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I have been searching for the ultimate android device and have found it with this phone. The Synapse-One phone is an Ultra Customizable Superphone. You get to choose everything about this device except the screen (4.0" S-LCD) and the Processor (1GHZ).
The best part is that it ships with 2.2 comes with a 3 year world wide warranty, and only costs slightly more than a phone from a carrier would without a contract.
I think that supporting this company is about the best way you can support an open android Platform. As soon as the site is open for Pre-Orders again I am placing one.
According to reports the phone is shipped with root access. I have emailed the company asking some questions about the SOC and GPU on this device. As soon as they answer I will post them here. If this company does well then we could expect to see Customizable Phones available in the future, which is like the ultimate toy any XDA phone super Geek.
Check out their site HERE!
Mmm..interesting but after I configured my device price got to +500€
I think I´ll wait for hTC to make my perfect device which should include the possibility to switch between WM/WP7 and Android
I have a similar problem, I want everything.
However, I can say that WP7 in it's current implementation is not what I want in a phone. You are aware that any third party app that wants to have Notifications on the WP7 device will have to set up a server to send those updated to the Microsoft server to then be pushed to the phone. Currently no one has this infrastructure in place. It will be some serious trouble to implement.
I think that WP7 has potential but it will be a year or two before it catches up to Android 2.2 and even iOS in its current implementation.
Come on, This phone comes rooted out of the box with 2.2 and you can customize it!!!!
This phone looks pretty slick. After customizing everything for me, it's approx $550. That's similar to the price of the Nexus One.
I would like to know more about the digitizer/touch panel on it. I assume it supports 2-finger multitouch. But I don't want it to have any limitations like the N1. If it's able to support 5 finger like the Galaxy S, it would be awesome. If I could put a S-AMOLED i would rock! But I assume they don't provide that due to Samsung being low on them and only using them on their own devices.
"Coming mid-2011".
Let's assume this won't be scam/they won't go bankrupt - they will start shipping not earlier than Q3 2011 (delays are almost guaranteed with small companies like these). By then the technology will be outdated.
The curse of technology.
Actually the site says that they will ship middle of Q1 2011 not 3rd quarter 2011.
stuff said:
This phone looks pretty slick. After customizing everything for me, it's approx $550. That's similar to the price of the Nexus One.
I would like to know more about the digitizer/touch panel on it. I assume it supports 2-finger multitouch. But I don't want it to have any limitations like the N1. If it's able to support 5 finger like the Galaxy S, it would be awesome. If I could put a S-AMOLED i would rock! But I assume they don't provide that due to Samsung being low on them and only using them on their own devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Originally the site had SAMOLED as the screen but they changed it. I suppose that is to do with the shortage of them.....
Looks like some new specs should be added to update Synapse's site. Admin at their support forum indicates comittments to specific requests. http://synapsephones.uservoice.com/...Widget&utm_source=synapsephones.uservoice.com
I emailed them also and will post my results here when reveived. How well/timely they respond to us is obviously important at these earliest stages of dev.
*Update edit*
Three and a half days later with no response. Synapse has an interesting concept but I won't place an order until reviews come in from those who did. The skeptic in me thinks that Synapse-Phones is merely measuring market interest at this point.
*update*
Now over a week and two more emails later, still not a word in reply. Blog seems dead. Order page isn't working. Feedback forum still has a lot of activity.
Sent from my OpenDesire v4.0.37 modded HTC Desire using XDA App
Finally received a blanket response:
"Hello and thank you for contacting us
Sorry, we are getting a lot of emails and we are not able to answer all of
them.
We are populating our website with more and more information soon, like
pictures, videos and specifications.
As soon we are ready for mass production, we will send devices to the
press for testing, so you can see what you get.
Please be patient and visit our website from time to time to look up all
the things you want to know.
But if you have more questions, just write us an email."
Question is, how to get on their list for testing?
Sthlm said:
Finally received a blanket response:
"Hello and thank you for contacting us
Sorry, we are getting a lot of emails and we are not able to answer all of
them.
We are populating our website with more and more information soon, like
pictures, videos and specifications.
As soon we are ready for mass production, we will send devices to the
press for testing, so you can see what you get.
