Review of Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S: an accelerated flagship. Handsome and smart

Positioning

What is needed to extend the “life” of a good device that was released a year ago and is still on sale? The easiest way is to slightly improve the “hardware” characteristics and add some kind of index to the model name. Actually that's what they did Sony Ericsson with their successful Arc: after the name they added the Latin letter “S” and installed an overclocked Qualcomm processor MSM8255T. In addition, we decided to change the color a little. Now Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc The S is available in white and pink, and there is also a universal one – black “Ark”.

Due to the fact that there has already been a review of the SE Arc, and the Arc S is practically no different from its predecessor, I will not describe many points: I will pay more attention to the performance tests of the “old” and “new” devices.

Design, dimensions, control elements

Understand by appearance, where is Xperia Arc and where is Xperia Arc S is not easy. Can only be recognized by color back cover. For example, for the “first” Arc it was made with a gradient – ​​from dark silver to black, and for the “second” it was completely black. Also the previous model did not have pink and white housings. This is where all the visual differences end.

If fingerprints and minor scratches are not visible on the white cover of the device, they are very noticeable on all other colors. When squeezed in your hand, the body of the SE Arc S makes an unpleasant crunch. However, the design of the device is quite ergonomic.

On front panel there are light and proximity sensors. Nearby is a speaker. Its volume is very high, the timbre is pleasant, the interlocutor can be heard clearly and intelligibly. Unfortunately, in new modification They didn’t add a front camera, although it would be appropriate here. The screen is protected by mineral glass. True, there is still a film stuck on the display, which is quickly wiped off. At the bottom of the device there are three buttons: “Back”, “Home” and “Menu”. They press very softly, but the stroke is small.

On the left side there is a standard 3.5 mm audio output, on the right there is a volume rocker key, microUSB and a missed events indicator, as well as a small camera activation button. Frankly speaking, it is completely inconvenient to use due to its size and placement (close to the edge of the bottom end). At the bottom there is a microphone and a strap holder, at the top there is a button to turn the phone on and off, almost recessed into the body, and a microHDMI connector under a plastic plug.

The speaker, camera eye, LED flash and additional microphone are located on the back side.

Samsung Omnia W and Sony Ericsson Arc S (right):

Samsung Ace and Sony Ericsson Arc S (right):

HTC Mozart and Sony Ericsson Arc S (left):

Samsung i9000 and Sony Ericsson Arc S (left):

Display

Screen diagonal - 4.2" (physical size 93x52 mm), resolution - 480x854 pixels (density - 233 pixels per inch). “No air gap” technology is used, i.e. there is no air gap between the matrix (LED-backlit LCD) and protective glass. The sensitivity of the capacitive touch layer is high.

Viewing angles are small: when tilted, the picture loses contrast. Color rendition at right viewing angles is pleasant and rich. Perhaps thanks to the "Mobile BRAVIA Engine". But in any case, it is much inferior to the Super AMOLED Plus matrix and even Super AMOLED.

In short, all the specs and screen options are comparable to the SE Xperia Arc. Display in the light:

Samsung display comparison Galaxy Note(SuperAMOLED) (left), Sony Ericsson Arc (LED-backlit LCD), Samsung Galaxy S (SuperAMOLED), Samsung Omnia W (SuperAMOLED), HTC Mozart (S-LCD), Samsung Ace (TFT-LCD), Nokia 700* (ClearBlack AMOLED) (right):

* - the brightness of the Nokia 700 display at maximum brightness is higher than in the photo. This is due to the fact that I took the shots in the dark, and the phone's light sensor slightly dimmed the display backlight.

Battery

The Xperia Arc S uses the same BA750 1500mAh removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery as the Xperia Arc. According to official data, the phone will work for about 460 hours in standby mode (for the “first” Arc this time is 430 hours), in talk mode – up to 7 hours 30 minutes (for the “first” Arc – about 7 hours), playing music – up to 37 hours (the “first” Arc has up to 30 hours). Overall, the difference is small.

To test the battery life I installed special application Antutu Tester. The results were interesting: the device scored 494 points, leaving behind the Samsung Galaxy SL, Galaxy S2 and LG Optimus 2X.

During practical operation, the following figures were obtained: the smartphone worked in standby mode for about a week, up to 20 hours when playing music at maximum volume (in headphones) and up to 5 hours when playing HD video at automatic backlight brightness. On average, with 20-25 minutes of talking a day, one hour of taking photos and videos, the same amount of listening to music, four hours of Wi-Fi (typing on the keyboard - Twitter and Skype) and two hours of watching movies, the battery was discharged in 10-11 hours. Sony Ericsson Arc has approximately the same indicators or a little less.

Communication capabilities

The Xperia Arc S smartphone operates in 2G (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) and 3G networks (HSDPA 900 / 2100). GPRS speed – up to 86 Kbps, EDGE – up to 237 Kbps, HSDPA and HSUPA – up to 14 Mbps and 5.8 Mbps, respectively. Eat Wi-Fi standard 802.11 b/g/n. To distribute the Internet, it can be used as an access point. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) is supported - a standard that allows compatible devices transmit and receive by home network various media content (image, music, video), and also display it in real time. Bluetooth version 2.1 with A2DP is used for data and voice transmission.

