The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is not so different from its slightly older counterpart, the Xperia Arc, which has barely been on the market for six months.
The cellphone manufacturer has made a few upgrades to the Arc model and has added new features in terms of processor speed and 3D functionality.
Slim design
The design and exterior of the phone is identical to the Arc. The outer casing is the same, as is the battery. The Arc S can be purchased in a variety of colours - the one ITWeb reviewed was bubblegum pink.
The Arc S is slim and lightweight, yet sturdy, and is the perfect size for a multimedia smartphone. It boasts good looks and style, and has a decent sized screen.
Power boost
The biggest difference when compared to the Arc is the boost in processor power, as the Xperia Arc S comes with a 1.4GHz Qualcomm chip versus the 1GHz Qualcomm chip in the Arc. However, this is still a single core processor, which begs the question that if Sony Ericsson was really serious about upgrading the Arc, why not upgrade to a dual-core processor?
I personally don't think the slight boost in processor speed makes much difference. When comparing the two phones, the speed in terms of accessing applications, viewing videos and photographs, and playing games was similar.
3D camera
The feature that stands out the most in the Arc S is that it is the first Xperia smartphone to have an 8.1MP camera with 3D sweep panorama, which enables users to take 3D still photographs that can be viewed on a 3D television, connected to the phone via an HDMI cable.
The 4.2-inch LED screen, built using Sony's Bravia engine, features on both models. The touch-screen felt softer and slightly more responsive than the Arc, and browsing the Web and watching videos was a visually stunning experience.
Fast browsing
Browsing the Web was a dream, and the large responsive screen, coupled with a faster processor, makes for one of the best Web browsing experiences in the top smartphone category.
The user interface of the Arc S is the same as the Arc. Sony Ericsson has integrated the latest Android firmware update, Android 2.3.4, into the Arc S. However, users of the previous phone could download the update anyway from the Android Marketplace.
It also features the impressive social network aggregator widget, TimeScape, which combines the user's social network updates within a scrolling window. This is one of the best features and one of the biggest strengths of the Xperia Arc S.
In a nutshell
The Arc S is still one of the best phones to come out of the Sony Ericsson Xperia range and impresses in terms of functionality, features, camera, Web browsing, apps and voice call quality.
However, considering this phone is almost exactly the same as its predecessor, it is disappointing that Sony Ericsson did not add more features or a dual-core processor and more RAM. In my opinion, it would not make sense for Arc owners to fork out money to buy the newer and more expensive model.
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