Please be patient and visit our website from time to time to look up all
the things you want to know.
But if you have more questions, just write us an email."
Question is, how to get on their list for testing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've received the same message from them after inquiring about their product
Hooooolllllllly bejesus. I need to start saving up!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
After reading the thread and watching a Youtube video posted here regarding Viewsonic not supporting the G Tablet but migrating on to their next version of this device, that is not all true.
I called Viewsonic and expressed wanting access to Honeycomb as official release to G Tablet customers by Viewsonic and was told they are logging the calls. So people need to at least call in once, at (866) 501-6405. The info goes to their sales team and they are in contact with Google regarding getting Honeycomb. No release date as of yet but it looks favorable because it is in Google's best interest Honeycomb gives us access to Android Marketplace. We can move it along faster by increasing the numbers (immediate need) through telephoning.
Thanks, all for your support!
FYI I praised the device first, which I am happy with it, and then stated I was interested in getting an official copy of Honeycomb from them.
Wow. Sounds cool, who knows when viewsonic will get honeycomb. With that and with some marketing, the viewsonic g-tablet would be much better than most tablets in the market. XD
PS: I would call but i am in mexico. Hope many people call.
Pazzu510 said:
Wow. Sounds cool, who knows when viewsonic will get honeycomb. With that and with some marketing, the viewsonic g-tablet would be much better than most tablets in the market. XD
PS: I would call but i am in mexico. Hope many people call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's a toll free number given
dont forget to also ask for official flash support. still waiting.
Sm0k3d 0uT said:
it's a toll free number given
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For those who are not familiar with other countries and how telephones work - Toll-free numbers do not work internationally.
Some numbers are good for US and Canada, but I have never heard of a toll-free US number that can be dialed from Mexico.
LOL. Maybe smoke a little less?
What is this "Mexico" you speak of? I am pretty sure the United States and Canada are the only countries/continents on the planet Earth. I learned that in school! (I am being facetious by the way).
You might be able to call toll-free over Skype. I know they are working on getting more countries covered through Skype.
XD. Yes i am from mexico and even if we got our own toll free numbers, they are not the same as the US ones; but dont worry, i bet i am one of the only people that has a g-tablet in the country(apart from those guys in the border) and i dont think much of them know much about flashing or other things like that.
Good thing is that you dont lose much calls to viewsonic because we are minority, bad thing is that i cant help with this. XD
But i got your back(Moraly).
BTW: Viewsonic should think about selling here. People are liking tablets a lot, they have a good product for a good price and the target-market for that kind of tablet is huge. All we have is mediocre overpriced tablets like a 16gb ipad for about 1,020 dollars and galaxy for the same price; I think we would be lucky to get the xoom for less than 1350 dollars(That is why i researched and bought the great g-tablet[if you wanted to know])
nunjabusiness said:
For those who are not familiar with other countries and how telephones work - Toll-free numbers do not work internationally.
Some numbers are good for US and Canada, but I have never heard of a toll-free US number that can be dialed from Mexico.
LOL. Maybe smoke a little less?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually, there are such things as International Toll Free numbers.
Why not try it first then comment later
+1 for call in. Took less than 5 minutes.
the devs here will probably have honeycomb working long before viewsonic does (if they do decide to provide an upgrade). A lot of phones right now are just getting Froyo while Gingerbread has already been released
just called
the guy told me that it would be logical to upgrade to honeycomb,but said they have no official word on the matter. Not sure but the guy sounded optimistic to me,not really sure how to explain that.
While I applaud their commitment and determination, there are just some better benefits you get from having an official copy. Like product updates when they discover some flaws in the OS.
The devs on this site do provide a wealth of knowledge when it comes to hardware add-ons, upgrades and tweaks so I will continue to frequent the site. With any website we all realize it is a numbers game, whatever you can do to keep the frequent site visits. To each his own preference of how they would like to get their hands on Honeycomb.
Waiting on Honeycomb
If i have to buy a XOOM just get get the software; I will ; then i'll return it within 14 days to get my Money Back/
If i have to buy a XOOM just get get the software; I will ; then i'll return it within 14 days to get my Money Back/
Not necessary, it is in Google's best interest to release the software to all android tabs. How some are making this personal when it is business is beyond me.
