We’ve been awaiting the XPERIA X8 for some time now. Ever since Sony Ericsson announced it in a press event open to select technology media to be precise. Our brief hands on at the event, wasn’t enough to derive any valuable information other than the obvious – the X8 was intended as a lower part than the X10 series, and all things considered, functioned as one.

Sony Ericsson claimed they would make the phone funkier by including different coloured back panels, and, true to their word the piece we received has four, not counting the white one already on the phone. You get some nice two-tone colours, ranging from a hot pink/white for chicks, to a more suave light black/white. The X8 looks like a smaller version of the X10, although with a 3-inch display, it’s larger than the X10 Mini or the X10 Mini Pro. The latter we tested recently, and warrants special mention, as it's the only member of the X10/X8 series that features a hardware QWERTY. Read our detailed review of the X10 Mini Pro here.

Look and feel

Opening the rather compact box you’re greeted by a minimalistic, but adequately packaged handset. The X8 is comfortable when palmed, and occupies ones palm with sufficient substance to be termed reassuring. It’s about perfect for medium-sized hands and the exterior, while plastic, is solid enough to elicit no creaks. The battery curves around the sides of the phone and while thick, it also requires a fair bit of force to remove, and that’s after you figure out the rather cryptic removal mechanism. It fits back securely though – no creaks. The memory slot is a bit away from the battery, and hence boasts of being hot swappable.

The rear and sides are curvy. The curvature on the rear makes the loudspeaker audible even when the phone is placed on a table – neat plus for those who listen to music on loudspeaker with their phones kept on a table. The front of the phone is simple, yet attractive. A slimmer bezel would be more appealing, and prevents the display from being an attention hog. The ambient light sensor and status activity sensor flank the earpiece. The rather oblong, cut out in the facia also houses a neatly integrated battery indicator. We love the look of the three, curved, co-joined chrome buttons below the display, but it must be said – these buttons are hard and being thin, are uncomfortable to your finger pads.

The rear of the phone houses a small, 3.15-mepagixel-camera and the bold Sony Ericsson moniker. The left side is totally devoid of functionality-enhancing keys. The right side has a neat-looking, compact volume rocker that, despite its small size, is highly usable on account of intuitive feedback. The tiny camera button below this is not as usable – poor feedback being the culprit. The power/standby key, 3.5mm audio port and micro USB port are all located on the top and quite usable.

Click next to read on about the usability