Memory, memory card

In Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, as in all Xperia line, 512 MB installed random access memory. Although they could increase it to 720 MB or 1 GB. There are about 300 MB of free internal Flash memory (1 GB in total) – also somewhat embarrassing for a flagship model. The kit includes a 16 GB card. The maximum supported volume of a micrSD card is up to 32 GB.

Camera

As in the previous model, an 8-megapixel camera module is installed and there is an LED flash. But the front camera is still missing. It’s clear that not everyone uses it, but if you were to upgrade your smartphone, you could install it. There is no point in describing this section in detail; it is better to read the review. I will give examples of photographs and a couple of videos. I will only note that the camera takes pictures very well, and the sound in video clips has a fairly wide stereo base.

From the photo file we get the following detailed description EXIF:

Video file characteristics:

• Format: MP4
• Video: AVC, 6000 Kbps
• Resolution: 1280 x 720, 30 fps
• Audio: AAC, 128 Kbps
• Channels: 2 channels, 48.0 KHz

Photo examples:

Performance

Well, now we get to the most interesting part.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc has a Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset and a 1 GHz processor. The Xperia Arc S has the same chipset, but with the “T” index. This means that the processor clock frequency was increased to 1.4 GHz at the factory. Interestingly, the MSM8255 can also operate at 400 MHz faster, but for this it will have to be overclocked manually. The graphics accelerator is the same - Adreno 205. There are no other differences.

Visually, the SE Arc S works the same as the Arc S. Below are several performance tests and browser benchmarks of these two devices. For control, the third device will be the SE Xperia Play, built on the same technological base as the Xperia Arc.

Brief technical information.

Battery capacity: 1500 mAh Talk time: 7.4 h Standby time: 460 h Operating time while listening to music: 37 h

General characteristics

Type: smartphone Weight: 117 g Control: mechanical buttons Operating system: Android 2.3 Case type: classic Number of SIM cards: 1 Dimensions (WxHxT): 63x125x8.7 mm SIM card type: regular

Screen

Screen type: TFT color, 16.78 million colors, touch type touch screen: multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal: 4.2 inches. Image size: 854x480 Pixels per inch (PPI): 233 Automatic screen rotation: yes

Multimedia capabilities

Camera: 8.10 million pixels, LED flash Camera functions: autofocus, digital Zoom 16x Video recording: yes Max. video resolution: 1280x720 Audio: MP3, AAC, FM radio Headphone jack: 3.5 mm Recognition: faces, smiles Geo Tagging: yes Video output: HDMI

Connection

Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, ANT+ Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G DLNA support: yes Satellite navigation: GPS A-GPS system: yes Use as a USB drive: yes

Memory and processor

Processor: Qualcomm MSM 8255T, 1400 MHz Number of processor cores: 1 Built-in memory volume: 1 GB RAM capacity: 512 MB Memory card support: microSD (TransFlash), up to 32 GB Video processor: Adreno 205 Volume accessible to the user memory: 320 MB Memory card slot: yes, up to 32 GB

Other features

Control: voice dialing, voice control Sensors: light, proximity Speakerphone (built-in speaker): yes Flight mode: yes A2DP profile: yes

Its processor and amount of RAM, as it became known later, were similar to other smartphones from the company in 2011. On the one hand, this is good, because even low-end devices offer a 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM. On the other hand, it’s bad, since all the “flagship” of the Xperia Arc has been reduced to a large display and a thin body.

The company did not passively watch as competitors announced dual-core Android phones, and users made choices based on processor frequency, and decided to bring to market an improved version of the Xperia Arc S. The model differs from the Xperia Arc in the frequency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor (1.4 GHz instead of 1 GHz) and additional colors - black, white and pink. Let's take a look at the device!

Technical Sony specifications Ericsson Xperia Arc S (LT18i):

• Network: GSM/GRPS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA/HSPA (900/2100 MHz)
• Platform (at time of announcement): Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread)
• Display: touchscreen, capacitive, 4.2”, 854 x 480 pixels, 16 million colors, Sony Mobile Bravia Engine, TFT, mineral glass
• Camera: 8.1 MP, autofocus, flash, face detection, geotagging, 720p HD video recording, Sony Exmor R matrix
• Processor: 1.4 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255
• Graphics chip: Adreno 205
• RAM: 512 MB
• Internal memory: 320 MB (from 1 GB)
• Memory card: microSD (up to 32 GB)
• A-GPS
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• 3.5mm jack
• microUSB 2.0
• FM radio with RDS
• Digital compass, position, proximity and light sensors
• Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MIDI, OGG
• Video: 3GP, MP4
• Photo: JPEG, BMP, WBMP, PGN, GIF, PNG
• Battery: 1500 mAh
• Talk time: up to 7 hours 25 minutes on 2G networks, up to 7 hours 35 minutes on 3G networks
• Standby time: up to 460 hours
• Operating time music player: up to 37 hours
• Operating time in video mode: up to 6 hours 25 minutes
• Dimensions: 125 x 63 x 8.7 (10.9) mm
• Weight: 117 g
• Form factor: monoblock with touchscreen
• Type: smartphone
• Equipment: EP800 charger, 16 GB memory card, EC600R USB cable, IM820 HDMI cable, BA750 battery, MH650 stereo headset, documentation
• Colors: black, white, pink
• Announcement date: August 31, 2011
• Release date: 4th quarter 2011

Design, construction and equipment

The official Russian package of Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S includes an EP800 charger, a 16 GB memory card, an EC600R USB cable, an IM820 HDMI cable, a BA750 battery, an MH650 stereo headset, and documentation. In a number of European countries, an 8 GB memory card is inserted into the phone and is not included in the box hdmi cable(our case).