So they didn't support using froyo, on android tabs. Quite understandable, but the bottom line is people want android so bad they are willing to support any version of it on a tab with their purchasing power. As a business owner, I would find that complimentary. Not too mention, these are potential marketplace customers ripe for the picking. Not hard to deduce they will make the OS available based on the "built-in customer" base.
So they didn't support using froyo, on android tabs. Quite understandable, but the bottom line is people want android so bad they are willing to support any version of it on a tab with their purchasing power. As a business owner, I would find that complimentary. Not too mention, these are potential marketplace customers ripe for the picking. Not hard to deduce they will make the OS available based on the "built-in customer" base.
Not to lead the thread too far away, but anyone else amused that the Xoom comes without an official Flash version on it? So our $359 tablet beats their $800 tablet when it comes to actually doing things?
EwanG said:
Not to lead the thread too far away, but anyone else amused that the Xoom comes without an official Flash version on it? So our $359 tablet beats their $800 tablet when it comes to actually doing things?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I saw that I died laughing........ And no WiFi units for some time down the road. I love my G tablet.
Well...we don't have an official flash either....I'm sure xoom will work with unofficial flash also...
And the Xoom will have flash 10.2 within a few weeks...
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/02/2...e+(droid+life)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
For all intents and purposes, unless hardware issues prevent it, there's no reason VS would have to not port Honeycomb to the G Tab eventually. It's a matter of time.
Of course what many of people have to realize is that their Android build isn't done in-house, so they don't really have 100% control of the 'timing' or direct control over the detailed elements in the UI.
For example, HTC/Motorola/LG/Samsung/Dell, etc. routes are more or less direct - Google releases their SDK, they grab it, they grab the newest drivers/fw etc from their board vendor(s) and voila, they release their own UI to various devices. This is the fastest method...even though they all take a while to release updates in any case.
Viewsonic however, seems to depend on TnT which is a customized UI from a different company designed for these type of tablets....which means it's up to someone else to incorporate the newest Tegra drivers from Nvidia and the newest software and firmware from the part manuf. of the "Harmony" build - whether that comes from Malata directly or is worked on by the TnT team/VS team, I don't know. I do know that they don't build TnT, so that's an extra step in that process.
It's not as direct a route per se, which means that it will likely take longer to see updates and that the updates are not guaranteed to include the most recent software, because of the extended 'journey' of software development.
If VS were able to cut out TnT however, and use 'good' in-house devs and a 'vanilla' OS then it would be quicker for sure and possibly better for the general consumer.
There was a response by VS the other day in here somewhere that seemed to POSSIBLY hint toward a change to that? (hopefully - but I could be reading into it incorrectly).
I'd LOVE to have a good official VS android build as well. I really appreciate the devs and what they do, but relying on xda CAN be risky business. It's not unheard of for a xda dev to move on from one device to another or from one flavor of ROM to the next. Then you find that your favorite ROM gets less time than another or that it gets left behind completely. That's human nature. If I were a dev. I would work on the device I like and the flavor of Android/UI/ROM I prefer, so I completely understand. An official 'channel' is great in that you know (more or less) that you're going to get your updates and fixes.
In a perfect Android world, these companies would just give us an option....
brand new vanilla including newest drivers/firmware and maybe at some later point, their 'flavor'. Alas, this isn't Windows 7 and I guess it's just not in the cards to play out that way. So we just have to be patient. I doubt calling in will help more so than them already seeing overwhelming interest both in twitter and in here. But I suppose when you really want something, nothing beats a fail but a try.
http://mashable.com/2011/03/24/honeycomb-delay/
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
just saw this. Not happy about it. The source may lead to buggy phone versions, but its also very important to everyone who will get left behind trying to get 3.0 upgrades from their manufacturer.
Now that's not good ...
Sniff.. sniff.. HONEYCREAMS! Why devs no give me honeycreams for my gtab?
I'm guessing this is not good for my drooling alter ego.
It is not release to the general public, but manufactures still got access to it, so maybe VS will have it updated
It is possible that Google's attempt to not shoot itself in the right foot will result in it shooting itself in the left foot.
