SE-X1 REVIEW

This review is going to be a lengthy one because it has to be! The standard X1 and the souped-up version. I am comparing the Iphone closely (because I have one) because these two seems to be the two great contenders. However, the focus ofc is more on the X1!

The Standard

Out of the box

When I got the box, I wasn't really impressed with the outer appearance. It looked quite boring. Inside however, you will find 4 mini-sized boxes in keeping with the theme of X changeable-ness lol. The phone itself is housed in a nice svelte like box. Look el primo really. The full colour guides are inside the other box as well as the other standard micro-USB charger (all the rage now I guess) and a CD for sync/software.

Gone is the standard jack on the X1 for earphones and instead it uses a standard earphone jack (THANK GOD!).

Booty Call

So like I take out the SE-X1 and look at the construction and build . It has a very solid feel to it with brushed metal at the back cover and the front (arghh i already got a few scratches ..damn jeans too tight) and the form factor is much smaller in width compared to its predecessor and my Iphone. In fact it still feels like a phone when I hold it.

Time to boot the baby up!

On booting, I can see why this phone seems to be all the rage. The display is bloody awesome (480x800). Sharper than any other and my Iphone's resolution just can't match it. Bright sharp colours though much less than the colour palette on the Iphone. But you wouldn't really notice it anyway unless you're a geek like me.

I have been reviewing HTC devices for an eternity and the WinMo (Windows Mobile OS) driven OS for even longer. I've never really like earlier builds of WinMo but the WinMo6 + Xpanels + SE build promises to be a different beast altogether. I keep an open mind and continue my trek !

After what seemed a century, WinMo finally boots (it's Windows people ..we all know how bloated the damn thing is!). I press the 'Start' button and look around the system. Pretty fast response so far.... (but it's Windows omg its doomed already!..).

WinMo Revisited

Comparing WinMo to the Mac OS on the Iphone is akin to comparing Apple and Oranges. Both have a different philosophy. One preferring for people to customise and customise and customise while the other is bent on making technology as simple and elegant as possible. Like all WinMo OS, the 6.1 variant is not too bad. It's still a beast to master to the myriad of icons and programs and settings to be done. I can understand why people who bought it would be cursing and swearing at it.. "Godamn piece of crap! What the hell SE? etc etc ". I will be honest it ain't totally SE's fault.. it's just that the OS was designed that way. It is a cumbersome beast. A bit like T-Rex when it's done eating a few raptors.



So begs the question does it lag monsieur? HELL YES. It lags everywhere !! Message open > lags. Open video> Runs for a bit then switch .. lags... Switching here and there and utilising multi-tasking thingies is just not smooth on the X1. On the iphone, it's seamless...considering the memory on the X1 is much more than the iPhone again the culprit is the beast called WinMo 6.1.

I will give you an example: to make a ringtone from an MP3 requires you to transfer to a selected folder. You CANNOT select it otherwise.

Is it a pain in the ass? It's more than a pain in the ass, it's like having a hot poker swiveled around it! That's how painful the first two days were. The silky smooth OS of the Iphone is gazilion years ahead when it comes to an intuitive OS. Of course, I'm not talking about the phone itself .. I'm pretty peeved with how Microsoft been treating the WinMo community by being utterly ignorant and dumb on what is needed. Oh and I hate the password screen! Idiotic!

On the flip side, the WinMo is a transformer - one minute its a piece of turd, the next is it's the Optimus Prime of mobile phone OSes. Tweaking it like you do on your XPs and Vista computer is a MUST! More on that later!

Touch My Buttons!

The x1 comes equipped with a 'mouse' which works quite well to navigate. Gone is the famous jogdial! (I shall miss you!). Two squares split into four to make triangles reflect the 'x' motif on either side. These also work very well. The Iphone lack of any other form of navigation accept your fingers can be a big problem and I can say you can still use the phone one handed which requires finger gymnastics on my Iphone.

The phone comes equipped with twin cameras for 3G video. Works well ..clear and sharp. Which comes to the speaker which is located at the bottom left. The speaker on the X1 really sucks. It's so small, it's older sibling the P1 was much better and of course the iPhone has better sound all the way. Sometimes I can barely hear any calls so I have to constantly put it on vibrate mode. At least now you know where the first SEX1 part come from, you have turn it into a vibrator otherwise you will definitely miss calls.

Up/Down buttons and a cleverly hidden stylus is there as well. You can still use nails lol.. which is impossible on the iphone. The keypad is really SMALL. In fact it's the smallest one I've seen on the HTC variants. It's not very fancy either. It's butt ugly. But it works for me because my hands are bone thin.