In Russia, the Xperia Arc S was released in the fall in three colors different from the Xperia Arc: white, black and pink. We received a black version for testing, made of glossy plastic. There are no design differences between the Xperia Arc S and the Xperia Arc.

The front side contains light and proximity sensors, a speaker, a 4.2" display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels (protected by mineral glass and an invisible sticker), three hardware keys (back, home, menu) and logos - Sony Ericsson and Xperia. The 3.5 mm headphone jack is not very well located on the left side. On the right side there is a small camera button, a volume key, a microUSB port, and an LED. At the top end there was a place for an HDMI port and a miniature power off/lock button. On the back panel there is an 8.1 MP camera with autofocus and flash, logos and a speaker. You can remove microSD and SIM only by first removing the 1500 mAh battery.

Usually thin and large phones don't fit very comfortably in the hand, but the Xperia Arc S is a pleasant exception. If you take it in your hand, thanks to the rounded back cover in the form of an arch, it will touch your palm. Both right-handers and left-handers with medium-sized hands can press all the buttons with one hand. Overall, I liked the design of the phone, although the lock key could have been made more expressive. The small thickness imposes restrictions on the location of the connectors, as a result of which the 3.5 mm jack is located on the side - listening to music through headphones and keeping the phone in your trouser pocket is unlikely to be possible. Because of slim body The device does not have a front camera.

Software

As of mid-December, the Xperia Arc S is based on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread). Build version – 4.0.2.A.0.42. Let me remind you that the phone, like other Sony Ericsson smartphones of 2011, will receive Android Ice Cream Sandwich in the first quarter of 2012.

I don’t see any point in describing in detail the graphical interface and software suite of the Xperia Arc S, since they are no different from what the Xperia Pro and Xperia Neo offer. But I will dwell on some points.

Firstly, we can't help but mention Facebook inside the Xperia. This service integrates the popular social network into your phone, allowing you to easily and easily share your favorite music or photos, add users to your phone book, link your calendar, and find out what your friends are watching, listening to, and playing.

Secondly, Xperia Arc S offers a large number of widgets for every taste. Thirdly, the Xperia Arc S comes pre-installed with many programs to solve a wide range of tasks. With their help, you can listen to your favorite songs, watch photos and videos, find out your current location, news and weather, communicate on social networks, read documents, watch news and weather, etc. and so on.

The Xperia graphical shell does not have a name and Sony Ericsson has not yet focused on it. However, it deserves the designation and everything is going to the point that Sony will begin to promote it in the same way as Samsung and HTC do with their TouchWiz and Sense. The Xperia interface, in my opinion, is in no way inferior to TouchWiz and Sense, looks stylish, and works quickly.

Camera

The Xperia Arc S uses an 8.1-megapixel camera with an Exmor R matrix, autofocus, flash and HD video recording. The program supports geotagging, several photography modes, and creation of 3D panoramas. Xperia Arc S shoots at the level of other 8.1-megapixel cameras Sony phones Ericsson, which is not surprising, because they use the same modules.

A few pictures for comparison with competitors:

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S left and Apple iPhone 4S right:

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S on the left and Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo on the right:

Video for assessing the quality of video recording:

Experience of use

According to the manufacturer, the Xperia Arc S with a 1.4 GHz processor is on average 25% more productive than the 1 GHz Xperia Arc (turning on the camera and processing media files is 25% faster, and pages load about 20% faster). Unfortunately, it was not possible to compare the speed of the Arc S with the original Arc, but the Xperia Neo was at hand, which is very close in hardware to the Arc. The comparison showed that, yes, the Xperia Arc S really opens applications faster, but the difference is so insignificant (not even in seconds) that there is no point in changing the Xperia Arc to the Xperia Arc S. Also, if you choose between them, I would give preference to the model that costs less. Or made a choice by color ( white Xperia Arc S is very good, like the pink one), but the black body attracts fingerprints like a magnet.

In the Quadrant test, Xperia Arc S scored 1957 points, Xperia Neo – 1520, Xperia Active– 1532. Results in AnTuTu: 3672, 2994 and 3087 points, respectively. Results in the Vellamo benchmark: Xperia Arc S – 1006 points, Xperia Neo – 816 points.

Both Arc and Arc S attract attention with their design and the impression is not spoiled by the fact that the cases are entirely made of plastic. Old flagship The Xperia X10 began to creak a lot over time, but the Xperia Arc S holds up well, considering how many times I removed its cover and how many times testers did it before me.

