Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

The Xperia X10 is an innovative Android Eclair phone with a 4in touchscreen. Its superior 8.1Mp camera was the best of those we've tested to date: it has face tracking and took clear, sharp images with vivid colour.

We found the XlO's squared-off rear uncomfortable to hold for long periods, but the screen offers one of the best implementations of multitouch we've seen, responding to the lightest of touches. There's no haptic feedback, but we found the on-screen qwerty keyboard easy to use.

The Timescape feature displays missed calls, text message previews, emails and social-networking updates as a series of ordered photo tiles, allowing you to scroll through recent activity.

The full list of software on the handset can be accessed by swiping
upwards on the home screen. From here you can also access the Android Market to download apps. Press Install on the app you want and the handset will add it to your applications menu.

IMPORT DATA

The Sony Ericsson automatically imports contacts from a SIM card, preserving email addresses. You can also transfer information such as notes, your calendar and bookmarks from your old handset. Integration with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter works too, once you've logged into your own  accounts for these services.

Unique to the Xperia X10 is Mediascape, which makes your music, photos and videos accessible from one place. A MediaGo app allows for transfer between PC arid handset, and the media management extends to podcasts, audiobooks and anything you access from a media card. It also works with online music stores and PlayNow.

The Xperia's 16GB internal memory can be supplemented with a microSD card up to 16GB. MediaScape also works with online music stores and the PlayNow media-streaming applet.

We were impressed with the GPS, too. The Sony Ericsson quickly and accurately located our position and faultlessly kept up when we used Wisepilot, the pre-installed navigation app.

Featuring an 8.1Mp camera with face-tracking functionality, the Xperia X10 has been aimed at photo enthusiasts.
None of the other phones here has a camera of this calibre. It took clear, sharp images with vivid colours.

VERDICT

Overall, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is one of the best Android handsets we've seen. It's is a stylish, feature-rich phone, making it ideal for buyers who want great photos or need to keep up to date with activities on their social media networks.

Details

Price (SIM-free) £449 inc VAT 
Further information www.sonyericsson.com/xperiaxlO 
Specifications Google Android 2.1 (Eclair); 4in, 854x480-pixel screen; 1GHz processor; 8.1Mp camera; 16GB memory; HSDPA; 135g; 119x63x13mm