Smartphones are becoming more and more prevalent in 2008. After the success of the next-generation iPhone 3G, other mobile phones are starting wake up and realise that the user experience is the key to winning over mobile phone users. And so, we get mobile phones like the Sony Ericsson X1 and the HTC Touch Pro, both high-end superphones, and both based on the same floor plan. But... which one is better?
HTC Touch Pro - Windows Mobile goes all sexy
HTC have a long history of making Windows Mobile phones, super-powered devices running on Microsoft's mobile operating system. Over the years, they've come in many form factors, with or without touchscreens, and all of these top-end mobile phones were incredibly powerful, thanks to the inclusion of Windows. However... you couldn't really say Windows Mobile was the nicest-looking, or the most intuitive operating system in the world.
That's all changed, now, thanks to the HTC Touch Pro, which is perhaps best describe as the Windows Mobile phone, where you don't even know you're using Windows Mobile. That's all thanks to HTC's TouchFLO 3D interface, that sits on top of the Windows software, and gives you a whizzy, spinny, and dare I say it, iPhone-esque user experience. It really is a joy to use, and like an increasing number of modern touchscreen mobile phones, it's optimised for touch controls. Or, in other words, you press the screen on the HTC Touch Pro with a finger, not a dibber (well, ok, a stylus, but dibber sounds better, to me). Specs-wise, it's no slouch, either, with 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA, WiFi, built-in GPS and a frankly brilliant slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It truly is a gorgeous mobile phone, and I'll be frank, it's hard to think of any other Windows Mobile phone coming close to it.
Until, that is, you look at the Sony Ericsson X1...
Sony Ericsson X1 - premium looks, premium power
Based on the same hardware setup as the HTC Touch Pro, the Sony Ericsson X1 is their first EVER Windows Mobile phone. That's a heck of a thing to live up to, and it'd be even worse if it was just a carbon copy of the HTC Touch Pro.
It isn't though...
Put the two together, and you'd be hard pressed to tell they're even related at all.
You see, where the HTC Touch Pro goes for a glossy finish and sleek, shiny faces, the Sony Ericsson X1 goes for brushed metal, and premium materials. And boy does it make the two mobile phones look different. The Sony Ericsson is easily the more classy-looking device, and, thanks to the metal finish, less of a fingerprint magnet, too. There's a couple more noticeable differences, too, starting with the screen, as the Sony Ericsson has a 3-inch widescreen, trumping the HTC Touch Pro. If you look at the QWERTY keyboard, you'll see a big difference in the design of these two mobile phones, as well, since the Sony Ericsson is built using a unique 'arc slider' design. In other words, when you slide it open, the screen tilts, as well, making it easier to type and see the screen simultaneously. That's not been seen on any other mobile phones before, and it really does set the Sony Ericsson apart from the HTC Touch Pro. Hardware-wise, they share the same features, the camera, the HSDPA, the GPS, and of course, they both run on Windows Mobile, but again, the Sony Ericsson X1 has its own interface glued on top (the panels interface), and once again, it's a stunner. That's why, in the battle between the Sony Ericsson X1 and the HTC Touch Pro, the Sony Ericsson takes the crown.
Expert on mobile phones, having worked in the industry for over 7 years.
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