The phone is loud - much louder than the Xperia Neo. Touchpad high quality - responds well to touch and has good viewing angles. Thanks to no air gap technology (no air gap between the glass and the display), the picture appears to be right under the glass - this is immediately noticeable. But I haven’t fully determined the usefulness of the Mobile BRAVIA Engine function (improves the quality of photos and videos). If I don’t tell myself, then it really makes the picture a little juicier.

Operating time of Xperia Arc S when playing HD video in MP4 format (at maximum screen brightness, with wireless modules and GPS) was 4 hours 52 minutes. The Xperia Neo lasted 5 hours 31 minutes, the Nokia N9 lasted 5 hours 20 minutes, and the iPhone 4S lasted 6 hours 52 minutes. The phone's operating time when playing video, declared by the manufacturer, is limited to 6 hours and 25 minutes (versus 7 hours and 25 minutes for the Xperia Arc). In mode normal use Without active web surfing, the device can last a couple of days on a single charge.

There are a lot of standard applications, as mentioned above. Of course, not all of them are useful, and those that are missing can be downloaded from the Android Market in two seconds. Fortunately, the phone supports Wi-Fi and HSPA (14.4 Mbit/s).

Bottom line

The end of the year is approaching and some results can be summed up. The line of the Japanese-Swedish vendor in 2010 looked depressing, and few believed that in 2011 it would be able to produce competitive solutions. But after the Xperia Arc, the Xperia Pro, Xperia Ray, Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Active, Live with Walkman were released - all of them are among the best in their classes. The Xperia Arc S model, released in the fourth quarter, cannot compete on equal terms with the Samsung Galaxy S 2, LG Optimus 3D or HTC Sensation XL. But she has design on her side, user-friendly interface and the fact that ordinary Android users are unlikely to notice the difference in the performance of a single-core 1.4 GHz smartphone and a phone with a dual-core processor.

Sony Ericsson will soon become just Sony, but I am sure that it will not stop producing excellent smartphones. According to the latest leaks, interesting solutions are planned for 2012, again focusing not only on performance, but also on design. Phones in the modern world are accessories. And the company understands this like no other.

Content:

Now this is a popular method, manufacturers save money, they do not have to develop new design, everything is limited to the color scheme and some minor changes to the exterior. For example, these are devices from Apple (and, and), Samsung (and).

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S costs at model range slightly higher than the usual “arch”, but it will not be easy to determine which model is newer. You can figure it out only by appearance. The latest generation will receive black, pink or white cases. That's all external differences are ending.

The device's hardware has become more powerful. Now it is a 1.4 GHz processor, the amount of RAM has not changed, still the same 512 MB. The media component includes an 8.1-megapixel camera, 720p video recording, and a large 4.2-inch screen.

Contents of delivery

• Telephone


• Battery 1500 mAh


• 8 GB memory card class 2


• Charger


• USB cable


• Instructions


• Warranty card

Appearance

The appearance of the device completely coincides with that of the . The company has created a model in a nice case that combines both straight and rounded lines. The side edges are slightly beveled, and the top and bottom ends are slightly curved. If you look at the device from the side, the concave shape of the rear panel will surprise you even more.

Previously, the expression “human curvature” meant high ergonomics and comfort of use mobile device, but the devices had a convex shape. This design has been implemented in many models. But now, using the example of the Xperia Arc (and some other models too, for example), you can see a completely different type of back cover - it is concave. Unusual, but also convenient.

The dimensions of the smartphone are 125x63x8.7 mm, weight 117 g. The device is thin, it can easily fit into trousers or a jacket pocket. For a top-segment phone, a stylish design combined with reasonable dimensions is always a positive factor.

There are several additional shades available for this model, in addition to the already available blue and silver. Now available in white, black and pink colors. We ended up with a snow-white sample, the phone looks very beautiful in this color, I liked the combination of shapes and such elegant plastic. The coating is glossy, but there is no need to complain about soiling; prints are hardly noticeable.

Along the sides there is a silver stripe, which with its thin profile emphasizes the small thickness of the case. The bottom end of the smartphone is slightly beveled, and the same can be said about the side planes.

On the black plastic cover at the top of the front panel there is a semicircular cutout for the earpiece. On the left are light and proximity sensors.

Under the large screen, which occupies almost the entire surface, there is a strip of three keys that almost merge into one. The buttons resemble metal in color, but in reality they are plastic. The button travel is small and distinct, pressing is pleasant. There are two bright LEDs here. They do not carry any functional load. They just glow.

The first key returns to the previous menu item, the second helps to return to the desktop, and also activates the manager running applications(you need to hold down this button for a few seconds), the latter calls up the functional menu.

At the top end there is a micro-HDMI port closed with a silver cap that matches the color of the body edging. There is a small round key in the corner that locks the screen. It is inconvenient: small, made flush with the body, due to the lack of a relief profile, it is uncomfortable to use. At the same time, it is necessary to mention the tight movement of the button.

There is a strap mount on the bottom end, and there is also a small notch that helps you remove the back panel.

