UPDATE: We've now got our hands on a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 complete with the Android 2.1 update - lets see if it's any better or whether it's pushed SE further behind the Android pack.
After a disappointing 2009 for Sony Ericsson, with the likes of the Satio failing to live up to its flagship billing, the Swedish-Japanese alliance is back with its first Android proposition - the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
It's got all the makings of a true classic - a whopping 4-inch screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and it's rocking Android with a cool overlay.
In short, since we first heard about it at the tail end of 2009, we've been excited to see if it can be the handset to return Sony Ericsson to the sharp end of the mobile phone game.
It's odd, but given the massive screen on the phone, the first thing you notice when looking at the Xperia X10 is not the screen - on our black review model the main thing is simply how shiny it is.
It's an understated phone, with a sharp, angular design and minimal buttons - in short, it looks like the kind of high-end handset we'd expect from one of the leading mobile manufacturers.
The screen dominates most of the front of the Xperia X10, and there are three buttons at the bottom, denoted as menu, home and back. (Albeit with some indecipherable symbols - what's wrong with actually writing 'Menu' and 'Home' on there?)
Between each of the front buttons there's a little LED, which glows brightly whenever the phone is used - a nice touch that adds a premium feel, although they can get a little annoying, especially in the dark - and it seems there's no way to turn them off.
The rest of the phone is pretty sparse - compared to the likes of the Sony Ericsson Satio and Vivaz, it's a little odd to only see a single camera shutter button on the right-hand side of the phone, with the volume up/down key above it at the other end.
On the top of the phone, there's the 3.5mm headphone jack, flush to the chassis, and the on/off button, which doubles as the lock key too.
It's a little far away from where you usually rest your hand, so you'll generally find yourself using your other hand to activate it - which is a little irritating.
The microUSB slot is located at the top as well under a dust cap - this is a little awkward to get off at times, and has a frustratingly short leash to keep it in place - meaning you have to really wedge it out of the way to connect up the charger.
There's nothing at all on the left-hand side of the Xperia X10, nor on the bottom, save a little grille to attach a lanyard if you're one of those that sees a big mobile as an ideal replacement for a necklace.
The back of the phone is slightly curved - we assume this is another corollary of the ergonomics study conducted by Sony Ericsson which led to the 'human curvature' of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz.
It does make it slightly nicer to hold in the hand admittedly - but it adds a lot of thickness to the device, which is 13mm.
When you consider the HTC HD2, which has a much larger 4.3-inch screen, is a couple of millimetres thinner at 11mm, it does make something of a difference with a device this size.
Overall though, it's not the worst looking phone in the world by a long way - it certainly doesn't overpower your hand when you're holding it, and the screen looks lovely and bright in use, without being dominated by the chassis.
In the box
Sony Ericsson usually chucks in everything it can find into the boxes of its phones, but with the Xperia X10 things are a little more minimalist.
Like HTC and Apple, the box for the X10 is coffin-like, with only basic cables inside.
The environmentally friendly idea of offering a microUSB cable with plug adaptor saves on needing an extra charger, but does get irritating when you keep having to go off and find the lead when transferring content.
Of course, it's probably easier to just perform the latter task by just connecting a memory card and transferring content that way - especially when you get an 8GB card in the box and Android is set up to connect up to your PC and easily copy content across.
Your comments (56) Click to add a new comment
mikey0867
January 14th
56. What a waste of time this handset is. Signed up for two year contract with o2, first 9 months all fine but then one day refused to charge, this seems to be a common fault with this handset. After repair all ok again but after a few weeks keep getting message 'android system shutting down' this happens when battery goes below 80% ! so now have to charge overnight, at work and in the car.
