topic Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone in XPERIA archive

What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:58:03 GMT

I think once you own a phone, you get attached to it, and if you are an optimist, probably you see the positive side of it and just ignore the negative sides so much so that even you may not see what are the issues and shortcomings in the phone are.

I have purchased Xperia X10 a couple of month ago. I am in love with this phone and enjoying it's feature and in overall experience I can say that it is the best phone i owned till date (earlier i had Nokia E65, Nokia 5800 xpressmusic, Nokia N82 and a few other before purchasing this phone).

Still, to be frank, there are some shortcomings and issues which one generally should not expect from such an expensive and high-end phone (and these shortcomings are going to be remained even if you upgrade it to you Android 2.1 which is yet to be released worldwide).

First i would like to mention those features which i enjoyed in my Nokias but which are not available in X10 :

1. TV-Out - I have a Sony Bravia 32 inch LCD TV and i frequently used to use this TV-out feature available in my Nokia phones with it whether it is to play youtube videos on TV via the phone, or to see slide show of the pictures of the phone's albums with the family every now and then. That's why I hugely miss this feature in Xperia.

2. Camera quality with Xenon flash - Even though x10 has 8 mp camera and N82 has 5 mp, N82 snaps nicer and clearer pictures IMHO. Also the Xenon Flash in N82 is just awesome. Also i do not understand why the flash (called photo light in x10) is by default off and so much hidden (you have to click menu, then advance setting then photo light and click it in on position everytime you use camera).

3. PC suit / PC companion - Needless to say PC suit is a big lot better than PC companion. In fact, i believe PC suit is the best among it's kind.

4. Making phone work as modem - though there are some 3rd party applications that make x10 work as a modem for having internet connection in your pc or laptop via it, however, it is much better, easier, in-built, and official in Nokia's smartphones.

5. FM Radio - Yes, you can enjoy radio on X10 by installing any one of the tens of internet radio applications available in the android market. But let's face it you can use those apps only if you have internet (and many a time you don't have) as well as no internet radio app can give you that kind of fun, experience and unexpectedibility which one can find with the in-built FM Radio in many Nokia handsets.

There maybe more to this list but i have mentioned those which i miss the most. if anyone this list should include more they are free to comment and add.

2ndly, even though you have android OS in X10, almost all other companies handsets which are based on android are going to have many features which X10 can't simply because X10 is about to integrate 2.1 version of android (Eclare) now whereas those phones have already upgraded or about to be upgraded to 2.2 version (Froyo). And seeing with the soooooooooo slow speed SE is upgrading the OS of its X10 family handsets, it is likely that they will either upgrade it to 2.2 in another year or so (this 2.1 upgradation is going to take place after one year of X10 launch), or they will never upgrade it to 2.2 at all.

Here are the major features which are available in 2.2 but not in 2.1:

6. Ability to install applications on removable storage i.e. in your MicroSd card - Though X10 has 1 GB of internal storage with 384 MB of RAM, both are likely to be run out of itself if you, like me, become unable to hold the temptation to download many many free and paid games and apps available in more-than-a-million-apps-rich android market. I donot understand why it is restricted in android 2.1 to install apps in the memory card.

7. Faster speed and performance - You think Xperia X10 is fast enough even with its current version of android (1.6), and it will certainly improve on speed in the 2.1. But i just searched and was surprised to find that 2.2 is 450% faster then 2.1. Imagine the kind of speed and performance we would have enjoyed with the phone, had SE upgraded it to 2.2 instead of 2.1.

8. USB teathering and Wi-Fi hotspot - these are damn cool, latest, and usable features (google it and read more about it in case if you do not know) unfortunately only available with 2.2 and not with 2.1.

9. Flash 10.1 - Also in version 2.2 is the addition of support for Flash 10.1. This will keep Android devices compliant with sites and applications that shift to using the latest version of Flash. This also affects video viewing as Flash is used by a lot of video streaming sites like Youtube.

10. Apart from above, changes were made to the graphics, UI, device policy, camera, and media framework APIs as well as some corporate features like more capabilities of Microsoft Exchange, remote data wiping, auto-discovery, global address lists look-up, and Exchange calendars etc. etc. These are not available in 2.1.

Apart from these all comparison-with-nokia and android issues and shortcomings, a so much high-end and expensive phone should have the following but unfortunately it does not have due to one reason or another:

11. Multi-touch - i heard that there is some proprietary issue with this and therefore SE perhaps never going to include multi-touch in it's handsets.