On right side There is a microUSB port. It is used for both connection charger, and for synchronization with a computer. Next to it there is an LED that lights up when charging and notifies of missed events. The location is not the best; you need to remember which side the phone is facing so as not to lose sight of the indicator.

Just below you can see a small paired volume button made of silver plastic. It feels good, the clicks are clear, and it’s comfortable to use.

Almost in the very corner there is a two-position camera button. The implementation of this key is not entirely successful: its travel is too tight, and when taking a photo you have to press it hard.

On the left side, in the very corner, there is a hole for connecting headphones with a 3.5 mm jack. This is not a very convenient implementation, because if you do not use the included headset, choosing another means for listening to music will not be so easy.

Several elements were placed on the original view of the rear plane. At the top there is a round cutout of the camera lens, next to it is an LED flash. Below you can see the hole for the phone's speaker.

Under the plastic curved panel is the SIM card slot. Next to it is a compartment for a microSD card. Both are battery locked. It is not possible to quickly replace the card.

Screen

The display diagonal is 4.2 inches, displays up to 16 million colors at a resolution of 480x854 pixels. The response is excellent, thanks to the large diagonal, it is convenient to operate the device, the clicks are error-free. The proximity sensor turns off the screen when the phone comes close to your face during a call.

Thanks to the built-in accelerometer, when you turn the phone on its side, the image on the screen changes orientation from vertical to horizontal. There is no automatic brightness control feature. The backlight level is set manually. However, if you set the brightness to half or less, you will notice that the brightness of the screen varies as lighting conditions change. This is an unexpected fact.

The Xperia Arc S uses Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine feature, familiar from the company's TVs. Its peculiarity is that when this function is activated (it can be disabled in the menu), the contrast and sharpness of the image increases. The picture is bright, the colors are rich, natural.

The smartphone does not have an air gap between the glass and the matrix (the “No Air Gap” function, like Sony TVs Bravia Monolith). The advantage is that the overall thickness of the case is reduced due to the compact screen. In addition, the brightness of the screen increases. The technology used to make the display is called Reality Display, this is a significant step forward compared to , the difference with the previous generation is very noticeable. The ideology of the Japanese world is such that priority is given to natural, natural colors, in contrast to Korean companies, which are dominated by an overly bright, but at the same time unnatural image.

The display is covered with fiberglass; it should serve as reliable protection against scratches and abrasions. Also initially pasted on the screen protective film, it is practically invisible and can serve additional means to preserve its original appearance.

Behavior in the sun is no different from other smartphones. It is better to set the brightness to the maximum value, otherwise the information will be unreadable. A easily soiled front surface is found in all such devices.

Interestingly, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S uses a brighter display than the Xperia Arc. In direct comparison with there is no significant difference in this parameter. Additionally, I provide pictures next to. The only complaints are about the viewing angles of the new product; here Sony Ericson is unable to compete with the Korean flagship, where colors are practically not distorted. At the top is the Samsung Galaxy S II, then the HTC Titan, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S.

Platform

The smartphone runs under the operating system Android systems 2.3.4 Gingerbread, Qualcomm MSM8255 processor with a frequency of 1.4 GHz is installed. There is 512 MB of RAM, as well as about 300 MB for user needs. It is stated that processing media data takes 25% less time, and web pages load 20% faster. The Xperia Arc S has a slot for microSD memory cards. The device comes with an 8 GB card.

Menu

The company abandoned the Mediascape application, which received mixed reviews from users. But there is Timescape and a new proprietary shell. At the top of the screen there is a service line, which displays the time, battery charge, and signal reception level indicator. Active connections and other data are also displayed there. By clicking on it, you can find out in more detail what programs were downloaded, what messages and letters were received, or what files were received via Bluetooth.

As a design element, it is possible to use both preinstalled images or wallpapers from Sony Ericsson, and your favorite pictures. There are now seven multi-colored menu themes available. In addition, shortcuts and folders are placed on the desktop. For the folder, you can choose one of eight design options and assign it a name. Icons are added by dragging them from the phone menu directly into this area.

Of course, there are widgets here too, you can also add them to your desktop. There can be five such screens, their number does not change. At the same time, an interesting function works: you can swipe two fingers from diagonally opposite corners, all desktops will be reduced in size and displayed on one screen. Themes are available that change the color scheme of the menu.

Movement between zones is fast, without any hint of slowness. There are 5 icons at the bottom of the screen. These are multimedia, messages, menu entry, contacts and dialing. If you click on the media, it will pop up extra menu with those applications that are in this category.

The Application Manager is activated by the Home button. It displays 8 programs and in essence it is not a traditional task manager. As you know, Android closes applications on its own, based on the amount of free RAM.

When the screen is locked, the display shows the date and time. To unlock the screen, you need to swipe your finger along from left to right. If you do it the other way around, the silent mode is activated, as indicated by the additional icon.

The smartphone menu consists of several work zones, initially there are three. If you install additional applications, then over time there will be more such areas. There are 16 icons on the screen on a translucent background, under which you can see the wallpaper installed on the main screen. Icons can be arranged in a way that is convenient for the user. There is also sorting by several criteria: alphabetically, frequently used, recently installed. Other application menus are made in blue tones; similarities can be seen here with other Sony models Ericsson.

