Amazing entertainment from a lightning quick Xperia HD phone
Sony Ericsson has revamped one in all its best phones in years, the Xperia Arc, with a faster processor and a elaborate 3D panoramic image mode. Rechristened because the Xperia Arc S, it’s nearly constant phone because the original on the skin.
It’s got constant four.2-inch screen, constant distinctive curved body and therefore the same powerful camera unit - eight.1-megapixels, HD video recording and therefore the Exmor R back-lit sensor, leaving higher shots within the dark.
The processor speed has been bumped uyp to one.4GHz on the Arc S. after we had some fast hands on time with this earlier, we tend to immediately felt a degree of slickness and smoothness that was absent within the original Arc.
So whereas its overall a lot of robust|an improved} phone than its predecessor in terms of general operations how can it stack up against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2 and more importantly, phones just like the phones thanks to hit the shelves over the approaching months?
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S style and build
Everything we tend to said concerning the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc applies here. the look is strictly constant. after we say precisely the same we mean it; compared to an Xperia Arc of constant color (they’re offered in white, black, silver, blue and pink) there’s no manner you’d be ready to tell the distinction between either at a look.
You’ve got a large four.2-inch screen on the front (854x480 pixels) and an excellent skinny body with a particular curved back. That inward curved look isn’t only for show; we expect that it really makes for a cushty slot in the hand, one thing that’s most apparent when you’re creating or taking a decision.
There are 3 mechanical buttons down at the front for back, home and menu. the shortage of a hunt key can miff some, however overall we’re glad that there are physical exhausting keys here rather than soft bit keys.
On the proper hand facet there sits a shutter key for the camera and alittle volume rocker next to the micro USB charging port. A HDMI port sits up the highest next to the facility button and spherical on the left hands facet there’s a three.5mm audio jack.
The HDMI port could be a definite and, as you'll be able to hook the Arc S up to an HDTV instantly. A cable came bunged in with our review model, that means no having to fork around for a separate adapter, like you’d got to with the Samsung Galaxy S2, which needs an MHL adapter if you wish to delight in any HDMI-out action.
Some equipped headphones with replaceable rubber earbuds came included and are pretty sensible as free phone headphones go. They’re comfortable and their inner-ear nature means they’re not very leaky either. Sadly, as is commonly the case with proprietary headphones, we tend to found that they didn’t wish to play nicely with alternative MP3 players or our laptop speakers.
Though the spec sheet lists 1GB of internal memory (and 320MB of free space) we tend to found that we tend to got simply over 200MB to play with. Not an enormous quantity, however a minimum of there’s the choice of microSD.
Still, you’ll wish to take care concerning what number apps you put in, even with the ‘move to SD’ possibility of Android.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S interface
The Xperia Arc S is an Android phone and comes with Sony Ericsson’s bespoke user interface bolted on. this can be the most recent version of the UI and options Sony Ericsson’s Facebook within Xperia enhancements likewise.
This allows you to sync your Facebook profile info together with your phone. the foremost helpful samples of this may be seen within the calendar, that becomes populated with Facebook Events that you’re attending, and therefore the photo gallery, where photos you’ve uploaded/been tagged in get their own separate folders.
There’s conjointly the Timescape feature, a social networking aggregator that blends Facebook and Twitter info into one constantly updating stream.
This is one thing we’ve seen since the times of the Xperia X10 and though its running a lot of smoothly and higher than we’ve ever seen it (thanks little question to the faster processor) we’re still not convinced of Timescape’s usefulness. we tend to like Facebook and Twitter however we tend to like pizza and popcorn yet - we simply wouldn’t ever combine the 2. little question some individuals can relish having the ability to visualize Facebook and Twitter all from one feed, however no matter your preferences, you'll be able to simply customise the Xperia Arc S to your liking.
This is an Android phone in any case (2.3.4 Gingerbread to be exact) and you'll be able to just about do no matter you wish here in terms of putting in custom launchers and rejigging the layout as you see work.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S browser
The built-in browser of the Xperia Arc S is essentially constant WebKit-based stock browser that you simply get on unskinned Andorid phones just like the Nexus One and Nexus S, with a small Sony Ericcson graphical twist.
