Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc - CNET Asia Review

Aside from a sleek design, this Android 2.3 smartphone comes with a wealth of high-end features including a very capable camera.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc was announced at CES this year and is already available for sale. Measuring 8.7mm at its thinnest point, this smartphone is one of the sleekest high-end Android handsets around. Furthermore, Sony Ericsson has loaded it with the latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and equipped it with the latest Exmor R camera sensor for better image capture. It is available now with a retail price of S$888.

Design

The Arc is only 8.7mm at its thinnest point, which is somewhere in the center of the device. Even if you measure it at its thickest, this smartphone is just slightly fatter than an iPhone 4. Even then, the Arc doesn't appear fragile when held in hand. The chassis is constructed mainly out of plastic and has a glossy finish. Because of that, it can feel somewhat slippery for those with sweaty palms. This isn't a big issue, especially for those who use a protective case with the phone.

With a footprint of 125 x 63mm, the Arc may appear quite large to some. However, given its large 4.2-inch display, we say Sony Ericsson has actually kept it very compact. This screen has a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels and has been given the name "Reality display with Mobile Bravia Engine", riding on the fame of the television brand owned by the Japanese half of Sony Ericsson's parent companies. Marketing speak aside, we did find this LCD to be very good, displaying text, images and videos clearly and with vibrant colors.

Below the screen are three physical buttons--Back, Home and Menu. Physical volume controls are found on the right edge together with a camera shortcut and micro-USB port. One nice touch about this charging/syncing connector is its accompanying LED that lights up in red or green to tell you when the phone is charging or fully charged, respectively.

The Arc has a 3.5mm audio connector for connecting a headset. We didn't like that this was found on the left edge as sticking in a pair of headphones will make the device difficult to place in a pocket comfortably. On the top is where the power button and a mini-HDMI port are found.

An 8-megapixel camera coupled with an LED flash is on the back of the Arc. Further down the back, there's a tiny hole which acts as a microphone that picks up ambient sounds for the phone's noise cancellation feature. Pulling out the entire back cover will reveal the battery and the microSD and SIM slots, accessible only by removing the rechargeable cell.

Features

As expected from any high-end Android phone, the Arc comes with a wealth of connectivity features. These include HSPA for high-speed cellular data transfers, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and A-GPS for satellite navigation and location services.

One of the highlights of the Arc is the inclusion of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). This makes Sony Ericsson one of the first manufacturers to offer a smartphone with the latest version of Google's mobile operating system (OS).

An important user enhancement in this version is the ability to finely place a cursor without a physical directional pad. This is achieved using an onscreen marker that lets you move the cursor without the user's thumb covering the text. It is also possible to bring up a second marker for the purpose of selecting text--the user will be able to copy or cut everything between the two markers. This implementation isn't as elegant as iOS' magnifying glass (which HTC and Motorola have already mimicked for use on Android phones), but works well enough to be useful.

Gingerbread also gives more information about how your storage and battery are being used in the settings, as well as more developer tools so apps can make better use of phone features.

Another enhancement in Gingerbread is an improved onscreen keyboard. However, this has been stripped out and replaced with Sony Ericsson's custom version, which we find inferior. For example, the ability to quickly type numbers by pressing and holding the top row of keys isn't available in Sony Ericsson's implementation.

On top of the stock interface, Sony Ericsson has included some customizations. This includes the Timescape widget which puts items such as messages, Twitter and Facebook updates in one place. Some may find this useful, but we found having all communications in one flowing thread a little too overwhelming.

Another customization is the ability to create folders easily. This is done by dragging one icon over another, prompting the user to name a new folder for the group of two applications. This is similar to how it's done in Apple's iOS.

One of the most attractive propositions of the Arc is the 8-megapixel camera boasting the Exmor R CMOS sensor. Those keeping up with camera technology will recognize this brand name used in high-end Sony point-and-shoots with backside-illuminated sensors (BSI). We found photo quality to be very good in well-lit conditions, producing sharp images with saturated colors. The speed of the camera was also quite impressive, with hardly any shutter lag between shots. It isn't as fast as a dedicated high-end digicam, but is certainly speedier than most other comparable mobile phones.

The Arc supports HDMI output to a larger display so you can share what's on your screen. We were pleased to find out that the required cable is included with every unit. However, this was left out of our review set. We will update this review with our HDMI-out test once Sony Ericsson sends us the cable.

Performance

We had no issues with reception and call quality on the Arc. No dropped calls were experienced during our test period and the noise cancellation feature worked when we were near a busy street. One thing that did bug us was how precisely we had to position the phone over the ear to hear the other party properly. This isn't a huge problem but will take some getting used to. Note also that the phone does not come with a front-facing camera for video calls.

Battery life was average, giving one day of use on a single charge. This included two Gmail accounts on push, Twitter and Facebook on two-hourly syncs and occasional calls and text messages.

The 1GHz Qualcomm processor in the Arc together with the 512MB RAM did well to keep things chugging along smoothly. We did not experience any significant slowdowns during the review period and were generally pleased with the responsiveness of the device.

Conclusion

Like any other Android phone, the Arc will fulfill basic smartphone needs thanks to the underlying OS. That aside, Sony Ericsson has managed to set it apart with a great screen and camera. These two features give it an edge over the HTC Desire HD, a smartphone with a similar feature set. Although there are Android smartphones coming with dual-core processors, the lack of such a feature, we feel, doesn't put the Arc at a big disadvantage as apps that exploit such processors aren't widely available yet. Overall, the sleek design and wealth of features make it a great choice for anyone looking for a high-end Android smartphone.
















Test shot with LED flash.