same time, not every connoisseur of phones from this manufacturer wants to get many functions and new sensations from nothing. hidden Windows Mobile, and a lover of solid communicators has already made a choice in favor of Touch Pro or MAX 4G. It turns out that the backbone of potential Xperia X1 buyers can be no more than a few hundred thousand? And the way it is, because you can not create an ideal product for everyone, and any attempt will be broken by a flurry of criticism from reviewers.