There is no doubt that smartphones have taken the forefront in the mobile phone market and many new models are coming out of the top manufacturers. The N8 from Nokia and the Xperia X10 are only two of the new models. Their main difference is the OS that they are running. The Xperia X10 is running the new but rapidly developing Android OS. On the other hand, the N8 runs the Symbian^3 OS; Symbian’s replacement for the very reliable but aged S60 5th edition.

Hardware wise, the Xperia X10 seems to be the winner starting with its huge 4 inch screen compared to the 3.5 inch screen on the N8. The large screen is also supported with an equally large resolution of 480×854 pixels; the N8 screen resolution is only 360×640 pixels. The N8 equalizes the difference in size with the use of an AMOLED display rather than an LCD screen like that on the Xperia X10. AMOLED has better contrast that leads to more vibrant images on-screen and is also more readable when subjected to bright sunlight.  The Xperia X10 relies more on memory cards as it has a very small 1GB of internal memory, which is barely adequate space for apps. The N8 packs 16GB of internal memory and users can add microSD cards of up to 32GB.

The N8 is well known for its very popular camera but the Xperia X10 is not that far behind. It also has an autofocus feature for taking sharp images. The N8 edges the X10’s camera as the former has a sensor resolution of 12 megapixels while the latter has a sensor resolution of 8 megapixels. The Xperia X10 lacks a secondary (front-facing) camera which prevents it from having features like video calling. The N8 has a VGA secondary camera, which should serve that purpose well.

Lastly, the N8’s construction is a lot more solid as it uses an anodized aluminum casing. It is very sturdy and has that more classy finish to it. The Xperia X10 uses plastic like most phones. Plastic can flex a bit when under some amount of pressure and can even chip or break when subjected to impact.

Summary:

1. The N8 runs on Symbian^3 while the Xperia X10 runs on Android
2. The N8 has a smaller screen than the Xperia X10
3. The N8 has more memory than the Xperia X10
4. The N8 has a slightly better camera than the Xperia X10
5. The N8 has a secondary camera while the Xperia X10 doesn’t
6. The N8 has a metal body while the Xperia X10 uses plastic