Sony-Ericsson is releasing a cut price Android phone for less than $250.
The Xperia X8 is the latest member of its Xperia family. While Sony did not say exactly when it would unleash the beast on cash strapped android fans. Apparently it will be some time in the third quarter. Sony did say that at that price tag it will be much more affordable than the Xperia X10.
OK, it does not have all the same features. It has a smaller 3-inch, HVGA capacitive touch screen, and a 3.2-megapixel camera versus the X10's 8.1-megapixel camera. But the phone still runs Sony Ericsson's "User Experience Platform" along with the Timescape feature.
It is a quad-band GSM phone supports the UMTS HSPA 800/1,900/2,100MHz bands as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and A-GPS.
Unfortunately it is built on Android 1.6 rather than the more flashy 2.1.
Sony Ericsson said it is not sure whether the phone will ship running Donut with a subsequent Android 2.1 update or launch with Android 2.1. Apparently it is checking user demand. In our experience users rarely want lower spec operating systems.
It will come in various colour combinations, including aqua blue/white, pink/white, and silver/white.
People who want smartphones (almost always) know their stuff, iphone buyers excluded as their buy is driven by passion and desire for status instead of reason. These people won't buy an already outdated phone. And with SE recent record of a very expensive Xperia with capacitive screen that won't ever support multitouch (god knows why), I´m very skeptical about SE products right now.