The Sony XPERIA X1 may be one of the most hotly anticipated Windows Mobile smartphones of the year and the lucky dug at The Boy Genius managed to snag himself a review unit. Having put the slick touchscreen device through its paces for a few days, his overall impression of the XPERIA X1 is quite positive.

The 800×480 touchscreen display is “the best-looking screen we’ve ever seen on a Windows Mobile device.” The resolution is great and the brightness easily stood up to the light of day. Audio quality was “good” and the notification lights offer a nice touch. Cqll quality is “crystal clear” and the data connectivity is astounding. The Boy Genius couldn’t detect any difference between a Wi-Fi and HSDPA connection.

Build quality and usability are quite good too, but the biggest pitfall that the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 has is its keyboard. It “wasn’t great” and it “just didn’t perform like the way we had hoped.” The keys are almost flush with poor tactile feedback. Gah. Having a good keyboard is paramount for a device like this!