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alexbaseballstar
December 29th 2011
55. I had aSony ericsson phone and it was not what i expected from sony. My brother and sister said the same about their ericssons. I am a BIG music fan, and the second week i had the phone, the audio jack was not working at all. The after a month, the internet was not letting me be online for more than 5 minutes even if i had all bars of signal. Like 2 weeks after that, my sister wanted to use the camera for the first time and it wasnt working at all, it kept saying force close and it wouldnt work no matter how many times she would reset the fone. My brother said that everytime he wanted to text, it would go to the media player instead of going to the texting app. I had sent my fone so they can fix my audio jack ,they took 3 months with it and sent it back to me the same way it was , but all scratched up from the back cover. I DO NOT!!!!! RECOMEND SONY PHONES TO NOBODY AT ALL!!!!!!!
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shane.heffer
September 8th 2011
54. Where do I start with this phone . First there is no flash , so pictures in the dark,club or pub dont happen . The keypad some times does not work, with the letter a or other letters near the edge of the pad . I have had to send my first x10 back as it kepp swicthing it self off , and now my 3 month old new one keeps frezzing and making a large buzzing noise then switchs off. This is possibly the worst phone i have ever owned and can not wait to flog it on to enviro phone and get back some of my money . If your thinking of buying this phone please think again , their are better out there
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nicotine
September 8th 2011
53. In 2 days ill choose between Xperia and HTC Desire
I really like Sony Ericsson's design on this phone yet i wouldn't stand a slow menu or any kind of glitches, freezes, flickering etc.
Anyone know if Gingerbread makes those 2 phones equal? Are there any remaining bugs on Sony Ericsson?
Which do u suggest me to buy?(Same price on both)
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mrcacrl
August 23rd 2011
52. X10 deserves a new review with the release of the Android 2.3 update. Much better phone now.
+ve - More responsive, better keyboard. Wicked Facebook integration.
-ve - Still no proper camera flash.
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jmy
August 9th 2011
51. I have been an ardent hater of this terrible phone since May 2010 when I foolishly agreed to a 2 year contract, but.... Android 2.3 has landed and everthing (nearly) has changed. 2 days battery life if I'm conservative, an improvement of 40 hours! BBC iPlayer works at last even though CPW said it would when they sold me the phone. Syncs with Outlook at last.
On the downside, Timescape is still pointless and the keyboard is rubbish but I can live with this phone for remainder of my contract
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davidmcfarlane1
May 28th 2011
50. xperia x10 is a great phone, BUT, it has now driven me insane. i took out a new contract through o2 end of march 2011 and got this phone. could not have been happier with it until in week 6 it decided it did not want to charge anymore. Took phone and charger back to shop who sent it away for repair. recieved it back yesterday to find fault still exists. They have sent me another x10, "reconditioned" handset and was happy today when it arrived to find this had same charging fault. I know the is a huge problem with the x10 and charging but sony ericson needs to address this fault urgently. this is a great phone apart from this problem. now both phones being returned as faulty to o2 and trying a completely different handset altogether now. R.I.P x10
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bahman
March 4th 2011
49. I have had my xperia x10 Android 2.1 for less than 2 months. A very bad buy. I have found it to be slow and the constanly need recharging. But this is not the main issue. I can not see sites such as http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/
I only see square boxes. Does not have support for Persian fonts. SE support are not that good. The keep on refrening me to the APPs market. Most apps are available for Android 2.2. SE is relying on the APPS market for the very basic features that are available on cheaper fones. I wouldnt recomend it. How difficult is it to be able to view non english websites.
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psion123
February 11th 2011
48. This is my second X10, the first was stolen, and can I have my original one back please? Whilst I was very happy with the first one, my new one has problems. Almost too faint to hear on many calls, and for some reason this makes me shout!!
If roaming and I move through a dead spot, 8 times out of 10, the SIM lock comes on. It doesn't seem to happen on my home network (02 Ireland).
Yesterday morning it caused serious embarrassment by not waking me because everything froze on the phone including the alarm clock.
At times, I get an incoming call and a completely blank screen, so can't answer the call. Not regular and unable to simulate the problem. Never had that with my old phone on Android 1.6.
Using the directory is rather more cumbersome than with my HTC Hero, where I just start typing a name.
