Sony Xperia X Feedback thread: non testers share your X Moment for chance to win £100! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the MNers taking part in the product test for the new Sony Xperia X handset - RRP: £459.99 SIM free from the Sony Xperia store Also via:

Vodafone - £30 upfront - £32 per month - 6GB Data
Carphone Warehouse - Free handset - £31 per month - 1GB data
EE - £9.99 upfront - £35.99 per month - 1GB data
Three - £99 upfront - £13 per month (T&Cs) - 500MB data
O2 - Free handset - £36 per month - 2GB data

Sony say “The Xperia X is our latest hero handset, delivering superior features with a fresh new look, improved camera technology, a better user experience and two-day battery life. Thanks to the Xperia X’s smart capture and object tracking technology, it’s the perfect phone to capture those unmissable, unpredictable moments.”

If you’re not a tester, there’s a chance to win a £100 John Lewis voucher by posting on this thread either your best “X Moment” photo or sharing a description of your best X-Moment and whether you managed to capture it.

Sony say “an X-Moment is a split second in time that means something to you that’s here and then gone. It could be a baby’s first steps, achieving a personal goal, a sporting achievement, your dog’s whimsical expression, or just a random flash of happiness and hilarity. It’s a moment that you’d love to capture perfectly that’s all too missable if you, or your phone isn’t up to the job” (if you tweet your photo using the #WhatsYourX hashtag - the best ones will be retweeted by the @SonyXperiaGB handle!)

Testers – please share on this thread – after the hangout briefing – your responses to the following questions.

First impressions
• Tell us about your first impressions, how have you found the set up process?
• How did you find the user interface?
• What have you done with the device so far?
• Have you taken any photos or videos?

• Have you just made calls and sent texts?
• What are you most looking forward to trying out?

Photography Challenge

Sony want to challenge people to make the most of the Xperia X’s innovative smart capture and object tracking camera technology to photograph life’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments, or X Moments.

For Sony, an X Moment is ‘a split second in time that means something to you that’s here and then gone. It could be a baby’s first steps, achieving a personal goal, a sporting achievement, your dog’s whimsical expression, or just a random flash of happiness and hilarity. It’s a moment that you’d love to capture perfectly that’s all too missable if you, or your phone isn’t up to the job”.

Please share the X Moment photos you have taken with the Xperia on this thread and explain what happened/ the background to the photo!

Final Review
Once you’ve had a couple of week’s testing the Xperia X and playing around with the features, they’d love to see a more in depth evaluation of the handset.

~ Did your first impressions change over time?
~ Did you like the look and feel of the device?
~ Was the user interface natural and simple to use?
~ How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?
~ Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?
~ What were some of your favourite features of the phone?
~ How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?
~ Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?
~ Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?

Thanks!
MNHQ
Standard Insight T&Cs apply

PS: you can read about our MN bloggers "X Moments" here.

Xmoment:

New Year's Eve, my friend opened a bottle of champagne, the cork hit the ceiling and landed in my champagne flute, wedged in the bottom. Total one off moment

X moment - the photo that shows me crossing the line of my first marathon, hand in hand with my ds who had wriggled into the finish funnel to run with me

My dd waving at a moving train. The train and her hand was captured so perfect you can't tell it's moving.

The taekwondo one I'm a little disappointed in. My Ds is doing a tornado kick but it hasn't captured it brilliantly.

Brilliant day watching athletes and Mo Farah win

Couple of negatives - the zoom isn't much better than the iPhone 6 tbh, focus is fairly blurry. Editing software isn't great, I can zoom in and its fairly good quality but crol it and it's awful. And the no older for deleted photos is disappointing as I accidentally deleted an amazing photo today with no option to find it like the iOS system

But positives? The detail from the cheap seats of things like the water in the steeplechase. The colours. And the person tracking in photos

Awful predictive text there!

*Crop
*No deleted items folder

Zoom in to see the water etc

Struggling to upload to this thread. I will keep trying but I'm on my 5th attempt now.

I'm really happy with the camera on the Xperia X. I've shared 3 photos of our X moments.

Photo 1 is my daughter and I enjoying a well deserved ice-cream on the park last week on the hottest day of the year. I love how clear the selfie camera is. Its a huge improvement on my previous phone.

Photo 2 is my daughter and my cat curled up together on my lap. I live how clear the cats eyes have turned out in this photo.

The third photo is a bit random. I snapped 3 pigeons sharing a discarded curry and wanted to try out the camera to see how much detail it would pick up. As you can see its clear enough to see the grain of rice in the pigeons beak.