Phone book

The smartphone has a convenient assistant for importing contacts both from the SIM card and from Facebook and Google accounts, they are displayed single list. Created backup copy list of numbers onto a memory card, the data can later be restored. The order in which data is displayed cannot be changed. First name comes first, then last name.

When you create a new contact, many fields are created. This Various types telephone numbers, email addresses, means of quick communication (AIM, ICQ, Gtalk, Skype and others), residential addresses and others (nickname, note, Internet call).

The smartphone has a list of letters of the alphabet located on the right side of the screen. If you press your finger on this line and move it down or up, a letter pops up on the screen - a kind of quick search, which helps in cases where the phone has several hundred, or even thousands of contacts. The search works by the first letters of the contact name for both language layouts.

There is a menu of favorite numbers where you can add the most popular contacts. A quick menu is available: you need to click on the icon with a contact photo, after which you can call, send a message via SMS or email, or view data on Facebook.

Call log

Straight from phone book You can access the call log, it is highlighted in a separate tab. There, a single list contains dialed numbers, received and missed calls; for clarity, they are marked with icons of different colors. By clicking on a line, you can delete a number from the call log, add it to a contact, or perform some other actions. Selecting a number from the list will display detailed information about the call.

By viewing your call history, you can not only make phone conversation with the selected subscriber, but also send him an SMS or email from this list, without going to another menu. Dialing is carried out using a convenient virtual keyboard. The smartphone cannot automatically substitute numbers based on the order of the entered numbers. During a call, the picture assigned to the user stretches to fill the entire screen.

Messages

For SMS and MMS there is a common folder where received messages go. When sending, adding various objects to the SMS can automatically convert it into an MMS. Messages are grouped by recipient into a correspondence feed. When dialing a subscriber's number, the phone displays a list of matching numbers in alternating numbers.

While typing, a small field reserved for characters will be displayed. The longer the message, the more the space allocated for the character set increases. The device can copy, cut and paste text (and not only into the messages themselves, but you can also add it to a document or to email). A convenient cursor is used for navigation, which helps to correct typos and highlight the necessary sections of text. In addition, you can use arrow buttons.

Intellectual text input is available, when word correction and auto-completion systems help you type text, allowing you to avoid wasting time correcting errors. Possible word options are shown in a separate line above the keyboard. Copying and pasting of fragments is supported.

Email

To work with e-mail it starts automatic setting mailbox(unless it is Gmail, which connects immediately after the email address is entered during the initial activation of the phone). It includes entering basic information (login, password). The phone perfectly understands various encodings, supports loading attachments (you must insert a memory card, otherwise this function will not work) in familiar formats.

When creating a letter, you can also attach various files from the device memory. The function of copying text and automatically checking the mailbox works (the interval is set manually). The device simultaneously runs two applications – Gmail and E-mail. The only difference is that in the first, mail comes only from the gmail.com server, while the second application works with any mail storage. You can create several accounts for email, and each of them has its own color. This is convenient because you can view mail for each mailbox separately, and display messages from all accounts in one. Sorting mail by date, subject, sender and size works.

Camera

The smartphone uses an 8-megapixel module with autofocus and LED flash.

To launch the camera, use a dedicated key on the side of the smartphone. By holding it down for a few seconds, the shooting mode starts; this can be done from any application; it is not necessary to go to the main menu. I liked the high launch speed of the camera, as well as the very fast saving of pictures.

The interface is designed not only for landscape, but also for portrait mode. The screen displays auxiliary icons that make it easier to set up photography modes and conditions. 5 small icons are displayed on the side - the phone shows the last received frames. Pulling the icons to the side opens a gallery of captured images.

Various options are available:

Image capture mode: normal, scene detection, smile detection, panorama, 3D panorama.

Photo size: 8M (3264x2448), 6M (3264x1836), 2M 4:3 (1632x1224) or 16:9 (1920x1080 pixels).

Shooting conditions: normal, portrait, landscape, night photography, night portrait, beach and snow, sports, party, document.

Touch shooting: turn on, turn off (this function allows you to take a photo without pressing the camera button, just touch the screen).

Flash: auto, off, fill, red-eye reduction.

Timer: 2.10 seconds.

Exposure number.

Image stabilizer.

Geotags.

Shutter sound: There are 3 sounds to choose from, you can also turn it off.

White Balance: Auto, Indoor Light, Fluorescent, daylight, cloudy.

Measurement: center, middle level, point.

Focusing: single autofocus, multi-autofocus, macro photography, face detection, infinity, touch focusing.

The quality of the images remained at the same level. You can see the same need for manual exposure correction, eliminating the phone's tendency to create overly bright shots.

