New Phone: Nokia X20

After around a decade of using Xperias, I’ve had to say goodbye to Sony phones. Their range has unfortunately dropped off in recent years, and their prices for what handsets remain available have risen dramatically. It was time to make a change.

If you live with a memory condition, like an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) like I do, the doctors will tell you to keep a lot of things in your life the same. They’ll say, don’t chop and change too many areas of your routine, or make changes too often. Save your brain power for what’s most important. Hence, I’ve suck with Sony mobiles for around 11 years, and they’ve served me well. They’ve been great for storing information that my hippocampus cannot. But it’s become necessary to move away from this brand of phone.

I’ve kept my usual budget of £300 for the handset. I wanted to stay on Android. After a search, a few models sprung up, but one that stood out was the Nokia X20. Now, I had a Nokia 3310 between 2001 and 2007, so I’m more than aware of the quality and durability of their products. Is it possible that Nokia is making a long-overdue return as a major player on the mobile phone market?

I bought the X20 a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been using it routinely since, adding on a solid screen protector and downloading all the apps I’d usually use. Photos, Calendar, Omninotes, my local gym’s app, and the main social media apps are all working fine… to a degree.

I’ve had a few minor issues so far. There’s one more screen tap than before to unlock the phone. No biggie. There’s no emoticon for weights, which usually saves me a few taps when writing lists in Omninotes. I’m noticing a bit of interference with videos, particularly playing footage on Twitter, and Instagram Reels. I’m seeing a few white flashing lines. I’ve noticed that, on quite a few apps, If I write a sentence and end with a full stop, I still need to press the space bar to start the next sentence. I’m sure the Xperias used to do that for me. Minor thing, but when you do a lot of writing on your phone, it’s noticeable.

The Tech Chap has uncovered a few more pros and cons.

I really need to get back to event blogging and citizen journalism to tell how the phone is going to hold up. Aside from the above issues, it’s holding up well.