Overall I'm very impressed with the camera but I'm sure it has loads of features ive not figured out yet. The earlier thread mentioned gourmet mode but as I don't take a lot of photos of food this isn't something my phone has picked up yet.

I've been struggling to this post to upload so hopefully it will work this time. I might have some more photos to add soon.

My puppy looking relaxed and cute for once, before she's either manically running around or trying to bite your fingers off

On this photo you can see every bubble and the condensation on the outside of the pitcher so well.

Non-tester
X Moment was during my friends' first dance at their wedding - so pleased to have captured the smiles, the motion and the incredible structure and reach of the dress as she spun round!

Wish I'd spotted the call for testers as I'm a photographer but have a below-par smartphone - safe to say that the photo mentioned above was taken on an SLR! I would love to work with a top class camera phone.

My X moment is the proud moment my daughter won a trophy for the highest floor score in her gymnastics competition

Final questions for our testers.... non testers - do continue to add your own X Moments for a chance to win the £100 voucher

Final Review
Once you’ve had a couple of week’s testing the Xperia X and playing around with the features, they’d love to see a more in depth evaluation of the handset.

~ Did your first impressions change over time?
~ Did you like the look and feel of the device?
~ Was the user interface natural and simple to use?
~ How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?
~ Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?
~ What were some of your favourite features of the phone?
~ How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?
~ Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?
~ Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?

~ Did your first impressions change over time?

No i liked this phone on first glance and i still do. As an android user before the whole process has been so easy swapping to it. The phone is lovely looking ( although a rose gold one looks even better)

~ Did you like the look and feel of the device?

The phone looks really nice and i find it easy to use. As i am quite small with small hands at times i struggle to use some phone one handed if needed, however this one never gave me an issue like that. The phone is clean looking and i like it.

~ Was the user interface natural and simple to use?
Already used android so found this very simple to use. I have no issues with this really. The battery was a slight concern as Sony say you can get two days from the battery. Maybe if you are not using it can, but with normal usage it was going flat by evening.

~ How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?
I have a Galaxy S5 currently and in some areas the Xperia X is better. Camera, software speed and using one handed are the main points.

The S5, although old out performs if using for gaming, and i think if i updated to the S7 i would find the Xperia X falling behind.
However the X is cheaper than an X7 and i have been really happy with it ( the gaming testing was my teenage son)

~ Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?
Yes no issue here apart from at times i found signal was an issue, an issue i don't normally have at home. This seems to have improved though.

~ What were some of your favorite features of the phone?
Camera, the quick set up assistance tools

~ How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?
The shots are clear and its easy to use. The quick shot method shown on the hangout is good, although i do find i seem to take a few pictures of nothing due to hitting it by mistake! I have removed the feature and still find it quicker to load and take a shot than my current phone.

~ Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?

Yes especially ones in low light
~ Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?

I would depdandant on what they wanted it for. Normal user who wants a good camera, yes without a doubt.

Teenager who games on it too , no my son tested this and felt his S6 was far better for this

All in all a good phone, with some good features.

~ Did your first impressions change over time?

Not really. I liked the look of the phone and the feel and my concern was that it was unfamiliar. It's still not as familiar to me as an iPhone but I still think it's great, looks smart and does the job it needs to.

~ Did you like the look and feel of the device?

Yes. It's a smooth sleek look and feels substantial but not heavy.

~ Was the user interface natural and simple to use?

Yes but the gestures are obviously not the same as an iPhone which is what I am used to so I'm having to 'retrain' myself. It's all straightforward enough bough and the setup and user guide on the phone is good.

~ How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?

It's as good as my old iPhone as far as calls and texts go, I don't find the android apps as wide ranging as Apple but that's not too bad for my productivity, the little tricks and things for the camera give the Xperia the edge in the photo stakes.

~ Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?

At first I didn't get on with the keyboard and swiftkey. After reading someone else having this problem here and the solution of downloading a different keyboard this is resolved and I find it easy to use.

~ What were some of your favourite features of the phone?

I like the quick camera shot button allowing me to take a photo from the lock screen in under a second. I also really like the 'what am I listening to' feature that comes on the phone!

~ How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?

When not zoomed in it is better and clearer than my iPhone. The person tracking feature is great and I am pleased with some of the photo's I've taken.

~ Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?

Unzoomed the camera is great and noticeably better than my previous phone. Zoomed it it suffers the same struggles other phone cameras in retaining clarity.

~ Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?

Yes. Overall I think the device is great and I've been happy to use it and will continue to do so.

I'm sitting here in early labour so hoping to have an x-moment later when I meet my new baby!

I've had a few others recently with my daughter running up to give the bump kisses or give it a "big sister" talk. Yesterday she jumped up on my knee and shouted " I love you baby" into my belly button, with a very serious look on her face. That was definitely one!

