Knowyourmobile.com have published this video review of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2. the device appears to be nearing release, as a number of reviews have shown up today.

Knowyourmobile complained of the poorly responsive resistive screen, but otherwise concluded:

… the Xperia X2 makes a pretty strong case for itself. The 8.1-megapixel camera offers touch focus, and although we’re yet to give it a full test, it would certainly at least seem to be the most powerful Windows 6.5-powered camera we’ve seen yet.

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The issues we can see the Xperia X2 potentially stumbling into relate to this exact thing – that perhaps it’s a phone trying to do too much at once. The X2 takes the Windows 6.5 OS, which has a less simple interface than rivals like the iPhone OS and Android, and sticks-on some friendly looking front-ends to soften the landing.

However, it’s also trying to be a top-end cameraphone – even if it can’t quite compete with the Satio in pure megapixel terms – a strategy generally sidestepped by just about every other smartphone using one of the latest operating systems.

Can the Xperia X2 be all things to all people (as long as they can afford the likely £35 a month contract, that is)? We’re not as yet sure, but the Xperia X2 certainly comes up with come compelling arguments for itself.

Techradar has had a look at the device, and notes it has high build quality, claims it has an OLED screen (as far as we know this is not true, but gives and indication of the screen quality) and feels it fixes many issues of the original device, such as the keyboard, but remain unconvinced by the Panels concept and the slow 528 Mhz Qualcomm processor that powers it.

They conclude:

Overall, we’ve got mixed feelings about the X2. We weren’t fans of the X1 and while this appears to be a pretty good upgrade, the judder of the software made us think that we’ve got another WinMo worry on our hands.

But there’s still time before the launch at the end of the month, and if things are speeded up by then Sony Ericsson will have a pretty nifty device to launch through Vodafone.

I expect we should all be able to make up our minds soon enough.

Is the Xperia X2 still a contender to you?  Let us know in the comments.

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PhoneArena has given the Xperia X2 a good going over, and as usual their preview seems more detailed than most reviews.

Their 4 page preview-review contains numerous pictures, screen shots and even a 360 degree flash animation of the device.

They conclude their preview with their outlook for the device:

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 does have what it takes to make it to the top and give the other high-end Windows-powered handsets a good run for their money. All interface improvements and the 8-megapixel camera that it comes equipped with will probably be its major weapons in the upcoming battle for supremacy. Still, let´s wait and see; only time will tell. The manufacturer has still not announced an official release date. Some rumours go the phone is rolling out in Q4 this year, others have it sales are kicking off as soon as October. The latest information comes from the Expansys blog and says the X2 is coming out January 2010. Whatever the case, there´s not much time until we see it hit the shelves and we can´t wait to get our hands on a retail unit.

Read the full review here.

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