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I've had it since Monday and it's great so far! I had a lot to learn with Android but I think I've got it now, I installed a couple of apps which make sorting other apps nice and easy.

The phone itself is very responsive despite still being on the first firmware for the X10. There is no update available for my one apparently, but that's ok because I have found no problems so far. Everything it does, it does super quick. It is easily the best looking and most impressive phone I have ever had, both software and hardware wise... Sony Ericsson's Android skin is really stunning even if it is always blue!

The phone is pretty big and this can make it a little troublesome to handle at times, you really do need two hands. But the big screen means that the keyboard is a nice size and I really enjoy typing on it, even though I always thought I would hate a touch screen keyboard. I think I have texted more since Monday than I had for a month before I got the X10, but part of that may have been just me constantly being on Facebook and so on, which are really easy to set up and use.

Thoroughly recommend this one, but I know the experience is really an experience you can get on most higher end Android phones, so maybe I have to say I really recommend Android. I actually had a go on a Motorola Milestone in a Telecom shop yesterday and that was really nice too, it was on Android 2.1 and I saw a few differences like a larger homescreen to put widgets and stuff on. I look forward to the X10 update, but in saying that I can kind of see why SE isn't rushing – the X10 is really a great device even on 1.6.

Any questions, just ask!

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Posted: 2010-07-07 09:31:45
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How long does the battery last and in what sort of usage? Is the sound from the ear piece loud enough?
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Posted: 2010-07-09 13:18:29
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The sound from the earpiece is quiet as you've probably seen talked about elsewhere. I would say it is loud enough, but obviously others need it to be louder so it might pay to test first if you're looking at getting one, or keep an eye on the X10 thread to see if a new firmware improves it. I really don't think it's too bad though.

The battery for me lasts about a day and a half to two days under HEAVY usage. Seriously, I'm using it constantly cause I can't put it down! So obviously I haven't tested the battery under light or moderate use. But it seems good to me and apparently the battery issue has been pretty well fixed with the latest firmware which I have. I would hardly expect a phone with such a huge screen and so many apps and things connecting to the internet to have as good a battery as say an SE feature phone.
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Posted: 2010-07-10 09:46:10
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Hadn't seen anything about the sound from the earpiece but now thats one more thing to think about. Only asked cause my K750 one is not great
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Posted: 2010-07-11 13:03:33
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I must say the sound was an issue for me to, but you can always root it and install Audio Hack if its a big deal. Though the differnce between Bluetooth and plugin headsets is huge so if you need volume as do I, I would receommend using plugin and not bothering with Bluetooth.
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Posted: 2010-07-13 04:38:47
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I've been calling for it and finally it happened. At last a phone supplied by Vodafone is available with the same plan subsidy as an iPhone. If you buy an Xperia X10 on a 24 month Smart 130 plan, you'll get the same $780 discount as an iPhone 3GS customer gets on an iPhone 130 plan.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a breakthrough. Note also that the handset price for the X10 has dropped to $999 from $1099, so it's good news all round. Let's hope we see some price parity on the $40/$60/$80 Smart Plans sometime soon.
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Posted: 2010-07-17 05:51:11
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Hopefully! That's great news. Personally I'm doing just fine on my 100mb for $10 prepay plan though.

Also, a concrete date for the iPhone 4 I see. You're not upgrading though, are you carkitter?
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Posted: 2010-07-17 13:21:02
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No I'm not, and considering how infuriating my iPhone is ATM I probably never will.
iOS 4 has slowed it to a crawl (it was never fast anyway) and a slight problem of occasional dropped calls an poor wifi reception has gotten much worse. I tried a back up and full reset recently - it took 3hrs and wiped some of my apps again. I am so over the iPhone. I did like the design of the iPhone 4 but it has turned out to be a weakness not a strength, so no point upgrading. I'm not an Apple devotee, I'll happily move on to an X10 instead.

I see the iPad is arriving on Friday and it appears that it won't be supplied by Vodafone as I long suspected. It also appears that every man and his dog will be supplying Micro-SIM plans for it with Vodafone, XT, 2 Degrees, Black & White and Orcon all announcing Micro-SIM availability but no pricing. Everyone is probably waiting for Vodafone to make the first move. It's possible that Vodafone could announce 'Shared Data over 3G' pricing along with the iPad plans. I hear this is in the works but have no idea when. Shared Data over 3G is where one person pays one price on one bill and two or more SIM card containing devices can use it, kinda like Vodafone's Family Add-on, or XT's Share plan does with calling minutes. I'm not aware of any other network who does Shared Data over 3G, and especially not on an iPad, so if it eventuates it could be a world first.

Vodafone are supposed to announce iPhone 4 pricing this week and speculation is rife about what it will sell for (unsubsidised). I've long held the view that unsubsidised pricing is irrelevant on a phone like the iPhone which is so dependent on carrier services such as mobile data but some simple reasoning can show what pricing is likely to be. Some people think Vodafone will take the opportunity to raise prices because the 3GS prices were higher than comparable 3G models, but I don't think so for these reasons:

- Apple pricing is very exchange-rate dependent.
- At present the NZ dollar is high against the US dollar (71c US instead of the usual 50c US).
- The new 8GB iPhone 3GS is priced $80 cheaper than the previous 8GB iPhone 3G.
- Pricing for the iPhone 4 was probably set at the same time as the 8GB 3GS model.

So, an educated guess would lead me to expect pricing of $80 - $100 lower than the current 16GB and 32GB models.
Thus $1079 - $1099 for the 16GB iPhone 4 and $1279 - $1299 for the 32GB iPhone 4 which is competitive with the Xperia X10 at launch and will cover much of the $150 early resign fee that iPhone plans require.

Interestingly, that makes iPhone 4 more expensive than comparable iPad 3G models (prices as quoted in the NBR here are unusually low compared to the UK?!?) so I look forward to seeing how Vodafone deals with that. Maybe they'll just emphasise the subsidised prices and pretend such an anomaly doesn't exist, just as they ignore the existence of parallel importers.

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Posted: 2010-07-20 19:45:42
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Vodafone now selling the Google Nexus One!
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Posted: 2010-07-21 07:45:55
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Dunno 'bout you guys... but I'm getting pretty darn good download speed on Vodafone 3G at the moment:




Yesterday I broke the 3Mbps barrier for the first time with a 3375kbps test in NewLynn. Vodafone have been continuing to upgrade their network and are making improvements some of which I've heard about.

Surfing on the Vodem is becoming faster and more reliable. Very nice



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Posted: 2010-07-22 08:33:58
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