Perhaps it’s the hype of Xperia, I felt so compelled to experience it when Sony Ericsson finally launched it on 1st November, 9 months after it was first announced.  So I drove down to the Sony Ericsson concept store, on its launch day. My first impression of the phone, was not exactly a “love on first sight” kind of feeling. The phone does look cool on first look (so was the cute sales executive), but my primary concern (as with any other phones) has always been the keyboard and therefore I spent quite a lot testing the keyboard rather than fiddling around its other uber cool features.

I had a bit of trouble typing a proper sentence to be honest. I always hit the wrong key (due to wider spacing and the staggered qwerty keys) and my thumbs often get in the way of the edge of the panel when I try to access the top row of the keys.

I left the shop with quite a disappointment, and went to do some grocery shopping at the supermarket with my mind still wandering at the concept store. I decided to go back to the store again after my grocery errand, and give the keyboard one more chance.

This time, I make sure I keep the keyboard layout in mind (important for Touch Pro user) while at the same time, observed the best thumb position when typing the top row of keyboard. It did not take me too long to finally get used to the keyboard. Once I adapted well to the keyboard,  texting using the keyboard is actually better than Touch Pro, which often than not, feels alittle hard and less fluid when composing sentences.

With the keyboard passing my test, I went on to scrutinize the physical design and build quality of the handset. It is no doubt a well made phone, although the expectation is there  given that it is suppose to be Sony Ericsson’s flagship model. The arc-sliding mechanism enables the keyboard to be slided out smoothly with a light thud sound, demonstrating that a designer product can be functional too.

At that moment, I made up my mind instantaneously, and wasted no time driving down to Starhub at Plaza Singapura to bring this chic product home!

Upon unboxing the unit, the initial impression was that the phone itself, is trailblazing as acclaimed. The programs launch almost instantly for programs like pocket outlook or internet explorer. As I set up the activesync pushmail, I observed the PIM information (i.e. contacts, emails and calendars) was downloaded at a speed that is so much faster than when I was using Touch Pro or i780. Maybe my heart has taken control of my eyes and my brain.

Finger gesturing is also quite good given the high sensitivity of the screen. A flick up or down on most of the screen will scroll the list as expected, although at the end of the day this is still dependent on the program’s gesture support. Still, once the program supports the finger gesture, the navigation is actually quite smooth and hiccup-less.

After using it for 2 weeks, I am glad that I have traded my Touch Pro for Xperia. My take is that both have its own strength and shortcoming. What I observed since I use Xperia, is that I watching TV and movie more, while my business usage of the phone does not changed or compromised. If a picture speaks a thousand words, I had taken a few videos of the handset, to sum up my review here.

Video of TouchFlo as one of the panel in X1

Using Xperia to watch live TV (mobile streaming Starhub TV channels)

GPS navigating and MP3 playback concurrently using Xperia

Surfing internet and staying connected in Facebook using Xperia

Watching Xvid encoded Wall-E movie on Xperia

Comparing Xperia and Sony PSP on video playback

Photos of Xperia

I confess, the temptation of new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is too much for me to resist.

That said, my first impression of the phone, was not exactly a “love on first sight” kind of feeling, as I dropped by Sony Ericsson concept store to check out the the phone. The phone does look cool on first look (so was the cute sales executive), but my primary concern has always been the keyboard and therefore I spend quite alot trying to experience the keyboard rather than fiddling around its other uber cool features.

I had a bit of trouble typing a proper sentence to be honest. I always hit the wrong key (due to wider spacing and the staggered qwerty keys) and my thumbs often got in the way of the edge of the panel when I tried to access the top row of the keyboard.

I left the store with quite a disappointment, and went to do some grocery shopping at the supermarket with my mind still wandering at the concept store. I decided to go back to the store again after my grocery errand, just to give the keyboard another chance.

This time, I made sure I keep the keyboard layout in mind while at the same time, observed the best thumb position when typing the top row of keyboard. Surprisingly, it did not take me too long to get used to the keyboard and find that the messaging using the keyboard can actually be better than Touch Pro. Change management is a must, especially if you are a Touch Pro user, as the Touch Pro has an “unconventional” QWERTY keyboard layout.

Made up my mind eventually, and wasted no time as I drove down to Starhub Plaza Singapura, to get the phone.(The enquire and buy experience with Starhub is yet another dramatic one, but I shall not digress)

Have not try to surf yet or play with the phone extensively yet, so I will comment on the performance more later. However, the initial impression was that the phone itself, is blazingly fast as acclaimed. The programs launch almost instantly for programs like pocket outlook or internet explorer. As I set up the activesync pushmail, I can see the contacts, emails and calendars were downloaded very quickly, much faster than when I was setting up using Touch Pro or i780. Psychological?

Finger gesturing is also quite good considering how sensitive the screen is. A flick up or down on most of the screen will scroll the list as expected, although at the end of the day this is still dependent on the program’s gesture support. Still, once the program supports the finger gesture, the navigation experience can actually be very smooth and “hiccup-less”.

That’s all I have at the moment, will blog about my takeaways of X1 versus Touch Pro after using it for a few more days.

Some photos with X1 and Touch Pro side by side