This attempt at killing off the iPhone combines a large touchscreen with a good-sized slide-out keyboard. It’s a little on the chunky side but the good screen quality makes up for that. Sony Ericsson has designed a great menu system for the handset, and it revolves around the X-Panel, a kind of “smart desktop”.
The X-Panel consists of a number of different start screens shown either as a grid or as a fan. The only screen you cannot replace with any of the built-in (or downloadable) alternate designs is the main “Today” screen, but otherwise it’s completely customisable with your favourite applications or sites. It’s a great idea, and works well.
However, overall, the X1 is a bit of a disappointment. The Windows software looks nice with the X-Panels but it seems a little sluggish, and is not as responsive as some of the other handsets here.
On the whole, it’s a decent-enough first attempt at a keyboard smartphone, and if you’re tied to Windows it’s definitely worth a look. But it’s clear that Sony needs to raise its game if it is going to take on the Apple iPhone or Blackberry. The X1 is available on Orange and O2 networks and is free with O2’s £39, 24-month contract with 1,200 minutes.
Pros Slide-out keyboard works well, good design
Cons No unique features
Free on contract