12. Color depth richness should have been in the range of 16 million however it is 65K only.

13. Amoled touch screen - best touch screen technology today.

14. 3d acceleration - for better viewing and gaming experience.

And many more....

One can say that i am expecting a little too much but let me tell again that if you spend a good amount of money on something, you expect it to have the latest technologies and features the other contemporaries mobile sets are having and that is on cheaper price.

Thanks for reading!

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 19:19:23 GMT

I think there is a lot of variety of phones out there just because we have different needs or preferences... may be perfect phone doesn't exist yet but you can't find an all in one perfect thing if you want at same time a phone, clock, camera, GPS, compass, Internet browser, TV, radio, mp3 player, .. , so you must choose if carring 6 or 7 devices or an xperia X10 instead.. No Xenon flash because if it does sport it means your battery should be bigger and heavier to reach power needs and because of this you will loose form factor settings...X10 is actually capable of 3D acceleration features depending what apps or soft you are using for..The future goes wireless so if you want to connect to TV use bluetooth or wifi instead..Mtouch, Amoled and color depth are subjective and mostly related with different manufacture strategies.Finally if you need or prefer a non customizable device why choose an android device??

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:20:52 GMT

<<<<em>I think there is a lot of variety of phones out there just because we have different needs or preferences... may be perfect phone doesn't exist yet but you can't find an all in one perfect thing if you want at same time a phone, clock, camera, GPS, compass, Internet browser, TV, radio, mp3 player, .. , so you must choose if carring 6 or 7 devices or an xperia X10 instead..

Apart from Xperia, there ARE plenty of smart phones which can replace all these devices and one does not have to carry half a dozen devices. My point was that if one is spending so much amount on a phone, one has right to expect the features which other mobiles, most of them of much lesser price, have in them.

<<<<em>No Xenon flash because if it does sport it means your battery should be bigger and heavier to reach power needs and because of this you will loose form factor settings...

I have never such battery problem with N82. If Nokia can, why can't SE.

On the face of the tremendous delay with which SE has recently updated an already outdated operating system, it will appear funny and pointless to talk about what, how, when and in which phone models such wireless support through bluetooth or wifi will be launched for SE phones.

I hugely miss this TV Out feature in Xperia. Just because of the absence of this feature, i have to transfer my videos / photos to my pc, then burn a CD, then play it to my dvd player in order to view those videos / photos on my LCD screen whereas all of these could have been replaced with just a TV Out feature in the phone.

<<<<em>Mtouch, Amoled and color depth are subjective and mostly related with different manufacture strategies.

I am afraid they are very objective: multitouch - you have or you don't have; screen typed: you have amoled or you have led; color depth - 65K or 16M.

<<<<em>Finally if you need or prefer a non customizable device why choose an android device??

I cannot figure how did i sound that i need or prefer a non customizable device. In fact, its the other way round.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:23:35 GMT

all your point are about a kind of marketing battle.. very subjective. From my point of view don't care about tvout since can use wifi or bluetooth instead in a home wireless network. Amoled is bad outside, xenon flash will let you out of battery just when you need to call someone...So I believe X10 is not for the common user because it is a pro, advanced device.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:25:01 GMT

I'm pretty sure SE announce a tv out on the sony product blog. It wassupposed to come after the 2.1 update in the fourth quarter of 2010 iirc.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:22:55 GMT

Thats impossile there are no external video outputs unless you use the USB and SE put in a shitty controller that cannot do this.

Odd how my psp 1000 did this without even breaking a sweat.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

an2ny79 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:58:37 GMT

My x2 has TV out but I haven't used it since the first day I purchased it.. (one year + ago), I believe you'd put it where you plug your headset jack.. So if SE would want it, it's possible for x10 phones, only if they'd put that spec during manufacturing of x10 device.

I will look for that cable and will try it tonight..

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:04:13 GMT

@TJ2010

Can you give the link of the page where SE announced that they are releasing TV Out after 2.1 update? I feel that you are confusing announcement of Multi Touch announcment with TV Out. As OmegaDeath said - it is a matter of hardware and not software for a TV OUT feature to me available in a phone.

Many android phones have TV-out (e.g., Motorola Droid X, Motorola XT720, Samsung I909 Galaxy etc.), and many sony ericsson phones have TV-out (e.g., Satio, C905, Vivaz, X2 etc.), but why any of the sony ericsson android phones, both existing and about-to-be-released ARC, NEO, PRO and PLAY, do not have TV-out is beyond my comprehesion.