Not surprised at all
They do not want to see sub 300$ device with their flagship os, they want big partner to ramp-up production and sales first...
I am far from certain that company get it for free this time, same for us... hey it's google not the vatican, I place google not far from apple on my list of big bad ugly corp...
Beside as much as I like to play with a new release I am not into such an hurry since Honeycomb is kindalike a new os not 100 % compatible with the current apps it seems
wow really.....tsk.....tsk by that definition it mean the xoom wasnt ready and there it is in the stores for purchase......thats just shameful ow well i sold my gtab days ago and my ipad 2 will be in my hand april 15, between this and the security problems that was in the market (i actually got an email from google and i dont know which app it was if anyone knows the names of the apps tell me) im off android for a while
I would like to sympathize but I can't I dislike false information, the security issue you mention is transmission of IMEI... big deal... apps store like handhango where asking for it to do DRM for ages...
If you wanted and preferred an IPAD that's your right, we can understand that build quality is there...
P00r said:
I would like to sympathize but I can't I dislike false information, the security issue you mention is transmission of IMEI... big deal... nokia and other apps store like handhango where asking for it to do DRM for ages...
If you wanted and preferred an IPAD that's your right, we can understand that build quality is there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what false information.....i just said i got and email from google telling me some apps was taking information from my tab and ask someone to tell me their names
Yes... The only way i see for now is to ask viewsonic for the update.
Do you know any way to make viewsonic make it faster???
P00r said:
Not surprised at all
They do not want to see sub 300$ device with their flagship os, they want big partner to ramp-up production and sales first...
I am far from certain that company get it for free this time, same for us... hey it's google not the vatican, I place google not far from apple on my list of big bad ugly corp... ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
x2
They wanna be the new Microsoft, tried to mess with Fiber and probably got spanked on the bottom by the big boys....maybe Microsoft will be the new Google, and apple.... well apple makes a solid product, i dig my macbook, but Steve Jobs can suck it.
AT&T buys T-Mobile and THIS in the same week?! FML.
If they release honeycomb open source then no one will buy motorola xoom. Its not even about modifiying it on phone OS. Who will waste so much time on that. They not going to give the os out for a while. Better hope VS will make one for us
Have we so quickly forgotten reports that the version of Honeycomb on the Xoom leaves something to be desired?
And witness the results of a phone version of Android with an aftermarket U.I. overlay on our g tablets.
If Google is going to compete with Apple for the mainstream market, they need a good solid operating system with several successful tablet releases to improve customer perceptions.
Much as I love my g tablet, I have no qualms admitting that the iPad is miles better out of the box and that is what the general public wants.
Well finished products and a slick marketing machine are Apple's strengths, underestimate them at your peril.
I don't think Viewsonic are part of the open handset alliance. If they aren't part of the OHA I doubt they're getting access to Honeycomb either.
So now all we have to do is assemble team of highly skilled agents, break into Google's Mountain View complex, and steal the Honeycomb source code... I've seen Mission Impossible and Office Space. It can be done.
Who's with me?
From my CM powered Evo
It's kind of disappointing but it won't keep me from enjoying my G-Tablet.
honey....not right now
i have just taken a bite of gingerbread. i still need sometime to enjoy, do not want to spoil it with honey yet.
The problem isn't that they are not releasing Honeycomb this minute, or this month is they are saying they won't be releasing it anytime soon. Also there is rumors saying they are telling the vendors with HC they will get to keep it to themselves until IC, which is complete BS.
If Google wants to pull that then I will just not spend any money on apps, upgraded phones/tablets until they decide open source is open sourse. I will use they money to donate to dev's instead.
It's just really annoying that we could have people working on HC right now (or maybe a month or 2 from now), but it appears Google thinks HC shouldn't be released and instead kept to itself until the merge in IC. Well if it's not good enough to be open source they shouldn't have released the Xoom and any other HC tablet!
Hi all,
I study this stuff and just came across this article which might be of interest. It's not that you haven't heard of this idea, rather that this article is current and offers contribution to knowledge.
http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support
I came here to a great extent out of discovering the poor software support from my phone's manufactuer, in my case Sony Ericsson.
