Ultimate Guide to Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Specs Prices and More

Overview

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 was launched in June 2010 and officially released in September 2010. As a part of the Xperia line-up of smartphones, it was designed to provide an affordable and compact Android experience. While it is now discontinued, at the time of its release, it aimed to balance accessibility and essential smartphone functionalities, especially for users transitioning from feature phones to smartphones.

Design and Build

The Xperia X8 measures 99 x 54 x 15 mm and weighs 104 grams, making it both compact and lightweight. The phone was available in a variety of color options, including White, Dark Blue/White, Aqua Blue/White, Pink/White, and Silver/White. It features a mini-SIM slot and is characterized by its scratch-resistant glass, offering some protection against daily wear.

Display

The phone comes with a 3.0-inch TFT display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of approximately 192 ppi. The display achieves a modest screen-to-body ratio of around 50.1%. Although not high-definition, the display was sufficient for the applications and multimedia available at the time.

Performance

At its core, the Xperia X8 is equipped with a Qualcomm MSM7227 Snapdragon S1 chipset, which includes a 600 MHz ARM 11 CPU and an Adreno 200 GPU. While modest by today's standards, this configuration was capable of handling everyday tasks such as calls, messaging, and basic multimedia playback during its time.

Software

Initially launched with Android 1.6 (Donut), the Xperia X8 was upgradable to Android 2.1 (Eclair). This allowed users to access a range of applications from the Android Market and enjoy improved system features and user interface enhancements over the earlier version of Android.

Memory and Storage

The device contains 128MB of internal storage, coupled with 168MB of RAM. There is a dedicated microSDHC card slot, allowing for storage expansion to accommodate more apps and media files. A 2 GB microSD card was included, offering users an immediate solution for additional storage needs.

Camera

The Xperia X8 features a single 3.15 MP camera, capable of capturing photos and recording videos at 480p at 30 frames per second. While the camera capabilities are basic, they are adequate for casual photography. However, the phone does not include a front-facing camera, limiting its ability to support video calls and selfies, which became increasingly popular in later years.

Battery Life

The phone is powered by a removable Li-Po 1200 mAh battery. It offers a standby time of up to 446 hours on 2G and up to 476 hours on 3G networks. Talk time is rated up to 4 hours and 45 minutes on 2G, and up to 5 hours and 40 minutes on 3G. Additionally, it promises up to 23 hours and 40 minutes of music play, indicating a decent battery life for moderate daily usage.

Connectivity and Communication

The phone supports both GSM and HSPA networks, with 2G bands covering GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and 3G bands covering HSDPA 900/2100. Internet speed on this device can reach up to HSPA 7.2/2 Mbps. In terms of connectivity features, it includes Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, stereo FM radio with RDS, GPS with A-GPS for location services, and microUSB 2.0 for data transfer and charging.

Audio and Multimedia

The Xperia X8 offers a basic multimedia experience with the inclusion of a loudspeaker and a 3.5mm audio jack, making it compatible with most headphones and audio accessories. Audio quality for voice calls, music, and media is satisfactory considering the device's specifications at the time.

User Interface and Features

The UI introduced with Android was friendly and aimed to facilitate ease of use for new smartphone adopters. The device includes standard smartphone sensors such as an accelerometer, proximity sensor, and compass. It also supports HTML browsing, providing a simple internet browsing experience.

Market Position and Legacy

Priced at around 100 EUR during its release, the Xperia X8 was targeted at budget-conscious consumers and emerging smartphone markets. It played a crucial role in making Android smartphones more accessible and popular during this period, especially in regions where basic feature phones still dominated.

Conclusion

In hindsight, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 stands as a representative of early affordable Android phones that helped standardize smartphone use globally. While its hardware might appear limited today, it effectively served its market by delivering reliable functionality and decent performance for its time.