~ Did your first impressions change over time?

A bit - I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like the camera, I haven't made that a priority when choosing a phone lately, and it is REALLY nice. And I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I like a slightly smaller phone.

~ Did you like the look and feel of the device?

I REALLY liked the curved screen straight out of the box, but actually it's a total ballache. You can't get a screen protector on it properly, so it's just dead space, plus the screen is more vulnerable to dropping and scratching than if it had a raised bevel. Style over substance! I suppose if I were a man and carried my phone in my pocket instead of in a purse full of spiky things it might be balanced out by being nicer to get in and out of the pocket!

The rose gold has grown on me, though. It looks really sharp.

~ Was the user interface natural and simple to use?

Yes, I found it really easy and better than my previous phone. I'm used to android and my previous phone was an xperia z2, so it was very easy to start using.

~ How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?

I am DESPERATELY missing having a waterproof phone. I'd gotten used to, say, using Google maps in the pissing rain, and chucking my phone in my pocket when going for a walk in the rain. And having it in the bathroom while I shower, and putting it down on the table in pubs. It's a major hassle trying to go back to keeping it dry. And the baby is determined to give it a nice wet suck.

And it's frozen a couple of times and come up with "low on memory", which the z2 only did the week before it died.

Shockingly, the battery life is also slightly worse. It is under 50% by lunchtime if I'm using it.

However, it is still an excellent wee phone, and I am very happy to keep using it. I think I will find that I discover more things, like the self facing camera quality, that I just couldn't live without.

~ Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?

Yes, very. Everything works beautifully seamlessly, particularly with calls. I like the phone shortcut on the home screen and that it brings up contacts straight away.

~ What were some of your favourite features of the phone?

I love the self facing camera. I get the best selfies EVER!! and all the quick setup stuff was AMAZING - it was ready to use so quickly.

~ How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?

I honestly can't fault it. It is really good. My only possible complaint is that it's a bit slow to start recording video, but I think how fast you can get a photo spoilt me!

~ Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?

Definitely. I can snap a series of pictures of Fergus and get every one a clear shot of his face. Previously I'd found that I'd mostly get blurry ones unless he was mugging for the camera!

~ Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?

I think that would depend who they are! I wouldn't recommend it to anyone "outdoorsy" because not being water resistant is a total pain, and lots of other phones on the market at the same sort of price are water resistant. But I would definitely recommend it for anyone who wants a mid sized smartphone for taking pictures. The camera is really superb.

And I'd recommend the living heck out of it for anyone who takes lots of selfies!!

Did your first impressions change over time?
No, it's a great phone and I'm still really happy with it.

Did you like the look and feel of the device?
Yes, though I bought a case mate cover as I found it slightly slippy and was afraid of dropping it, which was lucky as it fell out of my pocket onto tiles. Luckily the cover did the trick and saved it. Phew.

Was the user interface natural and simple to use?
Yes, I was used to Android and found it very easy.

How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?
It beats them hands down. I had the Samsung S4 mini most recently and the camera just can't compare. I used one a couple of days ago and was surprised at how small it was, I've got so used to the Xperia X's size, screen and camera now.

Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?
Very easy, also using the voice control was easy too.

What were some of your favourite features of the phone?
The camera is absolutely brilliant, it's like carrying a proper camera around with you, which I'd considered doing before I got this to test as the s4 mini wasnt able to get as good pictures as I'd wanted.

The quick shot button in the side is so good I wouldn't be able to do without it now.

I love the fingerprint recognition on the power button and I love the quick charge potential. I haven't ordered a plug yet but I'm going to.

I also like the two power saver modes, the battery did last two days when I was using them.

How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?
Fantastic, as good as a proper compact camera. It does especially well for moving targets or low light photos. The colours come out so sharply.

Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?
Yes, definitely.

Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?
I already have my DM is looking for a new phone and likes it.

My X moments are when my son is competing in athletics and I want to capture the moment. :)

~ Did your first impressions change over time?

Not really. I'm still surprised by how much I like the phone despite my previous preference to smaller phones. It is a very nice looking phone with lots of great features and a brilliant camera.

~ Did you like the look and feel of the device?

Yes. Its a bigger handset than I'm used to but it's nice and feels good to use. Its a little heavier than my last phone but I think this helps due to the size. If it was much lighter I think I might have had issues with dropping it or it slipping out of my hands.

~ Was the user interface natural and simple to use?

It was. I didn't have to look anything up to figure out where things were or how to access particular features. It was surprisingly easy to navigate and figure out. Considering I had never used an android device before I have been pleasantly surprised by this.

~ How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?

