Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc preview

Sony Ericsson is trying very hard to win back the heart of their Android users, especially since SE stood up all their users which owned the predecessor, X10 (and its variants) by denying their phones are updates to future updates of Android OS from Google. But like the saying that goes  “Once bitten, twice shy”, i’m a bit skeptical that the phone is as good as it claims to be. Phonearena’s recent preview of the phone helped shed some light on the situation:

Q: Battery size of 1500mah on a phone so thin?

A: Back in CES 2011 when the specifications were released, we discovered that the battery in the Arc rated 1500mah, which isn’t small at all. It’s as big as the one found on the 4″ Samsung Galaxy S and even bigger than the one found on the 4.3″ HTC Desire HD (1230mah). The rather big battery means that you can expect similar battery life to other big screened phones but can SE really fit a battery that big inside the thin body? Well, the answer is yes. Check the picture below:

Q: I prefer stock Android to SE’s heavy customization, has anything changed?

A: Well, the answer is Yes and No. On this preview, it is shown that SE has done away with Mediascape, leaving only shortcuts to the gallery and music on the dock. These shortcuts will bring you to the default 3D Android gallery and also a skinned Android music player. Timescape, however is still around, integrating all your messaging and social networking information into a tile/flip card interface as a widget on the homescreen as shown below. Other than that, most parts of the interface are still skinned, for example the phone dialer.

Q: How’s the camera?

A: Firstly, the camera interface on the Arc has also been skinned by SE, bringing a black and white only theme. See below:

The photos qualities, especially photo taken in low light conditions are considered good for a smartphone since it uses a new sensor from Sony. The camera sensor is also back illuminated, like the iPhone 4, which also produces rather good pictures. Click here to see some sample photos.

Those are some of my queries on the SE Arc answered. We’ll be seeing more full reviews once the phone is out around April 2011 (if  SE can deliver without delay). If you wish to read the full SE Arc preview by Phonearena, click here.

Sony Xperia Arc in South East Asia

Before i start on the new juicy Sony Xperia Arc, let me drop a short piece of news about the SE Arc’s predecessor, the SE Xperia X10 which was release slight more than a year ago (around November 2009). Sony Ericsson has tweeted that their one year old phone is no longer going to receive Google Android OS updates from them (Sony Ericsson). Google is still constantly updating it’s Android OS for smartphones but SE will no longer support it on the X10. The X10 is currently on Google 2.1 (Eclair) while currently, the latest Google version is Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Don’t forget that Google has just released it’s latest and great version of Android OS called Honeycomb (version 3.0) which will be available on phones later. Anyway, Sony Ericsson has also confidently claimed that their Google 2.1 on X10 is better than Google 2.2 on certain phones. [source]

While we’re not really sure how better the Android 2.1 software modified by SE is better, what we fear is the support for the phone once the future upgrades for this phone has been stopped. Imagine one day Google has released a super cool function and you require a newer version of Android to run it, your poor X10 will definitely be left out. You can contact SE about this, but their best reply would certainly be a “Sorry, your phone is no longer supported”. Other smart phones manufacturers like HTC and Samsung are still updating most of their recent phones, which makes SE look rather bad. SE has showed and created a lot of products with excellent new designs and new hardware, but i’m afraid to say that i don’t really like SE’s attitude towards their older products. If you liked a piece of SE phone very much and you purchased it, you need to pray hard that they don’t release any new phones because once they do, support for your old phone will quickly be forgotten, similar to this SE Xperia X10. Of course, you don’t have to suffer this fate unless you are willing to pay more money and get the latest SE phone when they come out everytime.

Speaking about the latest phones, let me introduce to you, the latest phone from Sony Ericsson, the Xperia Arc. This phone was just announced at CES 2011 a few days ago. The phone got its name from the Arc on the back of the phone, which makes the phone’s design very slim. Check out the video below:

The hardware on the phone are:

• 1GHz Qualcomm processor (single core)
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread
• 4.2 inch “Reality Display” (aka 480×854) optimized for multimedia viewing
• 8.1 megapixel camera with 720p video recording
• Auto focus camera with LED flash
• HDMI out
• 512 MB internal phone memory
• 8GB microSD card installed, expandable up to 32GB
• aGPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, FM Radio
• 1500 mah battery
• 117 grams at 125 x 63 x 8.7mm

[source]

Too be frank, this hardware in 2011 is a bit old. Other newer smartphones like the LG Optimus 2x or the Motorola Atrix are now having powerful dual core processors. I have a feeling that Sony will release this phone but later out-phase it rather quickly. Anyway, the SE Arc is not long from appearing in the market. According to Indonesia’s Sony Ericsson site, the phone will be available in around another 3 months times (expected in April 2011) with two colour choices: Midnight Blue and Misty Silver. [source]

Let’s hope the info from Sony Ericsson Indonesia is true, and Sony Ericsson Malaysia is not far behind. Pricing unknown at this point. More pics below: