Sony Ericsson Xperia arc

“The Arc is Sony Ericsson’s first Gingerbread droid, the first to have the new Reality display and Sony’s new Exmor R camera sensor. They’ve given it the best they have but the tech inside doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s the bold lines and compelling elegance that show Sony Ericsson know how to treat a flagship.The company’s slimmest smartphone is easily the most beautiful to date. The phone looks so good we’re willing to forgive some of the design choices that were probably forced on the team: the lens and shutter key placement, the non-hot-swappable memory card slot or the lack of auto brightness control.The Arc has it all in terms of features: big quality screen, awesome 8 megapixel camera and HD camcorder, the latest Android. Not less important, the phone has a soul and spirit.Probably the only place it falls short is not being quite as future proofed as a proper flagship should be. It will be a while before dual-core phones start hitting real hard but when they do, the Arc will be vulnerable.”

“There are little issues in a number of areas that knock the Xperia Arc down from the top of the pile. The advantage it has is that software updates could make this phone better: improve the music player, add some functionality to the drop down bar, give the camera the chance it deserves. The design foibles, like the back key placement we can live with, and Sony Ericsson’s tinkering with the Gingerbread variety Android that the phone ships we think is acceptable too. Returning to our opening analogy of the fling in Las Vegas, we come to that question of whether we think our relationship with the Xperia Arc will last. The answer is yes. Relationships are built on compromise and there is plenty you can do to make this model better - a dab of the Android Market here and there and it’s a more positive experience overall. And we still love the looks. It might be plastic, but it is sexy, and that goes a long way.”

“Sony Ericsson has woken up from a few years of smart-phone slumber with the Xperia Arc. Its shapely curves and Android brains are enough to tempt any smart-phone fancier. Perks like the Bravia Engine screen and Exmor R CMOS camera sensor make this a monster media phone, despite its lack of PlayStation love. With an up-to-date version of Android and a stunning wide-screen display, the Arc is a phone we'd be happy to show off.”

“All that said, we liked the Arc and we think it has a lot to offer to the right sort of buyer. If you're obsessive about display technologies and vanilla Google software like we are, we'd advise looking at the tried and tested Nexus S. But if you just fancy an uncomplicated, big-screened phone to enjoy movies on during your daily commute, the Xperia Arc might just be your perfect candidate. It doesn't really lack anything on the feature front, but it's Sony Ericsson's execution and occasionally odd design choices that hold it back from being a triumph.”