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O2 UK has gotten first dibs on announcing the launch of the XPERIA X8 Android. While some folks might be groaning at the prospect of having another Android smart phone (there really are quite a lot this year), this new handset is a pretty fine addition to Sony Ericsson’s lineup –the only question would be if the launch of the device is not a little too late.

For most handsets packing the same hardware specifications as the X8 smart phone, the ideal release date would have been much earlier this year, right before the first wave of high end smart phones had come out. Also, the launch of the X10 Mini and the X10 Mini Pro have already rounded up plenty of sales in the mid range market. The two products might possibly cannibalize each other’s sales.

For Android smart phone fans, having more choices is always better, and the X8 offers one interesting alternative for those who want to own an Android smart phone. The design is, without a doubt, the signature XPERIA smart phone look that the X10 has. It stands out with its heavy lines and use of subtle curves. At the same time, the looks are quite classic, able to deliver the intensity of a serious smart phone. This diverse style and appearance makes XPERIA handsets fitting for both casual and formal occasions.

Unique to the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 is its’ simplistic features. The form may be similar to the other SE Android devices, but the X8 has to be the most standard of them all. The 3 inch TFT capacitive touch screen, 3.2 mega pixel camera, a 600 MHz CPU; these are mid range specs that would go well for any phone –Sony is giving buyers an option to purchase a unique looking handset with very familiar and comfortable features.

As much as we love getting the hottest news about high end smart phones and the latest OS updates, there are still plenty of 2G handsets that manage to grab our attention like no other. Take the Sony Ericsson Yendo mobile phone. This latest Walkman handset is a simple enough device to take in, but when it comes to practicality and usability, it certainly makes one wonder why we bother with smart phones at all (barring net access and other frivolous functions aside that is).

The SE Yendo smart phone first appeared in leaks and rumors as the W150 TeaCake before it was later given its final name. While we certainly find the older TeaCake name a lot more interesting (given that you can mistake it for an Android name), but at least Sony has not changed any of the phone’s specifications at all.

It comes with a 2.6 inch TFT touch screen display. For a basic 2G handset, that is already pretty big, so expect to be able to watch videos without any scaling problems on the Yendo (the resolution is 240 x 320 pixels). The response time is decent, but finger tracking is not as accurate as the X10 Mini –mostly due to the resistive touch screen display, which also means that the phone will not be able to handle multi touch features.

As one might expect, the big feature here is the music playback feature. The Walkman software is pretty impressive in its features, such as playlist editing and TrackID. But of course, the best part is the music quality during playback.

With its 2 mega pixel camera, users can expect to be able to shoot decent quality images that are perfect for uploading online. It can also shoot videos at a low quality rate. For storing videos, images as well as music, users will want to rely on a microSD card (up to 16GB) as the handset only comes with 5 MB of free space.

It is a double sided bit of news, the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro is finally coming out, but it seems like the Android smart phone will still be using the old 1.6 operating system.

We already knew that the X10 Mini Pro would be launching soon and it is about time that Sony finally confirmed that the handset is indeed heading to UK stores. If the initial estimates are correct, fans of the Android OS should expect to see the handset come out in the next few days –which means that network operators will also be adding the device to their tariff plans as well.

The big bonus of the X10 Mini Pro over the original X10 Mini is the addition of the slide out QWERTY keyboard. While the additional feature may not mean much for some smart phone users, it actually makes the handset much more suited to texting, writing long emails and other text heavy applications.

Users with big stubby fingers will appreciate the layout of Sony Ericsson’s physical keys; the buttons are evenly and widely spaced –which means that accidentally clicking the wrong buttons will not be so common. The responsive buttons also make the handset much more suitable for high speed typing.

As impressive as the keyboard may be, the OS is still quite lacking. While the Android 1.6 Donut is considered to be one of the best Android versions available, the newer 2.1 Éclair is already out, not to mention the fact that the Froyo is finally downloadable for many users with some devices awaiting special versions of the update to be available.

With the Éclair already set as a new standard and the Froyo version being released for many handsets, the X10 Mini Pro (as well as the XPERIA X10 and the X10 Mini) will be left behind in terms of OS performance.