SE Xperia arc Review: Arc de Triomphe

Acquainted with the new model range of Sony Ericsson communicators, I came to the conclusion that the company had finally emerged from the black band that it had been in for the last couple of years, and headed straight for white - the Japanese-Swedish alliance introduced such sane gadgets in 2011! The face of the new generation of Xperia has become a smartphone with a talking name arc.

What is what?

"Sonerik" in the past few years, somehow no luck with communicators. The company could not at first keep up with iPhone and the company, continuing to produce devices according to the recipe of the good old P9xx. The transition to Android and the abandonment of Symbian were hard for developers, and the first “robots” were not the most successful, although original: the tubes slowed down, and the software was updated quite rarely. But by 2011, apparently, the problems were resolved, and even the earliest test samples of the new Xperia line models (besides the arc of the SE now also have Play and Neo) pleased with the design and speed. But the main thing is, when it is almost close to the start of sales, Sony Ericsson has set quite reasonable prices for its devices!

Design

The name arc was not for nothing - its back cover really looks like a wide arch. Firstly, it enabled the manufacturer to state that the gadget is super-mega-thin (8.7 mm in the center). Secondly, - this bend makes the smartphone extremely beautiful. And not as a woman, but somehow universally ... so that the handset would be appropriate to look in the handbag, and in the pocket of the men's jacket.

And thirdly, and, probably, most importantly, it is convenient. Really comfortable! The phone, despite its size, lies well in the hand, and does not seem to be a shovel at all.

The photo is not very noticeable, but the back cover is not entirely dark blue, but gradient - from almost black to gray-blue.
')

Buttons

It's nice that Sony Ericsson does not give up on hardware buttons, ignoring the latest tendencies to use soft keys. On the front panel is an elegant shiny strip, with which you can go to the previous page, return to the main screen and bring up the context menu. On the right side there is a short (I would have made more authentic) rocker for volume control and zooming, as well as a miniature camera button. Above there was a place for the device's power key and its lock. The button is quite tight and, plus, everything is recessed into the case, so that by chance (read in your pocket) it will not click. But the index finger to the touch identifies her perfectly.

Connectors

There are only three connectors on the case: on the top face, under the plug, there is a microHDMI (the bundle, by the way, is a normal human meter cable - beauty!), On the right is a microUSB, and on the left is a 3.5 mm jack. There are no questions to the first one - the piece can be very useful at times, especially considering the possibility of playing high-resolution video. The second one also seems to be in its place, and the only negative is the absence of a plug, which is why a pocket pile is gradually stuffed into the connector, and it looks not very much against the background of the rest of the gloss. On the other hand, when connecting, it is not necessary to make unnecessary gestures ... In general, I have not decided: whether it is good or not. But the audio jack is very uncomfortable! If suddenly the complete headset fails (and it fails - the wiring is flimsy), you will have to look for a replacement for it with an L-shaped plug, which, of course, greatly reduces the choice. And it is better not to try to listen to music through an “ear” with a straight plug on an arc - the wire will die suddenly.

Display

The 4.2-inch arc screen is so steep that it seems as if you are holding a smaller copy of the Sony TV set. And the comparison is not far from the truth. In this model, SE used a new type of display - Reality Display, in the production of which Mobile Bravia Engine and Live color technologies were used, already run-in on “adult” LCD panels. At first, I didn’t believe that they somehow affect the picture, but taking two devices in my hands at once (one with the MBE function disabled, and the other with it turned on), I realized that I was wrong - photos and videos thanks to this software chip become noticeably brighter and sharper. We tried to photograph it, but the difference is noticeable only live, so you have to take my word for it :) In addition, the production uses another interesting technique called No air gap, which cleans the air gap between the matrix and the protective glass, so in the off state the display is almost as black as the plastic frame around it. And according to the manufacturer, such displays can save up to 40% of energy compared to the screens of the previous generation, and this can be believed, because during the tests I charged the phone not so often.

Work speed

Sony Ericsson seems to be telling everyone who already worships mobile dual-core processors: break off! Our flagship will not have superpower - one core is already enough. And they, in my opinion, are right: the arc is equipped with a GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 and Adreno 205 graphics chip, and this is enough for the Timescape brand interface to not slow down (the previous models have sinned, but now the problem seems to be solved), but even “heavy” websites were rapidly turning in the browser. Well, in the Quadrant Standart synthetic tests this bundle, of course, does not score as many points as, for example, the same NVIDIA Tegra 2 - 1381 points. (LG Optimus 2x - 2467, HTC Desire HD - 1581).

Camera

The camera shoots pretty well and, characteristically, it “shoots” quickly - it takes 3-4 seconds from the moment you press the button (to launch the corresponding application) until the picture is saved.

Open image in original resolution


Open image in original resolution


Open image in original resolution


Open image in original resolution

As for the video, the camera allows you to record videos in 720p format. I can’t say that I’m impressed with the quality, but overall not the worst option.

Download original video

Soft

On top of Android 2.3.2, which runs Xperia arc, SE installs its own shell, the heart of which is the Timescape application. All messages from social networks (Twitter and Facebook), as well as notifications about SMS, email and missed calls, flock to this carousel. In general, a handy thing, but I was not used to it - I used specialized applications. With the help of such a carousel, you can also view photos and videos. And to listen to music there is a simple and intuitive widget.

Among other things, it is worth noting the branded application Track ID - analogue of the well-known Shazam. With it, you can find out what kind of music is playing now, for example in an institution. To do this, it records a fragment of the song and compares it with the database. I must point out that the SE hit the target much more often than Shazam.

Working hours

To say that I was surprised at the time of operation of this gadget means to say nothing. Xperia arc, considering its rather powerful iron and a huge screen, works surprisingly long - more than 10 hours with a permanent Internet connection via Wi-Fi or 3G, background updates of mail, twitter and other tinsel, plus watch a movie in the subway or listen to music. For a 1500 mAh battery, that's cool, I think!

Competitor

As the main competitor of the SE Xperia arc, I would choose the HTC Incredible S, which just went on sale.

This is not a flagship, but it has a comparable screen size, about the same performance and also has a shell that hides Android. Unfortunately, only version 2.2 of the system. But the price is significantly lower - 23990 against 25990 at the arc.

Summary

I am impressed! Sony Ericsson managed to do something that did not succeed in 2010 - to release a perfectly balanced device: design, screen, functionality, work time - everything is there. And most importantly, the price of it remained at a sane level. For 26 kilorubles, many will want to buy arc! In general, I prophesy a great future for the device :)

TTX

GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
WCDMA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100
OS: Android 2.3.2
Processor: Qualcomm QDS8255, 1 GHz
RAM: 512 MB
Display: TFT (Reality display), 4.2 ", 854x480, 16 million
Main memory: 512 MB, + 8 GB microSDHC included
Communications: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, HDMI
Connectors: micro USB, HDMI (type A), 3.5 mm
Camera: 8.1 megapixels. + 720p at 30 k / s
Navigation: GPS, A-GPS
Battery: 1500 mAh
Dimensions: 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm
Weight: 117 g
Price: 25990 rub.