The Sony Xperia S is the first smartphone to carry the new Sony brand. The device combines a slick design with a large screen and has a 12-megapixel camera that certainly looks impressive on paper. Xperia S is shaping up to be a true hardware powerhouse, with some notable design touches too. The screen and camera are particularly tempting.
According to Sony the Xperia S is the start of a new line of phones called Xperia NXT. The company is aiming to keep consistency in future releases so any new devices in this NXT line will have a similar look and feel to the Xperia S. At just 10.6mm thick and with a transparent band below the screen that hides notification lights, the end result is quite attractive. You can pick a SIM-free one for about £430 or on contract for a two year from £21 a month.
Engine Room
The Sony Xperia S is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 processor which makes the Xperia S felt very fast, with no noticeable lag as we swept through homescreens. . There's also NFC (Near Field Communication) built-in and the Xperia S is a quad-band HSDPA device. The phone's speed is decent, there is no apparent lag when switching between the camera and apps and then on to the browser.
The processor makes bowsing around Android operating system fast and video rendered is very quickly and web-pages loaded at a better-than-expected-for-a-showroom-floor speed. The device is faster than Galaxy S2 and matchin the Galaxy Nexus.
The Xperia S works very well, with apps generally loading quickly and web browsing and scrolling smooth and stutter-free.
The Design
With the Sony font which instantly makes a device look a little more premium and this is the case with the Xperia S. At just 10.6mm thick and with a transparent band below the screen that hides notification lights, the end result is quite attractive.The device has a transparent stripe along the bottom, illuminated by the three touch-sensitive buttons that sit just above it. The phone has a unique look although it's not especially thin, or at least not as slender as snake-hipped mobiles such as the Motorola Razr or the Samsung Galaxy S2. Xperia S weigh at 144g, making it slightly heavier than the smaller but glass-and-steel-clad iPhone 4S.
The Sony Xperia S is definitely a desirable phone and good looking. It has a great, sleek look and lovely design flourishes Sony has decided to give the Xperia S. The strip near the bottom of the device and then met with an off-colour lip. Even with the size, the Xperia S is comfortable in the hand, the curved back on the Xperia line does fit nicely in the palm, but the very defined square edges offset that somewhat when gripping the device.
On the front of the chassis you have the touch buttons to control the phone and the whole thing has a nice soft feel, which means you are unlikely to drop the phone when whipping it out of your pocket. The screen monopolises the majority of the handset, alongside the transparent button bar at the bottom – home to those familiar home, menu and back Android keys.
The device is a solid slab, with squared-off sides and a convex back that rests easily on the palm when you're not using the device for making calls.
You will find three physical buttons on the Xperia S. Up top is a power key that's irritatingly close to the 3.5mm headphone jack, making it awkward to access. You will find a volume rocker on the right-hand side is a volume rocker and a dedicated camera button. All these buttons functionality is impressive when pressed but the keys themselves lie very low. They can be easily missed if you're hastily seeking them with a finger.
The Xperia S takes a micro-SIM -- its slot is squirreled away inside the handset, next to the non-removable battery. There's a micro-USB port for charging and transferring photos and music to and from the phone, and an HDMI slot for hooking up to a TV. These two ports are covered when not in use with small plastic doors that swivel out on a single plastic hinge
The Display
The Sony Xperia S has a 4.3in screen with what Sony calls its Mobile Bravia engine. This is the same technology seen on previous Sony Ericsson phones like the XPERIA Arc, the XPERIA Arc S, and the XPERIA Ray. It claims to enhance sharpness, contrast and colour saturation of photos and videos while minimising digital image noise. It worked well on previous Sony Ericsson phones we've reviewed so we can only hope its performance on the Sony Xperia S is no different. The screen was certainly a good effort with plenty of colour and contrast for an LCD and tons of lovely detail.
The Sony Xperia S display has a HD resolution of 1280x720, the same resolution as the Google's flagship Galaxy Nexus. It also has a pixels per inch (ppi) count of 342. As a comparison, the iPhone 4S's "retina" display has a ppi of 326, while the Galaxy Nexus has a ppi of 316.
