Sony Ericsson announces Xperia X8

Asavin Wattanajantra

Sony Ericsson has launched its Xperia X8 Android smartphone, which should release in the third quarter of this year, as well as an Android 2.1 upgrade for its other Xperia devices.

Running Android 1.6 but likely to upgrade to 2.1 soon after, the smartphone bridges the gap between the X10 and Mini devices with a suitable price point.

It will have a 3.2 megapixel camera, able to directly upload pictures to Facebook and with geo tagging capability. It also has a capacitive 3.0 inch touchscreen with a 320 x 480 pixel (HVGA) resolution.

The user interface is similar to the Xperia X10 Mini, with a four-corners approach that is supposed to give easy one-hand use, customisable for one touch access to favourite apps.

Timo Maassmann, Product Marketing Manager for Xperia X8, said, “We are delighted to be able to bring the full experience of our Xperia smartphones to new consumers by delivering a fully featured device at a more accessible price point.”

As well as the new phone, Sony Ericsson will all be upgraded to run the Android 2.1 OS from Q3 2010 onwards. This will include the ability to perform HD video recording.

Steve Walker, Head of Product Marketing at Sony Ericsson, said, “Sony Ericsson’s vision is to be the communication entertainment brand.”

“We are focusing strongly on the smartphone market and specifically on creating the most entertaining smartphones.”