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Sony Ericsson X8, Yendo and Cedar: First Look

First look at new products from Sony Ericsson, photos of each model and video into the bargain. A bit of personal touch and first hand impressions. I would like to mention from the outset, I am not a potential owner of any of the given models, which allows me a degree of impartiality. I would especially speak about the target audience for every model as it leads to interesting conclusions.

Before offering quick reviews of the products I suggest you to watch the video about the reviewed devices.

These handsets will become available in the fourth quarter of the year. Surprisingly, the models were announced 3-4 months before they hit the shelves. Within this period we will see numerous candybars, touchscreen phones with or without Android boasting similar price and features. Such premature unveiling must show the customers that the company is alive and kicking.

Sony Ericsson Cedar

This candybar follows the style of the latest SE models. It sports a slanting back and simple shapes without any gimmicks or games. First look reveals an undemanding phone without any ambitions. The plastic is inexpensive, and the execution is straightforward, but with taste. The front panel is black with the cover offered in silver or red. The prototypes have horizontal looseness, though the built is generally good. I liked the large joystick, which is easy to use. 2.2" screen of QVGA resolution is quite bright and with good definition quality. No complaints here. The phone feels well in the hand. The top features standard 3.5 mm jack and microUSB has no cover. The player supports "skins", Widgets (Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace), radio and other typical applications are offered as well. Multitasking is also supported. SMS messages are displayed in the chat form and the memory card slot is under the battery cover. microSD card is not in the box.

Sony Ericsson does not make low end models at the moment, so this is their version of "budget" model. It has everything you need if you just want a simple phone for calls. Any headphones can be connected to listen to the music or radio, though the memory is not enough for the tracks. The keypad and joystick are nice.

The device will be shipped in a small box with the battery and charger. The instruction manual has been already downloaded into the model's memory. As Cedar is a tree all GreenHeart stuff must make the customers and the company more environmentally friendly.

Sony Ericsson Yendo

The candybar with the weird name has a touchscreen and resembles Sony Ericsson X10 Mini, but the appearances are often deceptive. It is a bit taller and more bulky. Dimensions: 93,5 x 52 x 15,8 mm (3.68" x 2.04" x 0.62" ), weight: 81 g (2.85 oz). Its design is anything but remarkable and has something to do with the Walkman series. But it is different from the previous models in the range, when the style was uniformed and the phone could really resemble Sony players. Remember W880, which somehow reminded of XX century cassette players. In principle Yendo can be traced back to their design as well, but only to undistinguished low end models. Walkman logo can be seen on the body with the player icon in the top corner styled as a "Walkman". In the box you will find one more panel and nice headphones without the remote, 2 GB memory card, USB cable and network adapter. It has no Wi-Fi, which is quite logical. Under the screen there is one key and one more button at the top (it is responsible for on/off switch and standby mode). The sides feature the volume control rocker and the camera button. Everything resembles Android models, though inside we have Sony Ericsson proprietary OS. java, multitasking and radio are supported. The phone from the box can help you to communicate in certain social networks. The player has the equalizer. The only formats supported are .mp3 and .aac. In the menu you can also find the radio. Some sort of simplified Timescape is offered as well – news from Twitter and Facebook.

2.6" screen has 320х240 resolution and does not provoke any positive emotions and the model in general is not attractive. It looks like an attempt to compete with Corby and similar models – touchscreen candybar for youth at reasonable price. Yendo can rely on its name (I mean Walkman) plus the standard slots for headphones and USB cable, proprietary software in the form of TrackID. The price will be accessible unless Samsung comes up with a similar model at half price. And then we have LG?

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

It is the missing link between X10 and X10 Mini and I do not only mean its size. Most of all I am depressed by the white body. The handset will be available in the fourth quarter – October or even November are not appropriate for summer colors. And here comes the white model from SE. The panels feature gradient coloration. So far there is no news about the normal, black X8, which is really sad.

Dimensions are the following: 99 x 54 x15 mm (3.89" x 2.12" x 0.59"), weight 104 g (3.66 oz). 3" screen of 320х480 resolution is not bad, offers bright colors and good definition. It is capacitive, but without multitouch. The lists are scrolled comfortably. Artem says that the main drawback is mere 128 MB of RAM. I can add that the design is also non-existent.

I had very simple dreams – take a nice-looking X10 by the corner and scale it down proportionally. Leave everything intact, but just make it smaller. It can be thicker, but should take after the older brother in appearance.

Unfortunately, the middle brother is far from the X flagship. It is bulky with the buttons in X10 Mini style, boasting old-fashioned colors it is definitely a black sheep of Xperia family. I cannot be wrong, because the range was launched for business and multimedia devices. X1 was followed by very expensive Pureness and now we have a white phone for the young generation.

In the box:

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8
1200 mAh battery
MH810 portable stereo headset
2 GB microSD card
Additional removable panel
Micro USB cable for recharging, synchronization and file transfer
User manual
Headset with the remote

The build is decent at the moment and these are only the prototypes. You can easily ignore my opinion as many like the model even from the pictures. I have to admit that the company style can be easily recognized. It is still unclear which Android version will be installed later on, because now it is 1.6, but by the day of release it can easily be upgraded to 2.1. It is quite logical and if X10 and X10 Mini receive new software, X8 should not be ignored.

3.2 MP camera has no autofocus and allows video shooting (30 fps). The absence of autofocus will upset many users.

In Android section the omnipresent Artem has already mentioned X8 and I invite you to go here. If you follow the gadget world with attention you will understand everything well. The model is reasonably priced but appears only in autumn. How many competing Android products will be available at lower price? They will be quite numerous. No matter how attractive this solution is today in October many things will be different.

I will summarize my review in a simple way. It's good to unveil your autumn products in June. The prices and products are attractive and allow the company to release the updates, decrease the prices, because we are used to overpriced models from SE. All elements of the puzzle are ready, but to be honest, it is imperative that in autumn the models should have no defects (in software and hardware), are unveiled to the public in a fascinating way and completely conform to Sony style.

P.S. If people from the Russian Representative Office of SE do not get offended with separate paragraphs of the article very soon you will read the detailed reviews of each model mentioned above.

Do you want to talk about this? Please, go to our Forum and let your opinion be known to the author and everybody else.

Sergei Kuzmin ([email protected])
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