The next generation of Sony-Ericsson’s Xperia line has been prematurely revealed before CES starts and it comes by the name of Xperia Arc, a 4.2-inch Android smartphone to succeed the Xperia X10.
The handset is pretty thin, measuring about 8.7mm on the side though it still has that similar look compared to the old X10.
Sony-Ericsson Xperia Arc (X12 Anzu)
Qualcomm MSM8250 Snapdragon 1 GHz CPU
4.2″ capacitive display @ 480×854 pixels
Sony Mobile Bravia Engine
Reality Display
up to 32GB via microSD (16GB included)
HSDPA, HSUPA
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP
8MP autofocus camera w/ LED flash
720p HD video recording
HDMI output
GPS w/ aGPS support
Li-Po 1500mAh battery
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
The Xperia Arc is ready for upgrade to Android 3.0 Honeycomb once it becomes available (we hope Sony-Ericsson puts out a Froyo or Gingerbread update to the X10 soon). The same Timescape/Mediascape UI will be used as a layer on top of Android.
The Xperia X10’s screen was un-impressive so I’m a bit concerned the Xperia Arc will also come with a similar screen. Will update post with actual photos once the handset has been officially announced.
Update: It’s official. Sony-Ericsson sent us the press release this afternoon.The Arc’s camera uses an Exmor R mobile sensor with the f/2.4 lens. All pictures and videos can be shared in HD on your living room TV via the built in HDMI-connector. The screen now uses Reality Display which is supposed to be brighter and clearer than regular LCD.
rachell says:
my aunt have sony experia color white,from japan, and she will give it to me on january, im so excitedddd :) cant w8 to meet u sonyexperia :)
boogs says:
I like to buy sony ericson xperia arc here in japan, and use it in the philippines i dont know if will work there or not
Mars says:
How much kaya ito dito sa Pinas?
Eingild says:
Sir, the X10 will not be updated to Froyo or Gingerbread as far as I’m concerned. Based on some websites like gsmarena and phonearena, an official word came from SE that they will not provide froyo nor gingerbread update for their X10 lineup. Yes! including X10 mini and X10 mini Pro. Probably the X8 won’t get it either.
juls says:
does the XPERIA ARC supports flash player 10.1?
jayc says:
oh mu gosh.. my experia x10i need to be upgraded im waiting pa sa price but sure i will get one.. mas maganda sya ngaun.. i love SE
alej says:
Im A sony ericsson user for the past years (from P800, P900, P910, P1) but suddenly switched to Apple because their mobiles are kinda “no match” to their competitors. Im planning o buy BB Torch / Iphone 4 but this ARC made me love SE again. im so excited to have this phone…. ;-) (hope its not too pricey)
Dan MD says:
Lucien Dominick G. Tiojanco
Re: old SOC
The Snapdragon SOC Chip on the Xperia Arc is actually the new MSM 8255. It is a second generation chipset and not the same chipset used in the “older” 8250 of the Nexus, Desire, X10, etc.
Advantages of Dual Core Tegra 2: better graphics handling due to a higher GPU, better battery performance, multitasking (esp. tasks dependent on the the system core architecture).
You can’t scratch off solo cores just yet. Solo cores have better raw power (brute force) which translates to better computational power for intensive tasks (graphics is not the only process in a smartphone) and processing data streaming, large data transfers occurring in your phone, etc.
“Date”-wise, main architecture of the Tegra is based on the older Arm 11 while Snapdragon is based on the newer Cortex A8.
Verdict: Dual core for high graphics (i.e. games), solo-core for “raw power” (i.e. data streaming, document handling, etc.)
Dan MD says:
On single-core and dual-core CPUs:
Agree with above comments. Single core is enough to get you by. Snapdragon has a good track record and stable. The iPhone 4 also is also powered by a single-core hummingbird variant from Samsung but it is still at par in terms of response time when compared side by side with the Tegra-sporting handsets.
I’d like to see how dual-core performs in the long run first. Although they are 20% faster and purportedly battery efficient, the letdown is it tends to heat up faster than single core chips.
Dual core CPUs will grace niche phones targeted for the really tech-hungry but Snapdragon will still be mainstream for years to come as long as Google Android maintains it as minimum requirement.
Limiting and shifting an OS/firmware to high hardware requirements hastily would result to fragmentation and shun small-time Android players and these would be counter-productive to Google’s goal of smartphone dominance. Manufacturer of Android devices pay Google the same price regardless of the OS version or market positioning of their handsets.
john says:
@gg
tama..
single core cpu is superb na, btw this is using the latest version ng snapdragon at hindi yung nasa x10.
main selling point:
-Exmor Lens (cybershot lens)
-Bravia Screen
-Design
and i believe na super fast na ito since latest snapdragon (same as Desire HD and Desire Z)
gusto ko nga lang front camera for taking picture (not video call lol) pero overall this is a very good device
lolipown says:
@gg
actually you can, just look at SE’s release schedule of android updates. They’re worse than Samsung. But then again if that’s not an issue…
Rem says:
Good work Sony Ericsson! Pwede na to graduation gift! O kaya naman yung XPERIA Play. :P I believe this isn’t the flagship model since may 3 pa yata na ilalabas, including the XPERIA Play. Agree with marco and Knee Loat, Ok pa naman ang performance ng single core cpus. And sana maglabas ng GSM version yung S006 (with XENON flash) tapos ilagay nila under Cyber-shot name.
gg says:
@marco
u nailed it. that’s what I’ve been thinking all the time. but cant blame people.. they are so devoured by today’s commercialism.
basta for me, one can never go wrong with this phone. by the million-dollar look alone, this is worth all your hard money!! made me forget of drooling for ip4!
marco says:
Design-wise, fantastic! I think you guys shouldn’t be apprehensive of not getting the latest cpu technology. Current phones today run smooth even with a year old soc. I can’t even imagine what a dual core can do to a smartphone. Will my phone fly with it?
