Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
3 DirectThe Sony Ericsson Arc is a treat right out of the box. It is thin and easy to handle. Just like the name says, it has an arc design to the body
Best Value for Money Plan
| Price Plan | The One Plan | 83.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Texts | 5000 | |
| Minutes | 2000 anytime/any network | |
| Internet | 1GB | |
| Handset Cost | £29 | |
| Monthly Cost | £31 | |
| Contract | 24 months |
The One Plan
Currently, Three's most extensive price plan. The only One you are likely to need, this '3' price plan gives you 2,000 (yes 2,000!) anytime, any network minutes, 5,000 Texts, 1GB internet usage and 5,000 minutes of calls to other 3 mobiles each month.
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The One Plan |
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Ultimate Internet
The ideal Three priceplan if you want to use the internet on your smartphone as much as you like, without worrying about how many megabytes you’re using. With no data limits and built-in usage alerts for calls and texts, you can relax and enjoy using your phone.
Essential Internet
If you're not a heavy data user, the Essential Internet tariffs from Three are for you. With a fixed data allowance, Three guarantee you can’t accidentally spend more than you planned. When you reach your data limit, Three will send you a text alert. If you want more data, you can add 250MB data for £2 or all-you-can-eat data for £5 - both last for 30 days. Or just wait till your allowance refreshes next month – Three will block data usage until then so you can’t accidentally run up any extra data charges.
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Essential Internet 100 |
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Essential Internet 500 |
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Essential Internet 300 |
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Our Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Review
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is supposed to do big things for Sony Ericsson. When Sony brought the much lauded Xperia devices on the market they failed to generate the buzz the company hoped for in the smartphone world. The reviews chastised Sony for using an older version of Android and its lack of multi touch. This year, Sony Ericsson strikes back with a powerhouse, the Sony Ericsson Arc. First looks say it will perform at a much better level than the previous flops.
The Basics
The Sony Ericsson Arc is a treat right out of the box. It is thin and easy to handle. Just like the name says, it has an arc design to the body. It is made of molded plastics with a glossy finish. The Arc has three basic buttons for you to navigate: home, back, and menu. The keys on the device are not backlit which is a downfall for most users and a big shocker that Sony left this out. The top right of the device is home to a notification light, volume rocker, and microUSB port. The arc’s tip is where the mini HDMI port is located which makes for very easy access. The camera button is on the bottom right hand side of the device.
The front of the device is dominated by a 4.2 inch LCD screen. The 854 by 480 resolution is good for a smart phone of this size. It includes auto brightness control. Arc introduces the new Bravia Mobile Engine to boost color contrast and sharpness on the display screen.
Performance
Sony Ericsson took big strides to not make the same mistakes as on previous models. It works on the Android Gingerbread with the Sony Ericsson UI layered on top. The phone has a default of five home screens. These are the home screens you get as you are unable to add or delete them at a later date. The web browser using Android is killer. As to battery life, you will get a good day’s use from a single charge. Moderate usage will give you one day on a full charge.
What We Liked
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is a good smart phone that deserves a good look by buyers. It performs well. The web browser is one of the best we have seen on comparable devices. Battery life is longer than most smart phones. Other pluses include the camera and the stylish looks.
What We Disliked
The plastic body of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is prone to messy fingerprints. However, you can add a case to stop this snafu. We love the browser, but it is jumpy when loading flash based web sites. Our biggest dislike was the inability to add or delete home screens.
The Final Verdict
This phone is a vast improvement over Sony Ericsson’s previous entries in the market. In fact, we would go as far as to say it is a very good phone. It is all-round phone for general users. You get great performance and ease of use with a great camera.
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| Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc | |||
General | |||
| Form Factor | Candybar | ||
| Dimensions | 125 x 63 x 8.7 (mm) | ||
| Talk Time | 420 mins | ||
| Standby Time | 400 hours | ||
| Weight | 117 g | ||
| Quad Band | Yes | ||
Photo and Video | |||
| Integrated Camera | Yes | ||
| Camera | 8.10 megapixels | ||
| Video Player | Yes | ||
Phone | |||
| Voice Recognition | Yes | ||
| Smart Phone | Yes | ||
| Internal Memory | 320MB | ||
| Memory Card Type | MicroSD (max 32GB) | ||
Messaging | |||
| Instant Messaging (IM) | Yes | ||
Screen | |||
| Colour Screen | Yes | ||
| Touch Screen | Yes | ||
Connectivity | |||
| 3G | Yes | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | ||
| Yes | |||
| Web Browser | Yes | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | ||
| GPS | Yes | ||
Music and Radio | |||
| FM Radio | Yes | ||
| MP3 Player | Yes | ||
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes | ||
Additional Content | |||
| Downloadable Content | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Games | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes | ||
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Full Specification
General
| Form Factor | Candybar |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 125 x 63 x 8.7 (mm) |
| Talk Time | 420 mins |
| Standby Time | 400 hours |
| Weight | 117 g |
| Quad Band | Yes |
Photo and Video
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
|---|---|
| Camera | 8.10 megapixels |
| Video Player | Yes |
Phone
| Voice Recognition | Yes |
|---|---|
| Smart Phone | Yes |
| Internal Memory | 320MB |
| Memory Card Type | MicroSD (max 32GB) |
Messaging
| Instant Messaging (IM) | Yes |
|---|
Screen
| Colour Screen | Yes |
|---|---|
| Touch Screen | Yes |
Connectivity
| 3G | Yes |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Yes | |
| Web Browser | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| GPS | Yes |
Music and Radio
| FM Radio | Yes |
|---|---|
| MP3 Player | Yes |
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes |
Additional Content
| Downloadable Content | Yes |
|---|---|
| Downloadable Games | Yes |
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes |
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