SONY ERICSSON XPERIA X8

Sony Ericsson scored a big hit with last year's X10 Mini handset We have a soft spot for Sony Ericsson's pocket-sized smartphones.The Xperia X8 takes the Mini idea, but isn't as accomplished as its predecessor. It already feels quite retro: until recently t was running the Android 1.6 Donut version ot the Google CS.The 3in 320 x 480 screen is bright, vibrant and sensitive to the very slightest of touches  with a half-VGA resolution Combined with the plastic, cheap-feeling design, first impressions aren't great.

technology inside is good. You get GPS and location tagging, plus 3G and 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and support for microSD cards up to 16GB. There's a parsimonious internal memory allocation of just 128MB. Navigation on the X8 isn't bad. The multi-screen setup means you can have a screen for YouTube clips, one for email or web browsing and another for music playback, Swipe right and you get to a Google search box and Sony Ericsson's social network messaging feed, Timescape. Another interesting, Sony Ericssonspecific feature is support for LiveView. the Xperia X8 has recently been updated to Android 2.1, there's no native support for multitouch - you can't pinch to zoom, and typing is a single-finger affair.