The single most critical aspect of this article in my two eyes (other people may find something else depending on your education, work and interest) is that this article argues that Cyanogen getting the latest OS working on even old devices shows the manufacturers are just being cheap but that is awful judgement on their part - because we move on to a different manufacturer.
What do you think?
The nexus series is okay, but the rest... For me it was sure that I'll go with custom roms from the very beginning because of this s**t.
Wasn't there some kind of contract that the manufactures provide support for a certain amount of time? I read about it somewhere.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
All i have to say it
WOW! thats crazy.
Personally I don't get why so many people are excited about the Samsung Galaxy S II. I have the Galaxy S. It came out at 2.1 when 2.2 had been out for months and finally got 2.2 about 6 months after it went on sale. NOTHING since.
For me, Samsung is a #neveragain product. ZERO support.
Yes, the manufacturers sometimes give clear support for some phones. My phone was launched around June 2010 on 1.6 (don't laugh lol) and I bought it that August. It was upgraded to 2.1. Around May/June 2011 an upgraded version was released instead of upgrading the 2010 line. Sony Ericsson said they 'give up to 2 years support and updates' for the phone. Most of the updates had negligible effect.
Any of you guys know your phone's support level?
Droidicus said:
Personally I don't get why so many people are excited about the Samsung Galaxy S II. I have the Galaxy S. It came out at 2.1 when 2.2 had been out for months and finally got 2.2 about 6 months after it went on sale. NOTHING since.
For me, Samsung is a #neveragain product. ZERO support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SGS update for GB has been out for several months everywhere except the USA for some models. That clearly makes this a USA carrier problem as Samsung has delievered timely updates outside of the USA.
The model for Android means the updates flow slowly through the system once they are announced and code is released. In BB and iOS, you get it all at once because its a closed system and RIM and Apple dont share anything with other companies.
Cooperation results in more variety and features but comes at the expense of slower implementation. This is seen in any situation, not just with mobile OS.
But it is the open source nature of Android which allows communities like Cyanogen and XDA to exist. We succeed where others fail.
Plus, while I like some Apple products like iPod, some of the rest of it is tremendously over-expensive clever marketing, where people show off their expensive goods to friends and pay for Apple's champagne parties in the process.
phoneyericsson said:
But it is the open source nature of Android which allows communities like...XDA to exist
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XDA existed years before Android was released.
Perhaps but that doesn't mean that we don't benefit from systems like Android. With BB and iOS you begin with a closed system locked down.
The phrase is not mutually exclusive - that one point is true and the other false.
most app developers will end up targeting an ancient version of the OS in order to maximize market reach.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesn't bother me so much. I'm currently developing on a Rogers HTC Magic running 2.1 and I'm fine with that (ok not really, I'm getting the Galaxy Nexus in January). Anyway, the way I see it is targeting lower APIs just means there are fewer functions available for us to use, meaning we have to implement a few extra things ourselves. No big deal.
What is a big deal is the inconsistency of implementation of features by different manufacturers (eg Camera intent) That makes me rage.
---------- Post added at 06:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:33 PM ----------
phoneyericsson said:
Any of you guys know your phone's support level?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well keep in mind that your 2 year old phone may not be able to pull the greatest and latest version of Android. That could be one reason for a short support cycle.
As much as I would like rogers to update my phone to 2.2, it's not going to happen, because the hardware is not so good (by today's standards)
The author neglected the fact that there are hundreds of Android phones available and only 5 different iPhones (not counting the varying colors/storage spaces). It's far easier to provide and maintain updates for 5 devices than the 20+ Android devices each manufacturer has released within the previous two year period (minimum contract for subsidized pricing).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Droidicus said:
Personally I don't get why so many people are excited about the Samsung Galaxy S II. I have the Galaxy S. It came out at 2.1 when 2.2 had been out for months and finally got 2.2 about 6 months after it went on sale. NOTHING since.
For me, Samsung is a #neveragain product. ZERO support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even the European Orange carrier branded Galaxy S is at 2.3.5. This non-support thingy is a US only problem (and probably some Asian countries).