Generally, Sync over the air is just stupid and impossibly expensive when roaming, which I do a lot. What is wrong with a cable sysnc to Outlook contacts and calendar SE?
I bought a phone, not a camera, so camera functionality should always be secondary.
In general, I really liked my old phone, and didn't perceive many of the problems I have now. It may all be to do with 'Droid 2.1 upgrade or an app, not that I have too many of those, but I am learning to dislike or mistrust the X10 the longer I own it.
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rob36rob
February 9th 2011
47. the worst mobile phone i've ever had the misfortune of using/owning9# ( for a dreadfull week) incredibly slow, unresponsive, poor battery life, wasn't even able to answer an important call ( and yes it was unlocked) i don't quite know how it has managed to score any points at all let alone 2/ 3 out of 5, i would not recomend this unit to my worst enemy( if i had such a thing).... after a very frustrating 1/2 hour with my service provider i am now the relatively proud owner of the nokia x3 a much better option all round!!1
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mauk
February 3rd 2011
46. also (see previous comment), the battery life is great. mine lasts 2 days no probs if i dont use it too much. u need to know how to manage ure apps as if u have them running in the background it does eat in to your battery.
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mauk
February 3rd 2011
45. fantastic phone. i have owned since april 2010 (9 months) and have had no problems with it. the android operating system is brilliant, wifi superb, internet fast, aps good and would choose one of these again (or maybe a HTC) over ure crappy unoriganal icrap or crapberry any day of the week. on a recent training course of 12 people including me, 8 had icraps and 3 had crapberrys. be original. yeah the x10 has its quirks but it makes it all the more unique and gives it character.
plus: wifi, internet, styling, apps, 2.1 operating system, memory, flashing light to tell u of texts etc, screen, call quality, texting (for a touch screen - people say texting is terrible on the x10 but there are loads of different styles to choose from and once u get used to it it no worse than any other touch screen, ps i find the chinese one the best), phonebook, originality, video camera, facebook, emails, indistructable (i have droppes many times)
minuses: camera is ****, swipe to answer calls is poor, touch screen annoying if you have even slightly damp hands, pretty complicated compared to the iphone which is great if you can be bothered to spend time working things out, still havent worked out how to use the music player thing.
if you drive a volkswagen or a ford, buy an iphone. if you actually have something about you and dont follow the crowd get an x10
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schnitzel
January 29th 2011
44. I ordered this phone on wednesday it came on friday and 24 hours later it is back in its box waiting to be sent back for good. I have used sony ericsson phones for at least 5 years with my last one being the w995, and I have to say, this is the first time I have felt disappointed and let down by SE. It doesn't function as a phone should, which should be the main priority of any phone manufacturer, once you nail the calls/texts then you add on all the guff, not the other way around. The sound quality of the calls is horrible to the extent I thought there was plastic over the speaker, everything sounds faint and distant which is a major flaw for a phone in my opinion, one of the worst in fact... I already have a pc and a netbook so the fact this pos doesn't make calls easily and effectively makes it redundant for my uses. Pitty since it looks nice and I will have to now try another manufacturer, I really trusted SE up till this point and if the others are better then I'd say our relationship is over.
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randomguy
December 17th 2010
43. Why is everyone complaining about the keyboard and the battery life? Just go online and search up a HTC keyboard for the X10 and there'll be no problem. As for the battery life, without proper management of closing apps, the battery life can be awful. Simply install an app killer and then use the dim screen setting and it lasts for at least one day. My X10 has the GPS permanently on (so that I will be able to find it when I lose it) and wifi on about 50% of the day. Additionally, I constantly watch movies play apps on my phone, but by the end of the day, the battery is still on about 50%. Also, the best phone out there, the HTC Desire, has battery life lasting for about a day as well and I don't see everyone complaining about that. Fact of the matter is, if you want something improved on a smartphone, download one or two apps for it and everything will be solved.