You can have up to eight windows open within the browser at anybody time. Though tabbed browsing isn’t supported, a fast faucet of the menu key can observe an choice to quickly jump between pages.
As it’s Android two.2+ and therefore the processor is up to hurry you'll be able to bet that the Xperia Arc S munches through Flash content on sites like while not breaking a sweat. The big 4.2-inch screen comes into its own here; it’s massive and roomy, sites look nice and there’s faucet to zoom (which resizes text columns) and pinch to zoom (which doesn’t; higher for zooming in on pics and thumbnails) that works fantastically.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S multimedia
As we tend to mentioned higher than, the look of the Arc S follows that of the Arc right all the way down to a T. It’s constant story with the camera likewise. For reasons of area we tend to won’t waste time happening concerning how sensible it is; the short answer is it’s excellent indeed. nice color fidelity, excellent for night shots. look at our original Xperia Arc review and our recent camera comparison for a a lot of detailed run down.
The 3D panorama mode could be a new feature not seen within the Xperia Arc, however one that we tend to perceive is within the pipeline as a part of a future update. It’s a fairly spectacular party trick however we tend to found that it works best if you’ve got the Arc S mounted on one thing stable sort of a tripod. Seeing because the four.2-inch screen isn’t a glassless-3D one like that of the HTC Evo 3D, the impact are lost on you unless you hook it up to a compatible TV set. And even then, it’s not that spectacular.
3D video technology is clearly still in its infancy and this can be a lot of of an additional value-added feature instead of the most event. It’s not just like the Arc S is being sold on it’s 3D credentials.
We like that the Mediascape widget (that’s pre-installed on the primary homescreen to your immediate right) permits you to pause and skip tracks while not gap up the music player itself. There’s a digital equalizer (sadly all presets, no custom option) and therefore the ability to try and do a lyrics/Wikipedia look for the song/artist you’re currently paying attention to.
We just like the effort that’s gone into doing one thing higher than and beyond the quality Android music app (which is incredibly boring) however its lacking one thing that alternative music apps on the Market have, like a lock screen widget and a customisable equalizer.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S performance
The speed and general operations of the Xperia Arc S are swish as silk. Its noticeably faster than the first Xperia Arc in barely concerning each capability, from loading up the camera and browser to easy things like swiping left and right between screens.
Everything that the Xperia Arc is in a position to try and do comfortably (but not while not some apparent effort at times) the Arc S is in a position to try and do with a flourish.
In terms of fluidity and presentation its simply up there with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation. It doesn’t quite have the hardware oomph of a number of it’s dual-core counterparts, with games like Dungeon Defenders: initial Wave struggling alittle when the polygon count piles up, however otherwise trying fantastic.
Call quality is pretty sensible, nothing unhealthy to report here the least bit in terms of clarity and volume. Calls to and from landlines and alternative mobiles (on variety of networks) were all sensible, with solely the occasional dropouts, thanks to things like signal/reception problems (which plague each phone) or after we went underneath a tunnel on the train.
Verdict
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is a wonderful phone, boasting a fantastic camera, slick style and quick performance. Compared to phones of the same worth just like the Galaxy S2 (to that it's currently equally priced) it’s roughly as powerful when it involves things like gaming, however its maybe a a lot of fashionable (if slightly less beefy) different.
The Facebook within Xperia options are nicely integrated and can charm to people who desire a phone primarily for Facebooking on the go. Our solely major criticism of the Xperia Arc S is its rather paltry quantity of internal memory. The processor got an upgrade from the first, thus why not stick 8GB or thus in there?
Though microSD cards are less expensive of late, we tend to’d like it it we had a healthy quantity of storage to play with right out of the box. Otherwise, the Xperia Arc S is another feather within the cap for Sony Ericsson; slick appearance, slick performance, slick camera. we tend to like this plenty.
Posted in: Sony Ericsson
