Top Mobile 4 U

The Android platform is among the best out there to compete with Apple and its market dominating iPhone, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is a great example of the alternatives out there. While Motorola’s popular Droid series of Android phones won’t be making it across the Atlantic to the UK, the Xperia Arc will prove you are not missing anything.

The first thing you will notice with this phone is how incredibly thin it is. For the power that modern smart phones are running at, it is quite impressive that the Arc measures 8.7mm at its thinnest, in the middle, and 9mm at its thickest, at the ends. Weighing in at 117g really sells how remarkably thin it is; you may have problems leaving the house believing you’ve forgotten your phone when it was in your pocket the entire time.

The touchscreen measures in at 4.2 inches, allowing multi-touch for easier navigation and zoom. While not as good as the iPhone 4’s 640×690 pixel display, the Arc’s 480×854 pixel screen is still vibrant and accurate in its presentation of colours. However, where the iPhone has greatly frustrated its fan base in its lack of Flash support, the Android 2.3 does run Flash so you can experience much of the online content out there that iPhone users cannot. So, you’ll have no problem viewing Fosters’ online videos of Reeves and Mortimer!

The battery life of the Arc will vary with each user’s usage, varying from 1 day to 2 days before needing to be recharged. While not extraordinary, there are worse performing batteries out there but you should be prepared to charge quite often.

The Arc boasts a decent camera which takes photos well in the light and the dark and is capable of shooting 720p high definition video which is very smooth to use, overall more than you’ll need for a phone’s camera.

On the whole, the Xperia Arc impresses in a lot of areas but excels in few. If you are looking for a phone that will do the smartphone basics and do them well then it is a fantastic phone for you but it is not starting a revolution.