This is a tricky one to answer. It has a lot of great features my previous phone did not. The camera is superior, I can expand the memory with an SD card and it's easier to do exactly what I want with the phone. My previous phones (for the last 7 years) have all been iPhone. I find Apple to be more restrictive in what you can and can not do with the phone and have had memory/storage issues in the past.
I have noticed though the xperia is a bit more prone to scrapes. I have 2 small chips in the phone as it took a week for the phone cover I ordered to arrive. I previously never used phone covers and my old devices held up perfectly to that with no chips and only superficial scrapes after 2 years use. I imagine the xperia would not have looked so great with no cover for that length of time.

I'm also a little concerned about the security aspect of some of the goole play apps and the requirement for an antivirus software as this is something I did not need to worry about so much with my previous phone.

There are a few small things I miss from my old phone but nothing a can't live without (eg: one tap to get back to the top of a Web page and locating emails stored on the server)

~ Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?

Yes very easy and straight forward. I particularly like that fast link to recently called people at the top of the call menu as its really handy.

I've found for some reason my signal isn't as strong with this phone as my last one. I get one signal bar in my living room on this phone but my previous phone had 3 bars. It has also dropped calls a couple of times in areas I never had problems with before. That might just be something to do with my network perhaps.

~ What were some of your favourite features of the phone?

Obviously the camera is great. I love that I can use Google cast and it actually works properly (the iPhone version is poor and will only cast pretty approved sites like youtube). I like having software to read PDF docs etc without specifically having to go download an app for it. Ditto stamina mode being an built in feature rather than an additional app.

~ How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?

Very good. It picks up small details well and eyes always look clear. I did find on Zoom the pictures lost quality. I like the feature to track moving people but still found a few blurry photos when my daughter was moving too fast for the camera to keep up.

~ Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?

In general yes. I still had a few blurry photos but much less than I would have had with my old phone.

~ Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?

Yes I would. I really like this phone and it's opened my eyes to the fact there are other great phones outside the little apple bubble I was in. My husband is actually due an upgrade this month and is now strongly considering this phone after my recommendation of it (he has been a Samsung fan for years).

~ Did your first impressions change over time?
Yes. I was used to a smaller fatter phone, but this has really grown on me, and I like it even more now

~ Did you like the look and feel of the device?
Yes. I've had comments from others about the curve and the clear screen - and the teenagers I've worked with have been impressed which says a lot!!

~ Was the user interface natural and simple to use?
Yes, very. I have an android tablet but had had an iPhone . This was simple to use and easy to change to

~ How does the Xperia X compare with previous phones you’ve had?
Better. I only ever had an iPhone 5c, but the battery, screen, memory are all better. I had a Nokia windows phone prior to that and this reminds me of it only better!

~ Did you find the device easy to make calls and send messages?
Yes very, though it has rung people twice from my pocket! The swift key keyboard wasawful for me but I downloaded a Google basics and love it more!

~ What were some of your favourite features of the phone?
Thumbprint, memory, photos and camera, Google hangouts and apps. The camera especially.

~ How did you find the Xperia X’s camera?
Brilliant in detail. I've liked playing with the sport settings at the Muller Anniversary Games and the editing software at my son's concert. The colours captured at chessington in the sea life centre were amazing. For the first time in three years I can compare and wax lyrical about my mobile photos to my boyfriend and impress him.

~ Were photos taken on the Xperia X less blurry than those taken on other devices?
Less when from afar, but zoom was still questionable. I'd say still better though - the 8x zoom at the Olympic stadium the other day was pretty good.

~ Would you recommend the device to your friends and family?
Yes, definitely. I no longer have family and friends automatically thinking apple.

Just a massive thank you to Sony and MN for this product test. I go away on holiday soon and am so confident in the camera and phone I have actually given my iPhone to one child and my digital camera to another. I will keep uploading to Twitter for a few more days,cant wait to see what pictures I get.

non-tester my X moment... On honeymoon in Bora Bora in January, went on a snorkelling trip and all of a sudden a huge pod of dolphins started playing and jumping in the waves caused by boat! I LOVE dolphins so it was amazing, afterwards me and DH just sat there in disbelief at what we'd seen. Favourite moment of the whole trip. Manage to get a couple of snaps during and the calmness after. Bliss!

Non tester here. My X moment was when my dd got to meet her hero Mark Sampson England ladies' football manager. As soon as the picture was taken he jumped on the team coach and left Wembley.

Non Tester

My X Moment was this selfie of me with my DS and DD having a cuddle on the sofa. It's not the best quality as it was taken with my phone but this picture goes to show sometimes the content means more than the clarity - I love this picture to bits as I don't have many where we are all looking at the camera.