A 3.2MP camera with Auto Focus/Select Focus for picture taking and video is included on the X1. The camera lacks zoom and though the picture quality is pretty good, it should really have been a 5MP or better lens or whatever to make the X1 use premium stuff. But alas no. Still it is a whole lot better than the crappy one I have on the Iphone.

The standard full BTooth profile+ A2DP and Wifi profiles are present. High speed connection for mobility are there as well but the networks here don't have that kind of speeds to match the so basically you're getting sub standard speeds when the x1 can go way faster than the normal.

Battery life is dependent on use and is a full 1500mA battery can last you half a day or a whole week depending on what you use.

'X' Marks the Spot

The Xperia panel is very young considering it's been only a few months, people are already modding it faster than SE ever could. The SE standard panels are a mixed bunch.


Panels horizontal mode

We got the SPB, Google Panels, Radio Panel, SE Media Panel and Today panels. All of which are quite useful. Then we have the crap: the goldfish thingy (though its cute its useless), the Dash whatever thingy, and two more panels which I don't remember because they were utterly rubbish.



Oops wrong panel.. this is the SE panel .. the SPB Panel looks better .....

A throwback from earlier SE interfaces makes it way in here as well in the form of SE Media panel.


SE Media Panel Picture Mode



SE Media Panel Music Mode

It's pretty slick though perhaps not as slick as HTC's Touch Flo 3D Blackstone on the the Touch HD. It however contains nearly everything that the TF3D can offer except for weather, programs, and fancy messaging display. FYI though, TF3D DOES NOT COME with the X1!!

The Radio and Facebook panels can only be accessed through here much like the SE media panel.



Facebook Panel

By pressing the X button, XPERIA panel list will appear and you can have up to 9 panels on selection. They can be viewed both horizontally or vertically. The panels themselves are not just merely quick links, they actually have a purpose such as the Facebook panel and Radio panels. In some instances, you cannot access the programs within the OS because they're part of the panels themselves.


Panels shuffle mode

I quite like the panels and how they work as they are pretty flexible and I have seen some of the stuff in development and it looks pretty good. Having said that, I'm not sure why SE themselves haven't done much in their own workshop and rather reliant on other developers.

We Mean Business and a teeny bit of fun

The WinMo platform has always been geared to a more mature audience, and as such the full complement of Mobile Business tools are apparent on this device. The X1 has got it all really when you come to think of it. It's hardware and software is meant to complement the needs of people on the move and I can say the X1 delivers it in droves and that's out of the box!

Full WinMo experience covers all of the Windows Live! aspects such as Messenger, and with programs like Palringo and Fring, full MMS, proper tethering, helps to complement it further. It's miles ahead of the Iphone!

If you are looking for fun, it's going to be a wee bit hard! haha. You see the WinMo platform lacks the beautifully though-out Apps Store from Apple. Though its coming, Apple's vast quantity of software whether freeware or otherwise has got class. Just trying to get a freeware video or radio player on the WinMo platform and you be wanting to smash you X1. It's just isn't there. Eventually productivity tools and management tools on the iphone are going to be so good, WinMo devices will look ancient! At the moment, due to restrictions on the iphone itself that isn't going to happen just yet.


The Phone Quality and A-GPS

As it is with most 'pedigree' phones, the X1 phone quality is pretty good. Sound was clear and crisp, the BT thing as usual was really easy. BUT there is a problem, and it's a BIG problem. The X1 has a tendency to be too damn accurate when detecting networks. As a result, you might see the X1 losing radio signals. Now before you go ..WHAT!? Signal indicators are usually not very accurate on a mobile phone and when you to try to call, you experience a NO SIGNAL situation but there are FOUR BARS! That's because IT ISN'T a true reflection.

On the X1, it can be frustrating to see you lose signal all the time especially if you live in a cave like me. The signal comes on and off and after testing dual sims on two phones, I have noticed that the X1 is CORRECT and the iPhone was WRONG when it comes to reporting a true signal.

A-GPS works well on the X1 using the increasingly popular Google Maps and added GPS hardware can be put on if you prefer road navigation.


GMaps with latitude.

Pre-Verdict

When it comes to it, is it worth the 3k price tag? The answer is ... out of the box .. compared to the Iphone is unfortunately a NO. It still looks like a formidable phone from just the way its built. That's the kind of pedigree Sony and Ericsson has put in. Unfortunately, pedigree alone isn't going be enough especially when Apple is screaming past it rivals especially that fat sweaty pig at Microsoft.

If you're buying this phone because you like the way it is designed by all means get it .. but if you're constantly looking for a device that works, the X1 is bogged down by a bloated OS that may not appeal to a lot of people!


BUT!!

if you're into making the X1 a fiery hot rod of mobiles, and a chameleon that works incredibly well... READ ON!