Gallery Photos and videos stored in the smartphone's memory are displayed here. The gallery works in both vertical and horizontal orientation. Working with files is accompanied by nice animation effects. Preview images are generated without delay. Pictures are displayed in a 2x3 or 3x2 grid, depending on the position of the device. Preview pictures in folders smaller size, thanks to which not 3, but 4 pictures are placed vertically. The image opens in full screen, scaling works using multi-touch. Files can be sent via email, Bluetooth, SMS or hosted on Picasa. You can assign images as desktop wallpaper or assign them to a contact. It supports rotating pictures, reducing their size, and also displays additional information about a specific file, and also shows the place where the picture was taken if geotagging is working. Images are shown both in folders (for example, received via Bluetooth, photo section) and ordered by date. This makes it very convenient to view photos - there are several sections in the same folder. You can scroll either using the bar displayed at the bottom of the screen or by simply touching the screen with your fingers anywhere on it. The video is played from the gallery, where videos are allocated separate folder. There's nothing special to say about the phone here. The smartphone does not support DivX and XviD codecs; accordingly, the capabilities for playing video out of the box are quite modest. Timescape Timescape combines tabs that combine messages from various social networks: Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte. In addition, there is data on phone calls, SMS and MMS, email. The displayed data can be customized, and unnecessary data can be hidden. The update is also installed: manually or automatically. Additional applications are installed from the market. For example, you can supplement the set with the Foursquare program. Messages are presented in the form of translucent panels on which the name of the sender, the message test itself, and the source from which the message came are written. The ability to customize the background has disappeared; now it is a constant blue color. The list scrolls very quickly, without a hint of delay. In general, the thing is beautiful and interesting, the main drawback is related to the not very beautiful design- if the author of the message has an avatar, then this image will be displayed stretched across the entire width of the transparent panel. Player To listen to music, you can select tracks organized into several categories: artist, album, tracks, lists. In the latter case, there are automatic playlists (recently added, popular tracks, never played), and manual listening lists are also created. From the list with music, you can add songs to a playlist or send them via MMS, Bluetooth or email. The screen displays the name of the artist, the name of the album and the song being played. In music playback mode, the album cover is displayed (if it was assigned previously), and there are playback control buttons on the screen. If desired, the song is set as a ringtone. You can also tag and post your favorite song on Facebook. Equalizer settings available. These are the following presets: normal sound, classical, dance, flat sound, folk, heavy metal, hip-hop, jazz, pop, rock. There are no manual settings. A mixing mode is provided. While listening to music you can find Additional information about the artist using Google tools. The xLOUD function allows you to get very loud sound from the speaker. It’s not difficult to notice the difference; this option allows you to hear your phone in any, even very noisy, place. The sound quality is very good for the Android segment. There is sufficient volume reserve, the mid frequencies are well developed, and the lower range is also quite good. Fans of deep bass can try playing with the equalizer, which will help change the sound image, albeit not without some distortion. Radio The smartphone has a radio receiver that has the function automatic search stations, you can switch the input manually. You can also save several dozen frequencies in the phone's memory. You can easily switch between your favorite stations by clicking on the small icon, which will automatically move between the saved waves. While listening to the radio, you can record a snippet of a song, identify track information using Track ID, and post the information to Facebook. TrackID allows you to identify the melody playing on the radio on your smartphone or somewhere nearby. Not only the song title will be displayed, but also the album title, artist name and cover art. Organizer The calendar in the device is made in a traditional style; the display of information for a whole month, a week or a specific day can be configured. You can set the alert type and tone for recorded events and meetings. There is a division of information by storage location, each option has its own color label. Creating new entry, it is given a name, a period and a place are specified. You can specify which calendar it will be synchronized with, you can send invitations to contacts from notebook. The repetition period is set (every day, weekly, monthly, yearly). A reminder will help you not to lose sight of the recording - the alarm will go off in advance. Alarm The smartphone allows you to save several alarms in memory. The repeat can be set either once or every day, only on weekdays or weekly. You can also set specific days. The signal melody is set, you can add a vibration alert and a text file to it. Sets the period for the signal to be triggered again. The phone screen can display the weather forecast, date and time in large characters. Subsequently, the screensaver mode is activated. The calculator works in both portrait and landscape orientation. Android Market will be a useful source for installing new applications. There is a convenient search function, as well as dividing programs into categories, which greatly simplifies browsing. You can look at the reviews, evaluate the rating and express your opinion about the software. Each application is equipped brief description and images for greater clarity. Purchased applications are displayed in a separate list, which is convenient: if purchased new phone, you can immediately install those programs that you previously purchased. Standard for most modern devices The application allows you to view videos and search among them. The application runs in full screen mode. Built-in Office version Suite can work with Word files, Excel, PDF, Power Point. At the same time, it includes the ability not only to view, but also to edit documents of these types. Weather forecast and news are useful every day. The Facebook application will allow you to communicate on the network of the same name directly from your mobile device. Let's golf is beautiful game from Gameloft. Traffic consumption can not only be controlled, but also limited by a separate application. Works Google search not only among the data in the device itself, but also through the worldwide search network. Browser A convenient application is used for Internet surfing. A navigation bar is displayed at the top of the screen, and to the right of it there is a shortcut that allows you to bookmark the page. The phone remembers the most visited pages and has a log of pages viewed. Multi-window support, word search on the page, text selection, as well as a practical function for changing screen brightness directly from the browser. Thanks to multi-touch, pages can be easily scaled (virtual keys also work to change the size of what is displayed). The font size changes, password saving works, flash is supported. Excellent scrolling speed allows you to comfortably use your smartphone to view WEB pages. GPS navigation For navigation, Google Maps is used - standard software for all Android phones. There is also a Wisepilot app. The only drawback is that both programs require constant network activity, which affects the amount of traffic consumed by the device. Traffic jams are displayed, so the application has become fully functional and convenient not only for pedestrians, but also for car owners. There is a function for determining the current location, calculating the route from the starting point to the ending point, and specifying the method of movement: by car, on foot or public transport. The route is laid out on the map, and key places are indicated in the form of text messages, which are displayed on the screen in the form of a column; you can switch between them: view the route in advance or vice versa, go back and plot another path. Scaling works using multi-touch or virtual buttons. Connections The smartphone operates in the GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS 900/1700/2100 bands. There is Bluetooth 2.1 with support for EDR and A2DP, in addition to support for other generally accepted profiles. Wi-Fi operation b\g\n is implemented at the usual level. The smartphone remembers entered passwords for networks and can automatically connect to them while within their range. The device can work as an access point and serve as a source for accessing the Internet for other devices. Using a microUSB connector allows you to connect your phone to a computer for synchronization and charging the battery. The presence of a microHDMI slot allows you to connect your smartphone to various external sources (TV or monitor) and broadcast media content from the device to them. Working hours A lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 1500 mAh is installed. Official operating time data is as follows: up to 7.25 hours talk time, up to 460 hours battery life standby time, up to 37 hours listening to music. In continuous video playback mode at maximum brightness, the device worked for 4 hours 40 minutes. Conclusion There can be no complaints about the volume dynamics, as in many other models of the company, the xLOUD option works here. With its help, the call can be heard perfectly. The vibration signal is average and is not always felt. It's nice to talk on the phone, there's enough stock. As can be seen from the description, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is actually a complete copy of the model from six months ago. Changes in processor frequency are not noticeable in practice. The phone works quickly, although it cannot compete with the dual-core Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II, which is still the leader in its class. I liked that they changed the screen, now there are no problems with the brightness reserve; in the first generation it was not particularly rich in colors. Alas, the quality of the photo has not improved; during this time it would be possible to change at least something. Ultimately, it turns out that the company has slightly updated its flagship model. Although this is not a total improvement, there are still some positive changes. The model costs a little more. Recommended retail price is 22,000 rubles, while the Xperia Arc costs a couple of thousand cheaper. “Gray” models are even more attractive and noticeably more affordable. Competitors can also be considered, which offer similar screen diagonals and are similar in function. The Sony Ericsson smartphone impresses primarily with its design. It stands out, looks great, I really liked the white version. It is pleasant to consider it as a kind of fashion device, but with good functionality. © Alexander Pobyvanets, Test laboratory Article publication date: November 22, 2011