If other company's android handsets have TV-Out it means there is no problem technically as far android OS is concerned, and if SE has TV-out in other phones running on OSes other than Android, it means they do not have any legal problem either for TV-Out. Then why the current and future android phones from SE should not have TV-out that is beyond my comprehension as well.

On the sidenote, in the original post of this thread i wrote, at the time when SE was preparing to release 2.1 worldwide, that they may not be going to upgrade it to 2.2 ever. And that happened. Also, this post is coming on top of the google search result if searched with related keywords like - what need to know before purchasing an xperia, what to know before buying an xperia, etc..

If an SE person do not respond to the above question in particular, or in general to why SE has stopped support for Xperia family phones and why will never relase further update them even though (1) the phones have not completed two years from their release dates and (2) 2.2 upgrade is available unofficially over the net and successfully running which proves that the Xperia phones are capable of handling 2.2 (unless it is an official one, i am very afraid of upgrading of my X10i with the unofficial 2.2 upgrade simply because i fear that i may brick my phone which, at least for me is really a very very expensive phone and cannot risk upgrading it with an unofficial upgrade), I am going to open and write similar posts like this but this time for their upcoming released phones - ARC, NEO, PRO and PLAY - so that the people can know the truth about the poor and untimely withdrawn support of SE and do not get fooled by their advertisment which very beautifully hide the shortcomings and problems with the sets.

And if they really do not care about their users and their own phones and think that they can keep on luring and fooling new customers with releasing new phones, discarding recently released phones, and telecasting fact-hiding advertisments, here is my another prediction - by 2012 they will be the lowest no. of android phones selling company and their already decling profit will further decline - at least in phone section for sure.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

an2ny79 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:07:48 GMT

Now a day, LED/LCD TV has USB port installed. It's where I plug my USB with songs, movies, and pictures. With these features, TV-Out will be phased out.

When I purchased my x2, it has no FM.. I bought x10 still no FM. Then after a few months x2 got an update, to my amaze, they included FM in x2 device. I just couldn't figure it out because my x10 mini pro has FM.. how come this high end device (x10) has none????

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

an2ny79 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:19:19 GMT

I dont' know if you'd already aware of this...if you would like to use an application just like Nokia has (Nokia PC Suite), you might want to try My Phone Explorer.. it has the same features as Nokia PC Suite. You just need to install My Phone Explorer client (can be obtained in Market) in your x10 and install My Phone Explorer main program in your computer (can be obtained here: http://www.fjsoft.at/en/downloads.php)

Making phone work as modem

If only x10 is running Froyo, you don't need this feature, why?

1 - Most laptop has Modem device

2 - You can use your x10's Data Connection (GPRS) to share it with your laptop.

3 - Modem speed is only 56Kbps

Ability to install applications on removable storage i.e. in your MicroSd card

USB teathering and Wi-Fi hotspot

Flash

Above are only possible using Froyo and Beyond.. by rooting your phone you don't need to be at Shltty Ericsson's mercy.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:44:22 GMT

@an2ny79

Yes, X2 does have both TV out and Sterio FM Radio but it does not have Android. I should have titled this post as - What one should know before purchasing an Xperia Android phone, but now i cannot change the title.

It is also amazing to know that a phone which intially do not have an FM Radio, have got it with a software upgrade. I am surprised because, FM Radio, unlike internate radio, requires hardware along with software to work. Maybe that they did have the hardware for it in the beginning itself but hid it purposely so that that can be release as a new feature in later upgrade. If this is true then again it is not genuinity it is a trick, sort of cheating.

I really hope if something similar comes up for Xperia Android phones - not only FM Radio but also TV-Out, because i severally miss these two things in my X10i. Internet radio neither have the same type, quality and volume of songs that the FM channel have, at least in my country, nor Internet is available everytime and everywhere so that Internet radio can be enjoyed. Also, though many people do not use TV-out or use it very rarely, i really used to use it often when i was using Nokia phones.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

an2ny79 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:53:08 GMT

Well as what I've said on top of this topic, my x10 mini pro has FM..

I dont' know, maybe FM capability is hidden.. who knows, maybe for consideration because we'll be stuck in v2.1, they would tell us, "Hey in exchange for Froyo, I'll give you FM"..

