Introduction:
Smart and rugged, two words that don't tend to go together all that often, especially when it comes to phones. A light to moderate encounter with the floor would pretty much wipe out the majority of smartphones out there and as for the rugged-phone market, if you could save more than 1000 numbers on a rugged phone released in the past decade, you'd be in luck. So while rugged phones and smart phones have tended to keep their distance, after the game-changing Motorola DEFY paved the rugged-smart way. Today we'll be taking a look at the Sony Ericsson offering, with its rugged water resistance, dust proofing and pre-installed fitness apps coupled with its smart 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 and optimized user interface.
Design:
The Xperia active's LCD display measures in at 3", has a resolution of 320x480 and is endowed with a couple of Sony Ericsson's own technologies, the first being their Mobile Bravia Engine boosting visual performance and the second a wet-finger tracking system enabling touch input even when the screen or your finger is wet. Viewing angles are surprisingly good, though at its brightest we would have liked the Sony Ericsson Xperia active to shine a little brighter. in turn, outdoor viewing isn't the greatest, so bear that in mind if you plan to take this active handset on a desert trek or a summertime hike.
The handset feels plasticky which means you won't be too precious about it having the odd swing or knock. This makes sense given the dust and water-proofing. Water proof up to 1 meter is what you find in the rival models as well, allowing you to use it in heavy rain and not worry if you spill water on it. However, you shouldn't swim with these phones.
Interface and Functionality:
With a smaller than most display, the Sony Ericsson Xperia active’s UI does the right thing and borrows directly from the working formula found on the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini / Pro. This endows the user with all the benefits of Android 2.3.4, plus Sony Ericsson specific UI modifications enabling comfortable use on a miniature display. Most notably these tweaks include: shortcut screen corners, each housing between 1 and 4 application shortcuts that expand upon selection, a T9 portrait keypad for text entry with QWERTY available in landscape and redesigned widgets.
Due to the small screen, typing on the portrait on-screen keyboard is not among the best of experiences, so we would recommend sticking to the landscape QWERTY, which isn't as great as what we have on bigger phones as well, but is tolerable.
Internet and Connectivity:
The Sony Ericsson Xperia active offers quad band GSM and dual band 3G as well as the usual, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, microUSB connectivity as well as DLNA.
The internet experience on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active is satisfying on the whole though as can be expected, is hampered by the small 3" screen. This means that if you just want to check a couple of websites, or make a quick search the experience should be fine, though for longer usage it might start to get cumbersome.
Camera:
There's a 5-megapixel camera on the Sony Ericsson Xperia active which is also capable of recording 720p video. The interface is in tune with the rest of Sony Ericsson's new line, borrowing heavily from the Sony Cybershot camera UI. Most options are accessible within a single tap, and you can also customize their arrangement, so that what you need the most stays at your fingertips.
Multimedia:
As we said in the beginning, the Sony Ericsson Xperia active features the Mobile Bravia Engine, which makes viewing pictures and video on the phone's screen a much bigger pleasure. Out of the box, the handset is capable of playing H.264 and MPEG-4 video at up to 720p resolution. For other codecs, you'll obviously have to install a 3rd-party player.
Sony Ericsson's music player is user-friendly, with big buttons for easy navigation. You have lots of different goodies to play with, like equalizer settings and the xLOUD option, which should enhance the loudness of the speaker. We actually found it to add some low frequencies to the mix, making for even easier listening. Finally, there's the handy infinity button that lets you perform quick searches for a song's lyrics, karaoke videos on YouTube, artist's bio, etc.
The earphones included with the phone, the MH650 perform above average, with well-balanced sound which you can manipulate using the various equalizer presets. There are also a range of earbuds included.
The battery powering the Sony Ericsson Xperia active has a capacity of 1200mAh, and is rated at 4.5 hours of talk-time, and 14 days of stand-by, which is below average. We guess the small body of the phone didn't allow for a more powerful unit to be installed. That said, it should comfortably last a full day.
