Sony Ericsson has released two upgrades to its Xperia range: the Arc S and Neo V.
The original Arc and Neo models of the Sony Xperia range were released in SA earlier this year.
According to Sony Ericsson, the Arc S and Neo V are expected to arrive in SA later this month.
The phones share some camera features with their predecessors, such as face detection and auto focus, as well as 3D sweep panorama, which lets users capture 3D images. These images can be viewed by connecting the phone to a 3D TV using the HDMI output.
Both the Arc S and Neo V come with access to the Sony Entertainment Network services “Music Unlimited” and “Video Unlimited”.
Sony Ericsson says the software upgrades mean Xperia users will have access to the full Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 platform, including Google Talk with video chat. The company adds that the new updates aim to make entertainment more social by allowing users to share and discover content with friends through Facebook.
The company says the Xperia Arc S has a larger processor at 1.4GHz (compared to the Arc's 1GHz processor). The Arc S also has 25% faster camera start-up and media conversion, and 20% faster Web page rendering compared to its predecessor.
Colin Williamson, marketing manager at Sony Ericsson SA, says the Xperia Arc S is the fastest Xperia to date.
Festive timing
Steven Ambrose, MD of WWW Strategy, says the release of these devices in the run-up to the festive period is critical to their market success. However, he points out that there is a “huge” amount of new devices hitting the market simultaneously this year.
Ambrose adds that, while the Arc S is very competitive, Sony Ericsson may have lost market impetus “especially in the light of the imminent local arrival of the iPhone 4S and other super phones like the Motorola Atrix”.
He says, however, that the Arc S is up to date with its specification and argues that it features possibly the best screen on the market. He adds that the Neo V has some unique differentiating features and should do well in the market, but its success will depend on promotion, price and operator support.
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