Sony Xperia S - A Fresh Xperience

The Sony Xperia S is a fresh start. You can feel it by looking at it, and like a new car smell it teases you with all that's new and nice. The Xperia S is the first Xperia phone without the "Ericsson", and the first of the first Xperia NXT devices to hit the stage. That's a lot of firsts, which Sony may be banking on to wow and impress. But is this fresh start something to really be excited about?

The Xperia NXT smartphones are designed with a "transparent element" encircling the base of the devices. This strip will light up during calls or notifications, and while it's admittedly tacky, the effect is rather gratifying. It blends in well with the phone's more simple, elegant aesthetics, which is reminiscent of the monolithic Sony Bravia TV design.

While the aesthetics are certainly pleasing, the phone itself sports a few highs and lows in design. The highs come with the phone's weight and feel, which is just about right, as well as the downright gorgeous screen, which displays at 720p HD. Images here are bright, crisp and sharp, with good contrast during outdoor use.

The lows come firstly in the form of its touch-sensitive buttons, which the phone indicates with 3 dots at the base. The problem is that the buttons aren't as responsive as they should be, and the poor marking means you'd be taking some time to get used to its exact location. The phone also feels awkwardly longer than most, with the buttons feeling oddly spaced and unreachable. There is also no expandable storage slot, but the phone's 32GB storage might be enough for most.

The Xperia S is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, which does its job to provide a speedy and smooth user experience. Running Android 2.3.7 might seem like a downer, but the Android 4.0 upgrade is set to come in Q2 2012, and the current Ul otherwise does a good job. It helps that the phone is feature-full; it even have 2 NFC tags that let you work around with your environment. And the 12-megapixels is an impressive thing, taking good picture quality and is capable of taking its first shot just 1.5-seconds out of lock screen. Neat.

Sony Xperia S Price $618 Specifications Operating System: Android 2.3.7 (Gingerbread), upgradeable to Android 4.0 Processor: 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 Dual Core Frequency: HSDPA 2100 / 900 EDGE / GPRS / GSM 850/900/ 1800/1900 Screen: 4.3-inch 720p HD display Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB2.0, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm audio Others: 12-megapixels rear camera, 1.3-megapixels front camera Dimensions: 128 x 64 x 10.6mm Weight: 144g

 

Ratings
Performance
Features
Design
Value
(+) Gorgeous screen Good camera Good overall functionality and features (-) Awkward length Touch-sensitive buttons No expandable storage