As for shooting video, almost the same settings are available here as in photo mode. The maximum resolution for videos is 1280x720 at 30 frames per second. In addition to it, you can set 854x480, 640x480, 320x240 or 320x240.

Performance, autonomy, software

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is based on a Qualcomm QSD8255 processor operating at 1 GHz, as well as a 512 MB RAM array. A nice addition to the powerful hardware is the use of the latest Android versions- 2.3 Gingerbread. All pages in the browser (with Flash support, of course) open quickly, and navigation through them occurs without delay. Compatibility with the entire range of applications from the Android Market is guaranteed.

One of strengths steel extended models multimedia capabilities- this is especially true for the Android platform, which is often characterized by insufficient support for media functionality. Arc has one of the best photo modules, which has already been mentioned, as well as a microHDMI connector responsible for transmitting images to external media. In addition, the manufacturer has provided a proprietary software shell that hides the classic Android interface. It is built on a combination of two applications: Timescape and Mediascape. The first collects information about activity in connected social networking accounts - Facebook, Twitter. Information about calls and SMS has also been added to the general feed. Thus, the entire history of any “social” changes or actions is collected on the screen, which is very convenient. It was disappointing that Timescape's functionality is noticeably inferior to dedicated clients for working with social networks; in fact, you can only read a new message. To view a photo or web page, you do not use this interface, but a standard browser.

Mediascape offers an alternative interface for viewing your gallery and music library. The interface offered by Sony Ericsson is almost in no way inferior to HTC Sense, which has already become the standard for Android add-ons. The latter only looks prettier, especially his latest version. However, from the point of view of customization and customization of the shell, we see complete parity. By the way, specialists from Sony Ericsson have adjusted their interface to low-resolution screens in a very interesting way, namely Xperia smartphones mini and Xperia mini pro. However, we will talk about them in a separate article.

conclusions

In general, despite the fact that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is no longer a hot new product, it is very good and interesting. Some might argue that he does not have dual core processor, unlike flagship solutions from other manufacturers. This is true. But essentially, what does this change? There are still very few applications that take advantage of the potential of two cores. The available performance is enough for any task. The design is beautiful and unusual. Sony Ericsson cares about the appearance of its devices like no other. In principle, there can be no comparison with similar bars from Samsung or LG. The camera is objectively one of the best in the Android environment. Well, the price has already dropped a little. For example,