American carriers are some blood sucking companies, of course they don't want to update their phones, because they must sell the next big thing.
And God, they fuc**d every good phone released there. That GNexus version from Verizon isn't even a google phone anymore.
US people should buy the international version if their network is compatible (like AT&T) and stop complaining. I only buy unlocked versions of the phones, and if I bought a low-end Android phone, I wouldn't complain about not getting updates. Seriously, you expect for your OEM to upgrade your 200$ (unlocked phone, I don't care how much is on contract) phone from 1.6 to 4.0 ?
I don't see my mom complaining about Android 2.3.3 version on her Galaxy Gio because he doesn't even know what an OS is. And even if the phone won't get updated anymore, the phone is perfectly working.
Now, if I do read tech blogs, I know what an OS is, and the most significant thing, I'm on XDA, is so hard to flash a custom rom on my almost out of warranty 18 months old phone ?
And what good is to update your phone if afterwards it will work like sh!t? 3GS is an example.
Some interesing points there...
- I agree that it wasn't really elaborated that the iPhone has a couple of variations whereas the Android situation involves many manufactuers so it is obviously going to work differently, watch Apple try fill those shoes. I don't really pay too much attention to Apple on that count though. While I think they do generally a good job looking after their own customers, take a look at their product portfolio - they have no interest in mass market generally, for quite a few years now they've moved away from iPods (companies which move away from their original core products have a struggle to survive) and into iPhones/iPads and now iTV incoming, which are, as we know, 'products of exlcusive consumption' which yield very high profit margins. That has nothing in common with the multi-manufactuer Android-approach, so I don't think very much about what Apple would do, simply, they wouldn't.
- Interesting note from the developer side there from that other person ^^^. And I hate throwing fuel in the fire, and I especially hate this term (it's a word pushed by Apple/Microsoft to spook Google's business partners in my opinion) but is fragmentation a problem?
- Also, this isn't an American problem. I'm European and we have the same problem. For you guys, contracts for 2 years -seems- to be normal there, but prepay is very popular here. The networks/carriers subsidise the handsets heavilly and you are not locked down really. There are some normally very expensive handsets in the shop now for €150 and I can use that for a year or whatever I want and switch next year. The network/carrier has paid a lot of subsidy to make it that cheap for me though. Contacts suit businesses perhaps more than consumers in this area. Secondly, minor point, but problems like Carrier IQ seem to be rampant in the US, whereas I've yet to find a company here using it. (there surely is, but they've yet to be named and shamed).
- Product support whether contract or prepay is usually defined. I just read another article point out that 2011 was the year of Froyo, which was released in 2010, it took so long for it to be rolled out. 2012 will be the year of Gingerbread, because it too is taking so long to roll out, yet we've just seen ICS come out...that Google strategy that some manufactuers signed up to...was it a joke?
Note:
Deftone said:
Dear Papa Smurf151,
I am writing just to offer a polite reminder about the message I sent to you a day ago.
If you do not have it it is requesting permission to duplicate a thread into the General discussion > General forum.
It is a review on a phone. I think it would be more appreciated by the general public that the people already with an x8.
Please reply as I am at an inconvenience without permission.
Thank-you once again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah go ahead sorry I've been extremely busy with work
XDA Moderator
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEFORE A MOD CLOSES OR MOVES THIS THREAD - The thread was originally posted here but moved to the x8 forums. I have obtained permission to duplicate it back here as shown by the above message quote.
This thread has been created to review the Xperia x8 device. As I say in all my reviews, although there may be other threads reviewing the device, I think it is valid that I give tips based on my experience. This is a Mini guide which means that I will only highlight key information about the phone.
Suggestions are like gold to me and I just want to make my service better. All reasonable comments are welcome. Please PM me if you have any urgent problems. I am sorry if my service is uninvited.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Xperia x8 burst into stores around September 2010 worldwide. After using the phone for nearly a year, I can confirm that it is a great phone for both advanced android users and basic ones. I hope to elaborate on the ultimate phone formula used in the device. I will cover a few specific areas.
The device is renowned for its 3G capabilities was developed by the late Sony Ericsson shipped with the Android 1.6 architecture and officially upgradable to the newer 2.1 version. XDA has enabled many ways of surpassing this firmware limit and expanding your experience.
Physical Hardware
You can probably guess that the phone will not have the latest hardware if it was created two years ago and this is why I thought I would highlight the now weakest point first.
The phone has a 76 mm powerfully capacitive touch screen LCD. It has a small yet firm resolution of 320 by 480 pixels. On the back of the device is a 3.2 megapixel camera with fixed focus and no flash and there is no front facing camera. Photos can be geotagged although this feature is not necessarily useful. Fortunately camera can be accessed using the touchscreen menu, or via the dedicated camera button on the side of the phone. The Xperia X8 uses a 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, as well as 3-axis accelerometers and built-in Global Positioning System. It also has a an ambient light sensor and a digital compass. The Xperia also sports a 1200mAh which was quite an improvement to its predecessor the x10 mini.
Although not initially available, Multi-touch support was also added to several aftermarket firmware versions (ROMS) cough* nAa* cough MiniCM9 cough* .
Like nearly every device, in its day, the x8 attracted many people simply because of its specs. The S3 of its day
Physical Appearance
The Xperia line of mobile phones has always amazed critics with its design being second to none. This fact is what led many to believe the next Nexus phone/s will be designed by the same art team. The phone has a curved back with quite a boxed like front. Combining the generic phone look with a rather futuristic design gives the cellular device an original overall look. On purchasing the phone you are provided with two different coloured backs (varies depending on carrier and country).
User Friendliness
As mentioned previously, the mobile comes shipped with android 1.6 upgradable to 2.1. I can only comment on the 2.1 software seeing as this is the only one I have used.
Sony Ericson paid large amounts of attention to detail and although many users are against developers overhauling android, I believe this was a necessary step as the stock firmware runs flawlessly on the device and SE adds many feature that will make tasks which many believe common easier. I did feel that this generation of phones marked the death of Pay as you Go as many features are internet reliant and internet is impossible on P&G. In addition to this, the raw support for the phone gives advanced users satisfaction too. Not only does XDA support customization but SE does too! More phone developers should take a leaf out of Sony Ericson's book and offer support like they do.
Cost Efficiency
Nowadays, the price of android products seems to depreciate considerably faster than other rivals. This is to be expected seeing as the mobile phone market itself is considerably saturated and with more android variants entering each day cost/unit depreciation will be far greater than the iPhone branding. The phone has become a mid range low cost phone. I would say for a price as low as £80 in the UK, nearly all users will be appeased. The phone teaches users who were not particularly advanced, many things about android. Something the spoon feeding of iOS will never do.
Conclusion
The Xperia x8 is a great low cost phone for beginners to android as well as advanced users. The hardware is acceptable however people will become thirsty for more in this current day and age. Stunning visuals means that you will not be embarrassed in front of your friends and firmware is never an issue. Pay as you go may have been abandoned for the time being but seems to be getting adopted by Google with their latest jelly bean. With the Sony Ericson department no closed, phones like this just won't be produced anymore. Sony are still finding their feet but I think they are going in the HTC direction producing too many phones at once. If phone manufacturers worked upon the fundamentals like SE did, we would have the new breed of ultimate phones.
RATING: I give this phone a 7 jelly beans out of 10. I would nominate this phone as LCTOTY. (Low cost thing of the year) Actually it is a tie between this and toilet paper.
Thankyou for reading my review.
NOTE: Sometimes I find myself on XDA in the early hours of the morning providing the best possible. I sometimes do not pay attention and will get angry quickly. I never mean any disrespect to anyone. If I do cross the line I am sorry in advance. Please PM me and bring my comment to my attention. I will issue an apology ASAP. Even though many advanced XDA users have disappointed me I will always offer XDA the best. I am always trying to be as nice as possible regardless of what people do to anger me so feel free to ask for help with anything.
Sources
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_Xperia_X8
Special Thanks to my good friend KidCarter93. Structural duplication rights are shared with him.
Special Thanks also to mf2112 for all his support.
Special Mention to IAmNice, lucastan96, SpyderX and RohinZaraki. Without them the x8 community would be a darker place.