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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S review
The original Xperia Arc smartphone from Sony Ericsson launched earlier in 2011 and was well received by reviewers who praised it for its stylish design and large screen. Now Sony Ericsson is following in the footsteps of HTC and signalling a minor hardware update for the Arc by putting an `S` on the end of its full title. Here we shall examine whether or not the Xperia Arc S is worth choosing over the original.
The first and most obvious change made to the Arc S is on the inside and comes in the form of a 1.4GHz processor. It is still a single core affair, so you do not get any of the dual core goodness as found in rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S2. However, a single core chip is also less likely to eat up battery life so quickly, which means there are merits to its inclusion.
On the outside the Arc S is still very sleek and stylish, with its 4.2 inch touchscreen display benefitting from Sony`s Bravia imaging technology to deliver a crisp resolution, accurate colours and impressive overall brightness. Like most modern smartphone it has a high resolution camera slapped on the rear which, coupled with an LED flash, can shoot solid still images even if you will not want to get rid of your standalone digital snapper quite yet. 720p HD video recording can also be carried out using the Xperia Arc S, which ticks an increasingly important box that consumers will be looking for at its £299 price point.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S runs version 2.3.4 of the Android operating system and also has the company`s own take on the user interface which enlivens the multiple homescreens with slick 3D effects and smooth transitions. The Timescape service lets you combine Twitter and Facebook feeds into one easy to reach place and you have the freedom to rearrange applications and widgets on your homescreens as you see fit, giving you flexibility and a greater level of customisation than on non-Android smartphones.
The web browsing experience on the Xperia Arc S is at the top of the class. The 4.2 inch display gives you lots of onscreen real estate to make websites look great and the Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity options mean that you will not be left waiting too long while pages load. Like all Android phones it has great navigation thanks to Google Maps and hundreds of thousands of apps to download from the Android Market if you so wish.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S lives up to the smartphone standards expected of modern handsets, allowing you to combine a personal assistant, MP3 player, digital camera, web device and mobile into a single unit. If you have an original Xperia Arc then the updates are minor enough to not make you too jealous, but potential buyers should certainly opt for the S edition.