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:21:36 GMT

Hi an2ny79!

Thanks for putting your views and suggesting an app equivalent to PC suit - i will surely try it and report here.

As far as your suggestions for rooting and upgrading the phone unoffcially is concerned, I am very afraid to do that because of the following reasons:

1. I have not managed to find any site where the procedures are given step-by-step and where there is no complaint registered by someone in the follow-up replies.

2. I am afraid that i may either brick the phone or make it worse than the alrady pathetic current condition (like a part of it not working, some native becoming too slow etc.)

3. I may void the warranty by rooting and upgrading it unofficially, and if anything happens to my recently purchased phone after that, SE's customer care may refuse to entertain it at all - even if the phone is under warranty and/or i am willing to pay for it.

Vivek

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:25:23 GMT

Surprise surprise! I purchased a Sony LCD TV - KLV-32V400A - around an year ago and it has got all sorts of connectivity except USB. http://www.sony.co.in/support/product/klv-32v400a/modelfirst

http://www.gadgetsguru.in/sony-klv-32v400a-b-price-specification-buy-india-6030.aspx.

Just for curosity, can a TV output both audio and video directly through USB? Have you tried connecting your xperia mini pro to TV and checked if it worked like TV-out? I am sure that in order to connect a mobile with TV through USB (particularly for display purposes), it definetly requires, even through both the gadgets have USB provisions, an extra gadget/accessories/controller in-between as pointed out by OmegaDeath above (or below - i don't know why the replies are not stacked chronologically). Such workaround of using an extra gadget/accessories/controller is monetarily and aesthetically not viable - particularly in domestic usage.

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

an2ny79 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:31:24 GMT

Actually it's not for TV-Out purposes (shows CP screen out to monitor). My LCD can read photo, music and video using USB stick. It's like a component where-in it searches and scans the content of USB drive. It works like my wifi printer where you can directly print photos without opening any computer. I don't think USB would work to show your cp screen to your LCD.

As what I've said with, my xperia x2, it uses a cable, plug it where you plug-in the headset and at the end of that cable is a AV jack (Video/Left/Right sound)

My room is now a mess as I'm looking for that cable.. It's been a year since I saw it

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

an2ny79 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:47:05 GMT

Why'd you look far wherein there is a topic here about rooting our x10 phones.. Here's the link:

Poster: ag4751

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/thread/12235

Poster: Lightyear0420

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/message/53711

XDA source forum site:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/

About your concern, the only thing I know that doesn't work with current XDA development is the video camera.. The rest are quite stable and fast. To tell you frankly, XDA-Developers are far more better than SE team. If SE would give up and let XDA take over, we won't have this scenario at all. Think of this, SE didn't give up the bootloader, and yet, XDA finds way to crack it.

Rooting or upgrading your ROM isn't a crime.. Well for SE it is :smileylaugh:.. But you can conveniently return your phone back to it's original state.. In short, don't send your phone rooted.. you just need to return it back to original SE ROM first. Beside, we are entitled for update, we won't buy this device if sales rep told us that we'll be stuck in v2.1 after 8 months, will we?

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

an2ny79 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:02:02 GMT

Hahaha Stupid me!!! I've been looking all over my room and have just remembered that I plugged it in to my LCD last year..

I tried to plug it into my x10 and only captured the sound and no video.. what am I expecting?!

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:46:59 GMT

I could have my terminology wrong but the blog was quite descriptive of bring able to use your Xperia phone with a tv or large screen. of course the device in question would have to have the correct type of connection unless there is some sort of converter as there is for vga to hdmi...

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:15:07 GMT

No like i said it went into a bit of detail of the benefits. It's when i was researching the mini pro so i wasn't even aware of multitouch at the time. It's on the product blog but i'm not sure i'll be able to find it now. I will try though!

Re: What one should know before purchasing an Xperia phone

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:58:25 GMT

I'll tell you one of the issues i have with SE stopping support and i think it's a valid one. They were way overdue with the 2.1 update. So can that time frame be classed as part of the 2 years that SE would support the phone for? Should they not allow for that and at least support the phones for another 6 months?

The tv out or connectivity was one of the things that influenced my decision as i thought it would be a workaround for the small screen when playing games nad watching videos. No mention of that now 2.1 has been released.:| I've only had my mini pro 3 months and i'm in a 2 year contract! Good thing i asked my provider if they wouldn't leave me in the lurch should se stop updating the phones!