Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S:

 

  Introduction:

After redeeming its Android mojo with the sleek and capable Sony Ericsson Xperia arc, the company decided to out an upgrade as a stopgap flagship until it eventually makes it to the dual-core Nozomi rumored for next year.

We say stopgap, since the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S keeps the breathtaking design of its predecessor, but ups the ante with a still-single core 1.4GHz processor, 14.4Mbps instead of 7.2Mbps radio, and teaches the 8MP Exmor R camera some new tricks.

So the phone gets faster and allows you to do cool 2D and quasi-3D panorama shots, keeping its sexy design, but still doesn’t have a front-facing camera? Is that supposed to be compensated by the “S” for a speedier processor and baseband radio? Read on our review to find out...

 Design:

The Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S is again just 0.34” (8.7mm) thin in the middle, which gradually becomes 0.39” (10mm) at both ends. The overarching ambition (pun intended) has been to arm the company with “one of the thinnest” punch line, and the result is beautiful.








We can attest that there is a difference, although it is not as strikingly significant as the one between the Super LCD and the punchy colors of the Super AMOLED screen technologies, for instance. The display is bright enough for comfortably operating it in broad daylight, which is all fine and dandy, but the viewing angles, for that matter, are pretty poor. Contrast and color degradation when looking at an angle are almost akin to the older generation of LCD displays, and far from the excellent viewing angles on the IPS-LCD of the Xperia ray, for example.

The phone sports the previous Xperia line design with the thin buttons underneath the display, instead of the huge semi-circle for a home button we have in the latest Xperias. The three keys are illuminated with white LED lights, and have a nice rubbery feeling to them when pressed, instead of annoying clicks, making them fun to operate. The whole design is made of quality plastic.The back cover flexes a bit when pressed down because of the thin plastic, but the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S clocks in at 4.12 oz (117grams), which is very good for a handset that size. 

 INFO:
 It seems like nearly all the phone makers are doing it. Take the latest flagship release, add some welcome (but relatively minor) technical tweaks, slap an extra S on it and release to an adoring public not much more than six months after the original hit stores. Sony Ericsson's Xperia Arc is the latest (but certainly not the last) to undergo said refresh. The new Arc S appears identical on the surface, still carrying the stylish curvature that wooed us the first time round. Internally, most of the parts remain the same as its predecessor, aside from a bump to a new CPU, a 1.4GHz Qualcomm chip. Alongside the minor hardware change, this is the first Xperia handset arriving with Sony's 3D sweep panorama feature, capable of creating 3D stills for consumption on your compatible TV back home. Does the extra 400MHz make enough of a difference? Are sweeping panoramas enough to warrant a phone refresh at a time when dual-core, big-screened Android phones are the high-end standard? Read on to get the full picture.
 The Xperia Arc S sticks with the convex profile, virtually identical to the smartphone that came before it. It's a relief to see a stylish phone that's actually distinguishable from the mostly black oblongs we stare at each day. Our model arrived in a white finish, which helps to a reinvigorate a phone design that's already done the rounds once. We did notice that the (slightly) flimsy backing seemed slightly more rigid on the refresh, though this could just be the fresh out-of-the-box condition. However an occasional creak does remain in the battery cover, a shame considering the more solid feel of its smaller stablemate, the Xperia Ray.
 



 The 4.2-inch screen remains a formidable performer. Despite its LCD roots, Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine seems to perform minor miracles on the 854 x 480 display, with sharp detail and rich coloration. While its effects are limited to pictures and video, menus and icons still look rich, and blacks look black. With over four inches of space for your fingers, that's plenty of real estate to browse the web, play games and type on the stock keyboard. Sadly, tilting the screen shows up its limitations -- this isn't an IPS panel, and whilst we understand it's doing its best, nor can it stand up to the might of Super AMOLED plus.