The screen is great measuring 4.3 inches on the diagonal, this panel boasts a 720x1,280-pixel resolution, which is the same as the smashing Samsung Galaxy Nexus. That stonking resolution means on-screen icons look really clear, with text rendering very crisply. This display should do justice to your photos and high-definition video.
The display is also impressively close to the top of the screen itself, which makes the Xperia S look very classy. It's something we noticed on the earlier Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S, so we're happy to see that narrow gap popping up again.
The display is made of scratch-resistant mineral glass topped with a shatter-proof plastic sheet. The edge of the plastic sheet also feels slightly sharp under the finger -- it seems destined to accumulate a fine line of unsightly grime. Even with the plastic topping, the screen is fast and responsive and the vieweing angle is amazing.
Camera
Xperia S has 12-megapixel camera. Sony says it will takes photos in just 1.5 seconds from standby and it doubles as a full HD 1080p video recorder. The camera uses Sony's Exmor R image sensor which claims to offer higher sensitivity and less image noise in low light areas than traditional mobile phone cameras. The Xperia S also has a 1.3-megapixel front facing camera for video calling that records 720p HD video and you can also snap 3D photos using a 3D sweep panorama function, although is not a proper 3D as you will need dual-cameras on the back which can be found in LG Optimus 3D Max.
The device is packing Sony's Exmor R sensor, the sensor was present on the Arc and Arc S, and we were very impressed with the snaps those phones were able to capture. So we've got high hopes for the photo capabilities of the Xperia S. Sony reckons it'll snap with speed too -- apparently it takes just 1.5 seconds to shoot from standby mode.
Picture colours are reasonably true to life but there is a definite tendency to over-saturate. Photos can also look slightly over-sharpened, which can have the effect of making different elements in the composition appear as if they are superimposed on the image, lending the shots a slightly surreal air.
The focus can be fiddly when it comes to locking on, especially in low light conditions. The LED flash is good though -- producing pretty decent results by moderating its light so the subject isn't washed out.
There is a dedicated camera button on the side -- Sony reckons you can switch from standby to snapping in around a second when activating the camera by pressing this button. I certainly found it snappy. Indeed, it's so quick, chances are you'll snap the tip of your finger before you remember to move it out of the way of the lens.
Memory
The phone comes with 1GB of RAM, and a choice of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, but disappointingly, the Xperia S lacks a memory card slot so you'll have to make to with the internal memory.
Software
Xperia S will originally ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Sony says the phone will be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the second quarter of 2012. The software delay is likely a result of Sony's exclusive entertainment services (Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited and PlayStation Store) being optimised to work on the Xperia S.
There's a 3D panes overview of your social stream that can be fired up. This fills the screen with a scrollable stack of updates. There's no end to the number you can flip through but the stack of panes is so ugly it gives me eye-ache.
More useful widgets include a weather widget that can be configured to show a dynamic view of the current climatic conditions where you are -- tap on it and it will expand to show a few days hence too. A shortcuts toolbox lets you quickly toggle various phone functions on and off, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS mode.
Battery
The handset has a 1,750mAh battery, not sure yet if this will be enough to provide reasonable uptime. The Xperia S serves up more power than the both the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy Nexus and is a seriously pokey smartphone that’s able to rip through demanding games, HD movies and general multi-tasking without breaking a sweat.
Daily recharges are vital and under intensive use you’ll be looking at more like 7-8 hours.
Connectivity
The phone has HDMI port, NFC and Bravia Sync, and the Android smartphone is PlayStation certified, A-GPS, Bluetooth and Wifi.
NFC (Tap-to-share technology), has been kicking around for a while now but is yet to go mainstream in the UK although it's already big in Japan. NFC can be used to share data as well as make payments though. Sony has included a couple of NFC tags in the box, which can be configured to fire up particular URLs or set various phone functions such as turning on Wi-Fi or pumping up the volume.
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Sony Xperia S Specification
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