The Sony Xperia S has just been announced here at CES and we were lucky enough to get some one on one time with this handsome handset. With an HD 4.3-inch screen offering a pixel density of 345 and an angular, bold aesthetic, the Sony Xperia S certainly looks out to make an impression stylistically. Inside the phone there’s a 1.5GHz dual core processor, non-expandable 16GB or 32GB of memory depending on which model you get and a 12-megapixel camera as well as Android Gingerbread.
Image and video capture is one of this devices fortes with an HD front facing camera and a 12-megapixel Exmor S camera on the back. This coupled with the HD display makes it the perfect combination for sharing captured content and Skyping or video conferencing directly on the Xperia S. The inclusion of the HDMI out means that you can easily export content to a TV and there’s also DLNA on board to wirelessly throw what you see on your phone onto a large display.
With Gingerbread on board, it may seem a bit bit behind the curb however an Ice Cream Sandwich update has been promised for Q2 2012. That we’ve seen Sony toying with Ice Cream Sandwich on their arc S pretty early on in the Android 4.0 race is reassuring for Xperia S too – lets hope it lands sharpish.
The final key feature Sony are really trying to push with the latest line of handsets is their Unlimited service, specifically, Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited. These services deliver content across Sony products so if you buy a movie on your Playstation Vita, you can enjoy it on your Xperia S, and any albums bought on the phone can be played back on a Playstation 3 – one account to rule all devices.
All in all therefore the media-centricity of the new Sony Xperia S is hard to deny. We can expect a global release in March, so we hope to get you a full review in the next couple of months but in the meantime check out our hands-on video for a more detailed look at the new Sony flagship for 2012.
Without the lithe profile of the Sony Ericsson arc S, what the Sony Xperia S lacks in slenderness it more than makes up for with individuality thanks to thr transparent plastic bar at the base.
There appears to be a lanyard slot at the bottom of the Sony Xperia S along with an in call mic.
On the right is a micro HDMI port, a camera button and a volume rocker which acts as a 16x digital zoom when capturing photos.
The 12-megapixel camera sits on the reverse of the Xperia S, Exmor S processor in tow for extremely fast picture capture. Check out our video to see just how fast and gauge our first impressions of the results.
Looking closer and we can also see an LED flash, loudspeaker and second mic for noise cancelation below the 12-megapixel camera of the Sony Xperia S.
Inside the transparent banding of the Sony Xperia S lies the antenna. We kid you not. If you take a close look, you may be able to see a slight gridded pattern. We were assure this should make for some excellent call quality and look forward to testing the theory.
All the physical buttons are easy to press and responsive, remedying the awkward camera button on the arc S. The 3.5mm headphone jack has also been shifted to the top of the device which is a joy for anyone planning on listening to music with their Xperia S in their pocket.
The Sony Xperia S comes in black and white as you can see, both offering high-grade plastic build and decent weighting in the hand.
The reverse of both the black and white versions of the Xperia S.
The high pixel density means reading is a joy on the Sony Xperia S, and the inclusion of Sony’s Reader store means that anyone with a Sony eReader who has purchased content on their device will have access to it on their Sony handset.
We’ve zoomed into the last shot to give you an idea of the Sony Xperia S sharpness – not a pixel in sight. It certainly was a pleasure to look at in the brief time we had with it with bright vivid whites and striking levels of detail.
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