racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

I’ve always admired Sony Ericsson mobile phones for their design. Sony is, after all, known for its excellent styling and features. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 smartphone subscribes to this ideal, with more of a Zen type styling that Sony Ericsson’s newer smartphones are known for.

The X8 is actually my first try at an Android phone (coming from an iPhone and a Symbian S60 phone) and I must admit there was a bit of adjustment, although the learning curve is not that steep. Sony Ericsson loaned me a review unit sometime back, and I spent a few weeks (months, actually) playing around with the phone. Android is highly customizable, although it will take a bit of getting used to if you’ve been using other smartphones previously.

What’s in the box

The Sony Ericsson X8 is a midrange mobile phone that runs on the now-popular Android operating system. It sports a scratch-resistant 3-inch capacitive touchscreen at 320×480 resolution. The phone is powered by a 600 MHz ARM processor, and has 128 MB internal storage, 168 MB RAM, and is bundled with a 2 GB microSD card. The box also comes with a user guide.

Sony Ericsson is known for its quality design and built. Last year’s Xperia X10 and X8 were formidable Android smartphones, and this year, Sony Ericsson is introducing the Xperia arc at CES 2011.

Apple will launch the iPad officially this December 17th. Until then, I don’t think you should purchase iPads locally from third-party sellers, as you might be surprised how low the official price will be, compared to the grey market. The entry level iPad starts at PhP 23,999 for the 16 GB WiFi (no 3G) model.

WiFi only models

• 16 GB: PhP 23,990
• 32 GB: PhP 28,990
• 64 GB: PhP 33,990

WiFi + 3G models

• 16 GB: PhP 30,990
• 32 GB: PhP 32,990
• 64 GB: PhP 40,990

From what I’ve read, it also seems the Ateneo Apple store will be selling iPads at discounted price to students, staff and alumni, so expect a discount of about 5 to 10 percent or so.

Update: Yugatech posts Ateneo iPad prices:

MB292 iPad WiFi 16GB – Php23,000 (SRP: Php23,990)
MB293 iPad WiFi 32GB – Php27,500 (SRP: Php28,990)
MB293 iPad WiFi 32GB – Php32,000 (SRP: Php33,990)

MC349 iPad WiFi+3G 16GB – Php29,800 (SRP: Php30,990)
MC496 iPad WiFi+3G 32GB – Php33,800 (SRP: Php35,990)
MC497 iPad WiFi+3G 64GB – Php38,500 (SRP: Php40,990)

[via techpinas | Photo credit: Ryan Anson/AFP]

The iPad has reached the Philippine shores, but only through the grey market so far. This means that you can buy an iPad, but you might not get the same Apple warranty and support. Also, prices are usually non-standard with some retailers selling iPads at a steep premium (I’m looking at you, Infomaxx Gold).

I heard from sources that official distributors will start selling the iPad sometime this week. What’s better–they’re selling it at prices that are definitely lower than what unofficial retailers are offering. If the entry level iPad is selling at $499, then that translates to about PhP 22,000. So this means retailers will probably sell the iPad starting at about PhP 25,000 (with the usual taxes plus premium, etc.). I think that with lower official prices, third-party retailers will start selling at lower price points.

[via techie.com.ph]

SonyEricsson’s local PR lent me an Xperia X8 to test drive for a few weeks. So far, I’m liking the phone. It’s a midrange Android phone at a reasonable price (PhP 11,600). The size is somewhere in between a candybar phone and the bigger Xperia X10.

The phone has a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 320×480 resolution, a 3-megapixel fixed-focus camera, 600 MHz processor, 160MB of internal storage, up to 32 GB SDHC storage, and a whole lot of Android goodness.

The phone is white, but a black Xperia X8 is reported to be coming soon.

My only gripe at this point is that it only comes with Android 1.6 (Donut), whereas most Android phones these days come with Eclair (2.1) or FroYo (2.2). SonyEricsson promises an upgrade sometime before the year ends, so I’m hoping that’s sometime soon.

I’ll post a full review soon.