Bring the Sexy into the Se-X1

Devils in the Details

Before you do anything I mention here, I am not responsible for turning your phone into a brick

Transform

Alrighty then! How do we change the X1 from being mediocre to brilliant? Under all that mountain code, the X1 is a true beast! It's blazingly fast if we benchmark it to ANY device in the same category. Quite literally it can run circles around the iPhone.

One thing that separates the WinMo platform and Mac OS platform is the ability to tweak it. Again it boils down to philosophy and Windows have always been on top in this section. The OS on the device ISN'T LOCKED UP and every fibre of its being is just waiting to be exploited to find it's hidden potential.That and the fact that number of developers and indie developers working on programs, tweaks and hacks on the WinMo are LEGION!

Now compare that to Apple, who have clearly stated for example, if anyone tries to hack the mobile, they will attempt to prevent you from doing so. Apple's protectionist and 'I'm a virgin' attitude can be unnerving sometimes e.g. Jailbreak got broken! To make it clearer, just looking at how they completely lock the BT transfer of data is enough said!


So what do I need?

Words of the wise, I'm not going to handhold you to a walkthrough but I will make a list of things you will need. You can find most things on Google anyway so yeah put in a bit of effort ! Nearly all can be found on the XDA forums
CAB files means you can install and uninstall like normal. Just transfer to the SD and install! All these tweaks are just the tip of the iceberg really!

Standard Tweaks and Programs (CAB files)

1. Net Compact Framework for Mobile 3.5 (essential and makes your winmo device faster)
2. WinMo Mobile Device Active Sync for either XP or Vista
3. Xperia Tweak 2.0 (for making the mobile go crazy fast thru a bit of registry change)
4. STK tools (tweaks and benchmarking)
5. Advanced Config (further tweaking)
6. SIP change (change the default keyboard)

7. You tube player (comes with TF3D if you want it )
8. Core Player 1.2.5
9. DivX Player
10. MyHubVo (streaming!)
11. Opera 9.5 Beta (your original 9.5 remains so no worries) This browser is awesome. Flash support!
12. Batti Settings (shows a bar for your battery

Other essentials:

Fring (combo messengers)
Palringo (sweet combo messenger)
Ping.Fm
Newsgator RSS
Lock Lite
SPB Panel
Facebook Panel
Slide to lock
Slide to View
Slide to Play


Intermediate Tweaks (CAB files)

1. Touch Flo 3D Blackstone Manila files (User interface that goes alongside SPB/SE Media/Windows Today.
(DO NOT INSTALL THE DIALER, COMMS MANAGER and TFD MMS which comes separately as they screws things up)

TF3D Music
2. Angelus X1 landscape (it's a bit cacat but better than nothing)
3. Point UI (alternate UI)
4. Bell UI (ditto)

Advanced Tweakage ROM COOKING

Do not attempt this unless you are sure have understood ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE XDA forums.
Basically it requires you to have a SD card for placing the ROM and 'cooking' the ROM. I don't recommend newbies to try though!

1. SPL
2. Various ROM types (TONS!!)


So what happens after the Standard And Intermediate Tweaks and Programs?

The X1 has now completely changed to its rather laidback profile to a full blown monster! It is now able to have as many types of UI installed on it and the X-Panel really work well together. The Tweaks help change the behaviour of the WinMo OS to something more lean and mean. It also corrects some of the issues found on the OOB Xperia. For example, you want to run You tube but you can't IT ISN'T THERE! lolol.

What happens after ROM Cooking?

ROM Cooking is a far more advanced than just installing because it alters the X1 hardware methodology e.g Radio Functions . It is far more efficient than a standard CAB install BUT you run the risk of turning that x1 into a brick and you going have to send it to the Service Centre to restore the ROM if you don't know how to.

Verdict

Absolutely love the beast more than my meek iphone! BUT a word of warning it isn't for the IMPATIENT. If you have no experience or scared to experiment the X1 isn't for you. You really need to tweak, tweak and tweak until the the X1 performs perfectly and that isn't easy. OOB X1 is good enough for people who want overall premium phone but you really have to go into the details to get into grips with the X1.

For zen like approach and to stay away from such a mess, go get an Iphone (unless you're into business and stuff then dont!). It's simple and no-hassle approach will appeal to the masses!

Two different approaches to mobile phones. I love them both tbh but i am slightly inclined to the X1 now due to the depth of the phone which the iPhone cannot give. X1 is the SEX while iphone is SEXY lol! You could say that X1 is like a pro-heavyweight boxer that exudes pure brute power while the iphone is a bit like a kung-fu exponent with its precision and smoothness.

The choice is up to you in the end! And oh yeah the Touch HD can do the same, is just that uhmm..well you know!

I hope you have enjoyed my review!

This post has been edited by mobilemeow: Feb 22 2009, 04:23 PM