Conclusion:
Priced at 19,000 INR
For any queries or more information, call @ 09742512158
Smart and rugged, two words that don't tend to go together all that often, especially when it comes to phones. A light to moderate encounter with the floor would pretty much wipe out the majority of smartphones out there and as for the rugged-phone market, if you could save more than 1000 numbers on a rugged phone released in the past decade, you'd be in luck. So while rugged phones and smart phones have tended to keep their distance, after the game-changing Motorola DEFY paved the rugged-smart way. Today we'll be taking a look at the Sony Ericsson offering, with its rugged water resistance, dust proofing and pre-installed fitness apps coupled with its smart 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 and optimized user interface.
Design:
The Xperia active's LCD display measures in at 3", has a resolution of 320x480 and is endowed with a couple of Sony Ericsson's own technologies, the first being their Mobile Bravia Engine boosting visual performance and the second a wet-finger tracking system enabling touch input even when the screen or your finger is wet. Viewing angles are surprisingly good, though at its brightest we would have liked the Sony Ericsson Xperia active to shine a little brighter. in turn, outdoor viewing isn't the greatest, so bear that in mind if you plan to take this active handset on a desert trek or a summertime hike.
The handset feels plasticky which means you won't be too precious about it having the odd swing or knock. This makes sense given the dust and water-proofing. Water proof up to 1 meter is what you find in the rival models as well, allowing you to use it in heavy rain and not worry if you spill water on it. However, you shouldn't swim with these phones.
Interface and Functionality:
With a smaller than most display, the Sony Ericsson Xperia active’s UI does the right thing and borrows directly from the working formula found on the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini / Pro. This endows the user with all the benefits of Android 2.3.4, plus Sony Ericsson specific UI modifications enabling comfortable use on a miniature display. Most notably these tweaks include: shortcut screen corners, each housing between 1 and 4 application shortcuts that expand upon selection, a T9 portrait keypad for text entry with QWERTY available in landscape and redesigned widgets.
Due to the small screen, typing on the portrait on-screen keyboard is not among the best of experiences, so we would recommend sticking to the landscape QWERTY, which isn't as great as what we have on bigger phones as well, but is tolerable.
Internet and Connectivity:
The Sony Ericsson Xperia active offers quad band GSM and dual band 3G as well as the usual, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, microUSB connectivity as well as DLNA.
The internet experience on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active is satisfying on the whole though as can be expected, is hampered by the small 3" screen. This means that if you just want to check a couple of websites, or make a quick search the experience should be fine, though for longer usage it might start to get cumbersome.
Camera:
There's a 5-megapixel camera on the Sony Ericsson Xperia active which is also capable of recording 720p video. The interface is in tune with the rest of Sony Ericsson's new line, borrowing heavily from the Sony Cybershot camera UI. Most options are accessible within a single tap, and you can also customize their arrangement, so that what you need the most stays at your fingertips.
Multimedia:
As we said in the beginning, the Sony Ericsson Xperia active features the Mobile Bravia Engine, which makes viewing pictures and video on the phone's screen a much bigger pleasure. Out of the box, the handset is capable of playing H.264 and MPEG-4 video at up to 720p resolution. For other codecs, you'll obviously have to install a 3rd-party player.
Sony Ericsson's music player is user-friendly, with big buttons for easy navigation. You have lots of different goodies to play with, like equalizer settings and the xLOUD option, which should enhance the loudness of the speaker. We actually found it to add some low frequencies to the mix, making for even easier listening. Finally, there's the handy infinity button that lets you perform quick searches for a song's lyrics, karaoke videos on YouTube, artist's bio, etc.
The earphones included with the phone, the MH650 perform above average, with well-balanced sound which you can manipulate using the various equalizer presets. There are also a range of earbuds included.
The battery powering the Sony Ericsson Xperia active has a capacity of 1200mAh, and is rated at 4.5 hours of talk-time, and 14 days of stand-by, which is below average. We guess the small body of the phone didn't allow for a more powerful unit to be installed. That said, it should comfortably last a full day.
Conclusion:
Priced at 19,000 INR
PROS
- Waterproof and dustproof
- Range of accessories in the box
- Pre-installed fitness apps
CONS
- Poor call quality
- Low in-call volume
- Camera low on detail
For any queries or more information, call @ 09742512158
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