The first smartphone with “Sony” without
“Ericsson” has HD 4.3-inch/11cm screen, 12MP camera and NFC. Xperia S is a
serious announcement, but will it be the new champion of Android?
Sony
Xperia S
The new high-level phone by Sony runs an
obsolete OS, but Android 2.3 Ginger Bear looks quite rapid here. It won’t work
smoothly as you wish, and some little lags interfere sometimes – especially
when you are navigating web. We are ensured that the coming Ice cream Sandwich
will make the users’ experiences will be much faster.
When the screen is turned off, Xperia S
makes you think that it has no beveled surface. That is not true, but it only
decreases a little bit value of a beautiful screen. 1280x720 is the standard
resolution for big screen TV not long ago, and combined with 4.3-inch/11 cm
screen and Sony image processing, you have a movie experience that other phone
cannot provide.
This is a great smartphone – and looks nice
– which can’t be denied. Not all in Stuff magazine would love the light
transparent bar with the navigation button Android over it, but it comes down
to the matter of interest. Based on dimensions, it delivers good feeling of
holding, and the volume buttons are located somewhere in the middle which is
totally smart. Only the plastic back side lid which sounds “click click”
degrades its value.
With dual-core 1.5GHz, Xperia S is an
extremely strong smart phone through heavy games as well as HD films and
multi-tasking without wasting a sweat. Interesting, but short – charging the
battery again every day is the vital thing with energy consuming, you are
seeing 7 – 8 hours for each charging.
Sony led the competition with the 12.1MP
camera. The image is absolutely bright and has natural colors, and the phone
will move from the stand-by to the taking mode within 1.5 seconds. Video is
brilliant, too, with the wonderful anti-shocking system. The Sweep Panorama
mode works well, although 3D Paranamas looks a bit messy in our tests.
4 smart tags are ready for the supplied NFC
with most Xperia S phones. Stick it to wherever you want and they will activate
the suitable profile if you are still in their scope. What about one in the car
to open Google Maps and connect to stereo Bluetooth, or one in the bed to activate
the alert system?
Sharing experiences
Films
The simplest way to watch movies on the TV
is to connect it through an HDMI cable. However, the better is the wireless
technology like Airplay: click on “Play On”, choose the symbols from a
drop-down menu (all equipment that connects to the Internet by Samsung after
2011 can be compatible with each other) and in some seconds, the videos will be
on the big screen.
Music
The “Play on” symbol will send music to the
connected hi-fi and AV, but more than that is registering a Music Unlimited
subscription, which integrates on-demand transmission with iTunes Match’s
skills. Any song added to the phone is available on other compatible devices at
once. Even there is a Shazam function of adding any song that you can “take”
into the library.
Images
"Play On" also allows you to send
and relocate the album on TV by touching your smartphone. Next to it is a
"share" symbol which will upload your image to everywhere - you can
set up Google+ to upload images when you take photos
Not Sony’s?
Don’t worry. The apps will work well on other
DLNA-connected TVs and music players. If not, Android Market will have a lot of
DLNA apps to help you with that.
Why not abandon the digital camera?
Xperia S is close to the priority target of
a phone camera, that is: defeat normal camera. We can deny the impression of
the 12.1MP camera, especially in low light - but in the end, it impresses us
only because it's on the phone. Similar photos taken from our favorite compact
camera is clearly better. This is not critic - maybe it was the best camera we
have ever seen - but clearly it's also not the holy chalice of phone camera
The first hour with Sony Xperia S
First minute: Oh, nice. I was attracted as
soon as I unpacked.
Minute 11: MS Exchange all my life was
synchronized from MS Exchange
Minute 13: Clear coming calls. How
interesting!
Minute 19: Oh, the camera is really quick,
Minute 23: PC software is installed
directly on the phone
Minute 32: Synchronizing with Music
Unlimited will take couple of hours
Minute 35: Allowing access to all functions
Minute 42: Dungeon Defenders seems
to be brilliant
Minute 59: I was confused much between this
and iPhone 4S
Xperia’s voice
Smart
Wireless Headset Pro
Smart Wireless Headset Pro: this Bluetooth
headphone with Xperia S and you can use it to make a call, play and control
music. The screen also shows ID of callers and text message.
Smart
Tags
Not all network operators provide wonderful
Smart Tags for cellphones, but at least you can buy it separately with 4 of it
in 1 bundle - one for each profile.
SmartWatch
The
touch screen not also controls Xperia S but also play as a role of a additional
screen for everything, from tweet to Google Maps.
Music
Unlimited
Like a combination between iTunes Match and
Spotify, Music Unlimited subscription is compulsory to ones who own Xperia S,
especially who has other Sony devices.
Sony
Xperia S
Review
Ratings: 5 stars
Being smart, fashionable and nice-looking,
this phone is a serious competitor of iPhone 4S
Specs
Screen: LCD 4.3-inch/11cm capacitive
touchscreen, 1,280x720 pixels
Storage: 32GB
Processor: dual-core 1.5GHz
Battery: 7.5 hours of dialing
Connection: Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1,
micro-USB, HDMI, NFC
Camera: 12.1MP, front facing camera:
1.3MP
Video: 1080p at 30fps (back), 720p at
30fps (front)
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