Sony Ericsson’s “Shakira” went from rumored to official in under two weeks. The company formally announced the Xperia X8, which fell neatly in the middle between the X10 and X10 Mini series. Sony Ericsson priced it at just under 200 Euro retail (approximately $245 US), positioning it to attract a new Android audience. Similar to the X10 mini’s interface, the X8 featured four-corner customizable buttons for one-touch access to frequently used apps.
In terms of hardware, the X8 landed in the mid-range. Powered by a 600MHz processor, the X8 featured a 3.0-inch (320×480) HVGA touchscreen and a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording. It came with a 2GB memory card and supported up to 16GB. Internal storage was listed as “up to 128MB,” which limited app storage without rooting or a Froyo update down the line. WiFi, Bluetooth, AGPS, and microUSB rounded out the package.
At launch, the release timeline had not been finalized. The plan at the time was to ship with Android 1.6 followed by a 2.1 update a few weeks later, or alternatively to wait and ship with 2.1 pre-loaded. Sony Ericsson intended to make the call on a market-by-market basis. Color options included White, Dark Blue/White, Aqua Blue/White, Pink/White, and Silver/White.
