Sony Xperia S – The First Phone without Ericsson

The grass is always greener, and we’re always looking to the next best thing. We evaluate our partners next to random lookers on the street, and we compare our dated phones with Sony’s sexy Xperia S. But is that so wrong?

Yes, it is, but the Xperia S is too desirable not to look twice at.

It’s sophisticated and beautiful, because Sony have put real thought into its design. From the transparent strip near the bottom of the phone to the off-colour lip – there are flourishes all over that make this one trendy little handset. Tan touch buttons control the phone, and are found on the front of the chassis. The whole feel of this model gives the impression of stability, so you won’t be dropping it anytime soon – well, until a younger model comes along…

But the most exciting features of the Xperia S are on the inside, not the outside. Well, apart from the impressive 12 megapixel camera – but we’ll get to that later. The display on the Sony Xperia S measures in at 4.3 inches, and comes with Reality Display. It’s considerably larger, and definitely clearer, than that of the iPhone 4S. The pixel count is also 1280 x 720, so you can stream media in all its glory. And if you want to watch movies on your television, simply plug the phone in via its HDMI port.

You won’t experience lag when you’re switching between media and applications either. The dual-core 1.5Ghz processor is pretty powerful, and twice as fast as that of the iPhone 4S. It’s also PlayStation certified, so you’ll have the entertainment of a PSP with a whole load of extras.

Having said that, the accessories and extras that you can run alongside the Xperia S are a little gimmicky. The SmartWatch is one such accessory – a splash-proof touch screen that streams Twitter and Facebook directly to your wrist. SmartTags are another useless addition, and Sony’s attempt at NFC (near field communication). The idea is that you buy two or three of these tags (at around £20 a piece – phew) and dangle them in random places to change profiles between the home, office and bedroom.

Sony seem to have forgotten that it’s quite possible to do this manually. Either that, or they’re out to make money from our laziness. Whatever the reason, we won’t be purchasing SmartTags.

But to end on a positive note, let’s go back to that camera. At 12 megapixels, the Xperia S will allow even the worst photographer to snap great shots every time. The addition of Sony Exmor R technology means that whether it’s dusk, dawn, or just plain dingy, you can capture pictures in every light condition. What’s more, the phone’s front-facing camera can even shoot HD video – it’ll show every spot or wrinkle when you call friends and family, but it’s an exciting prospect nonetheless.

Although it will originally run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Xperia S will have Ice Cream Sandwich before the year’s out. It’s due to be released in March 2012, so we suggest you get your wallets at the ready.