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dkane89
December 12th 2010
42. with the x10, i found the battery life terrible, had to be charged every night.
my charger stopped working with the phone, upon taking it to the carphonewarehouse i was told that it was indeed a manufacturing problem with the usb port, the port has been knowen to become stuck to the charger and pulled out, and in other cases has been knowen to drop further into the phone, could this be the cause of terrible battery life, if the phone is only ever being partially charged. getting a replacement x10 handset today at some point if problem occurs again this will the the last sony i buy.
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dbdusaran
December 9th 2010
41. have my xperia x10 almost a year now. i do agree with majority of the compains. texting with this phone is a headache. call quality is really poor. i always use earphones to rectify such flaw. ugrading to android 2.1 is very as per instruction. but have already tried 5x and it always failed. waht can i say? we're unlucky by this model.
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barney
October 20th 2010
40. The delay with the update may be a pain but its comming. That is not the problem with this phone though and it will not fix it.
The X10 negatives...
It is a pain to answer with the swipe setup and most calls are lost. A big minus there SE.
The call volume is pathetic, you must go and find a quiet place to take a call otherwise it is hopeless.
In daylight the screen is almost impossible to see.
The cover for the mini usb charging port is good for keeping dust out but gets in the way of connecting the charger.
Battery life is very poor.. carry your charger if you want to make it through one day with moderate usage.
Camera with image stabilisation on takes very bad photos, much clearer with it off!
Buttons on the side are easily engaged when holding the phone... they would be better on the top or bottom.
The photo viewing software included is too fussy for me... would rather practical easy to use than fancy & fiddly.
The good things...
Wifi works well for me, strong and stable.
Satellite GPS... again, strong and stable.
This is definitely the last SE phone for me... we have had others before and they were ok but the X10 is a poorly designed product for the price. You can do much better for the money. HTC or iPhone would be a smarter choice.
I would class the X10 more of a toy than a reliable Android phone. It is just not in the race when compared to other products and would gladly give mine back right now.
Keep producing this sort of product Sony Ericsson and you will be losing a lot of customers.
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rpdouglas
October 6th 2010
39. I have had no end of problems with the Xperia X10.
The keyboard is temperamental and the keys on the far left and the far right of the screen regularly miss when I have hit them making texting a chore.
The battery life is terrible.
It is often difficult to hear the other person and about 40% of the calls I make I find myself having to hang up and call back as the person on the other end can't hear me at all.
I am finding it difficult to remove a couple of apps from the device for some bizarre reason.
I STILL cannot get hotmail set up on it (possibly just me being dim)
One of the main reasons I chose this phone was for its camera - which I find a bit rubbish. I prefered the camera on the old tocco.
I am now stuck with this for two years under my current contract - still at least I have the Mahjong app to keep me amused.
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rach23
October 4th 2010
38. I bought the Xperia X10 less than 2months ago and I am completely disgusted and dissapointed with it! I have had sony ericssons for afew yrs and swore by them and wouldnt buy any other phone. I change my mind now. Firstly I have to say that the call quality is atrocious, if there is any noise in the background it is near impossible to hear the person on the other end, this is very annoying!!!! secondly texting is the most irritating proccess.. I dont know if it is just me but i find i have to text extremely slow as half of the time the letter i hit does not come up or the one beside it comes up instead,also im findin a problem with the letter L as when i hit it, most of the time backspace thinks iv hit it!! and thirdly the phone keeps freezing on me, when answering calls mostly.
I rang the shop I bought the phone in and was told that because I had gone past the 30days I could not get the phone replaced and my only option was to get it sent off to be fixed.... AND it would cost me €50 to get a replacement phone for that timeperiod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! after handing out €520 for a phone I am very sorry but this is NOT exceptable!!!! I have only just read a review where somebody else had experienced the call problem too so I now come to the conclusion if I get it sent away it will come back the exact same!!! for anybody thinking of getting this phone I would not recommend it! also i find the timescape stupid and if i have facebook on the timescape it uploads my friends staus updates which then in turn eats my credit... stupid stupid stupid. the only good thing about this phone is the size of the screen. I regret not getting the iPhone now instead!
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