Xperia Arc
Considering the news reported by the BBC this morning that Apple has just overtaken Nokia and Samsung as the leading Smartphone maker in the world, it’s surprising to learn that the best phone available on the market at the moment is made by none of the above. The Sony Xperia Arc is impossibly thin, impossibly powerful and impossibly inexpensive to buy outright considering it’s a single core Android phone. £430 is a lot cheaper then the £500 plus tag for an iPhone.
Unlike the iPhone, the Xperia Arc can accommodate a global sim without the need for modifications. Also unlike the iPhone, the Arc can accommodate media outside that made by Apple. The 4.2 inch screen takes up most of the phone with only a millimetre of bezel to the left and right. The bottom of the screen reveals the standard buttons of ‘Back’, ‘Home’, and ‘Menu’, and whilst most users might find that a little on the stringent side consider that the iPhone only has one button on its handset. So what’s the Arc like to handle?
The touch screen interface is balanced just right with little in the way of over sensitivity at all – you won’t accidentally open an application you didn’t mean to press. It weighs only 117g which considering it’s closest rival the Google Nexus S comes in at 120g is very impressive. There’s a hidden HDMI output behind a dust stopper allowing you to plug the handset into any HD device including your TV or computer. Another neat little trick that Sony has installed is a proximity sensor that automatically shuts off the LED screen when you bring the phone up to your ear. Considering a common complaint amongst many Smartphone users was the heat coming off the screen, the sensor makes for a quirky but very welcome addition.
What about power though? Well for a start the LED isn’t quite as sharp as the iPhone 4’s, but it does run the very latest Android 2.3.2 OS meaning all those slow moments that users of the Xperia X10 experienced are banished in a heartbeat. The user interface as hinted at earlier is far better then any of Sony’s previous efforts. The Arc allows for multi touch input this time round ably demonstrated by Sony allowing you to spin the Home screen into an overview mode with a quick two fingered motion. The 1GHZ processor allows you to push the menu pages about with ease and no time delay at all. A range of new multimedia features have been added too with the Timescape Social Aggregator being the first one you’ll notice. Timescape allows the user to pull all their texts, twitter updates and facebook rubbish all into one space and is very handy.
Apple may be the leading producer of Smartphones, but Sony is quietly getting on with giving customers the flexibility and functionality they want, and that Apple will not provide.
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