Like a LAMB to the SLAUGHTER, Vodafone has today announced the availability of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10 on the network, which it has in-stock and ready to ship out to new customers right now. We can’t help but feel sorry for poor old SE, launching this phone precisely as the planet is going MAD over the HTC Desire.
We doubt the X10′s going to sell out any time soon, to be honest, so wander off to Vodafone’s ordering page at your leisure. There will be plenty to go around, especially as it’s on a steep £35 tariff.
User reviews of the X10 on other European networks so far have been decidedly mixed. The huge-screened smartphone’s battery life is getting a right kicking, with many X10 owners reporting it’s astonishingly short-lived even for one of today’s power-hungry mobiles.
Read a few more opinions from early X10 adopters over in the comments sections on Sony Ericsson’s Product Blog. X10 owners are already clamouring for firmware updates to fix numerous problems with the phone, including low call volume, poor voice quality and many more complaints. It doesn’t look like this is the handset that’s going to turn it around for poor old Sony Ericsson, after all.
HTC’s 4.3″ dual-core Android model, powered by Qualcomm’s all-new S4 processor. It’s smaller than the enormous One X, but is it as nice as its bigger brother? (SPOILER: Yes it is).
HTC is very much B-A-C-K at the top of the Android world with this, its quad-core flagship for 2012. Great camera, huge 4.7″ display and Android 4.0 running beautifully well.
Sony returns with an all-new mobile design for 2012, pairing a dual-core processor with a 720p display. It’s a lovely phone, but is it enough to end our Samsung and HTC obsession?
LG’s updated Prada phone comes with an absolutely crazy black & white theme, but is it just for fashionable suit wearers who want to make themselves look a bit more interesting?
Janne
/ April 9, 2010I don’t get some of those comments to be fair. The call volume at half maximum is enough for the voice to be uncomfortably loud. And while the battery life was a joke at first, after two cycles of drain-charge I get about a day and a half with a few calls, some surfing and light gaming (Robo defense does drain the battery like a wino his first daily jug of California white).
Niels C
/ April 9, 2010I must agree with Janne’s post. I simply do not recognize most any of the complaints to be honest. Volume is great, all connectors work etc.
Ok, the speaker is more for sharing calls in a room than for listening to music, but you’ve got a couple of good headsets for that.
X10 is a great phone for those to whom pinch-zoom isn’t a matter of life or death. I’ve tried it, and it’s nice, but I can live without.
It is amazing to see how many people strive for individuality and uniqueness, only to rush out and buy what everyone else buys (Iphone, Ipad etc.)
I am already fond of my X10, and won’t look back. But then again I have a life.
Take care. Peace.
Tim Alz
/ April 9, 2010Niels, I don’t think people who defend smartphones on web sites can really claim to “have a life”.
Edward
/ April 10, 2010Nice phone, not as easy to use as the Iphone, but oh the battery life, just can’t get more than eight hours with everything killed must admit unless i’ve a duff battery I am more than fed up, was really looking forward to this phone.
Gary C
/ April 10, 2010If it’s any help, I’ve seen a few forum posters say it takes between five and ten recharge cycles to get the battery into shape. So it might pick up after a while. If you’re lucky.
Janne
/ April 11, 2010Edward, as I said above I couldn’t make eight hours the first two days either. Do a couple of complete drain-recharge cycles and you’ll see a lot of improvement. Lithium-ion batteries need a couple of cycles to get to their full potential, and it’s apparently a good idea to repeat it every six months or so. And of course, the manufacturers aren’t willing or able to spend a day per battery running a discharge-charge cycle when we’re talking hundreds of thousands of units.
Looking at my phone right now, my charge stands at 68% with the phone unplugged for 20 hours, according to the “Battery Indicator” app I use. I’ve used Wifi for about half that time (when home), but no bluetooth or GPS. Mostly some light surfing, a few emails and some Frozen Bubble while waiting for my wife yesterday.
Gary C
/ April 11, 2010Ah yes, sorry Janne. I read that suggestion about recharge cycles right here, four comments up :(
joe
/ May 27, 2010The in call volume is a joke but other than that and the poor battery it still like it over the i phone