I think we have to let the technology mature first. When applications that take advantage of that power start to appear, that’s when it becomes a requirement.
But i must admit i want a dualcore too. I just realized that, it will just add up to my standards of a smartphone and that could be very confusing. I don’t want to ignore the likes of xperia arc and n8 just because it’s single core. Not yet.
lolipown says:
upgradeable to Honeycomb but given Sony’s track record in releasing updates, you’ll probably see it when Android 4.0 is available lol
Knee Loat says:
http://www.fonearena.com/blog/24980/sony-ericsson-introduce-worlds-first-16-megapixel-camera-phone.html
hmmm sayang naman ito o…
daniel says:
grabe sabog na utak ko… namamangha ako sa mga nakikita ko ngaun sa CES! sana andun ako haha para may hands-on.
ang ganda nitong xperia arc when it comes to design! grabe ang angas! ang nipis tapos ang kinis nakakatakot ilapag sa lamesa! kaso sana ung CPU nya ung medyo latest..eh ung ginamit nilang CPU 1st gen snapdragon pa eh… pero ung design talaga… pang – akit… panalo!
Geko says:
As much as I loved the Xperia Arc’s stylish looks, the Motorala Atrix 4G is so far the best smartphone being showcased at CES 2011. Checkout the Atrix’s impressive dock feature –> http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/motorola-atrix-4g-hd-multimedia-dock-and-laptop-dock-hands-on/
jquint says:
Although in general I really like Sony products, I’m staying away from their phones. Lots of users of other brands complain about their phone and slow updates, but SE seems to care very little about their phones after you’ve bought them.
If the following link is to be believed, Xperia X10 users are stuck at 2.1 forever. Can SE be trusted to update the Arc to 3.0? And when?
http://androidcommunity.com/no-android-updates-for-sony-ericsson-xperia-x10-beyond-2-1-20110106/
name says:
have i read it right ?! upgradeable to Honeycomb 3.0 ?! that’s one thing that would really make it a hot phone ! but lg has this nova screen, is the bravia display good enough to play with iphone’s retina display (which is so awesome, it is clearer than my eye !) and samsung’s (ok, yeah .. they’re not the only ones who has this) amoled, super amoled and super amoled plus ? hmm .. i think it could, sony bravia has its eputation in tvs, and i guess it should have that for this phone .. and also, about the processor, i think thats also a big minus point .. considering that dual-core phones are gonna come out this year, at least the latest single-cored processor would be good enough, but sad to say, they didn’t .. but the honeycomb thing really made a difference :) good luck SE
vince says:
@twisted_rubz
honeycomb was specially built to support tablets coz if you’re going to check the review of galaxy tab, android apps doesn’t really applicable to its resolution.
parang for both phone and tablet coz now pati resolution ng tablet halos nakikita na sa phone.
realjarley says:
nice phone from SE, a competitor to samsung and HTC?
Geoff says:
regarding sa display, bago ang ginamit dito. X.LED or Reality display accdg. to GSMArena. Tsaka Camera nito feeling ko tatalo sa N8.Design, wala talaga tatalo sa SE. Panalo talaga.
kjalcordo says:
@nem0ry
kaka announce lang ng Honeycomb sa CES.. hehe
TwIsTeD_Rubz says:
I got confused too. According to this video from google, Honeycomb is built entirely for tablets
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/google-shows-off-android-3-0-the-entirely-for-tablet-honeycom/
It’s great to see a device coming out with Android 2.3 right off the bat, and an SE device at that! Now that SE has 2.3 maybe they can roll out 2.3 for the current Xperia users out there and skip 2.2 altogether? I’m sure a lot of their users wouldn’t mind.
NemOry says:
Who has already Android 3.0 on their device/s?
SE at last says:
DAMN! at last SE again packs some heat, hopefully most of their xperia phones will be updated to 2.2, then that would pretty much put them back to competing with the top.
wilde says:
“The Xperia Arc is ready for upgrade to Android 3.0 Honeycomb”
Really?! If this is true, then the rumored requirement of dual-core cpus for Honeycomb devices, is just, well rumors.
NemOry says:
A new generation for Xperia. @Lucien I agree with that, they should use the latest CPU available because it’s their latest unit.
Teknisyan says:
Nice… I wonder what’s the price range of this phone.
Lucien Dominick G. Tiojanco says:
Sony Ericsson seems to be fond of using OUTDATED SOCs. The Qualcomm chip listed is the same one used for Sony Xperia X10 which at that time was already a full year outdated. Can they not use the more recent Qualcomm MSM8255 which offers performance closer to Samsungs Hummingbird processor?
I bet they are planning to price this as high as significantly more beefed up phones with better and more current hardware / software and rely on hype like they always do with their previous “flagship” phones.