Hands on with the new Xperia S, P and U devices

[Guest PaulOBrien]

We just reported on the announcement of the new Xperia P and U devices at Mobile World Congress and these two devices join the previously announced Xperia S to form the core of Sony's product lineup for 2012. Apparently the Xperia Ion will also come to these shores as the ultra-high-end device, but for now these 3 fill the high, mid and lower end segments with a common design language and a sliding scale of screen sizes and features.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Sony (don't call them Sony Ericsson!) and I'm hereby reporting my first thoughts on the devices! :)

First up is the Xperia S.

Let's talk about specs.

The Xperia S sits at the top end of the 3 devices and packs most of 2012's must have specs. That means a 1.5GHz Qualcomm dual core processor (MSM8260 with an Adreno 220 GPU) with 1GB RAM. At release the device is running Android 2.3.7, with an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich to follow shortly after release. Onboard storage is a capacious 32GB, however this is your lot - the S, in line with the other P and U, has no microSD slot for expansion. The new range of devices also signify Sony's switch to micro SIM, so get your scissors ready if your coming from those old fashioned full size items. :)

A stand out feature on the S is the screen. It is 4.3" (the forthcoming Ion is responsible for big screen entertainment with a 4.55" panel) but it has a 1280x720 resolution giving it a fantastic pixel-per-inch count for exceptionally clear images. Bravia engine display enhancement technology is on board.

The device follows on from it's predecessors the Arc S and Arc with an Exmoor R sensor, this time 12.1MP (up from 8.1MP) with a f/2.4 aperture and a LED flash. The Arc and Arc S took some of the finest images of any mobile phone so i'd expect the Xperia S to be no different. The front facing camera is a 1.3MP item. 1080P video can be recorded with the rear camera, 720P video with the front.

The battery on the phone is non-removable and is rated at 1750mAh. The S is the first Xperia to include NFC.

You can download the full spec sheet from the Sony Mobile site.

So what's it like

Actually, rather nice! Sony seem to have thrown away the last generation's design cues (arguably a shame, as the Arc / Arc S were seriously thin and gorgeous devices) and have come up with a new design language that makes the new range instantly recognisable as a Xperia, even though the models themselves have slight nuances.

As you can see from the images above, the key design elements of the phone are that it's 'squared off' with an unusual transparent bar towards the bottom of the device. That bar really is transparent, which is quite an unusual effect, and it lights up for notifications. Although the button images are on this transparent area, the touch points for the capacitive keys are actually just above the bar (you can just make out the tiny dots below the screen). These capacitive buttons do mean that when Ice Cream Sandwich comes you'll get full use of the whole 1280x720 resolution with no need for onscreen keys.

The device is available in black and white - I used a black model (obviously I think the white looks better). The materials used are primarily rubberised, with the exception of the screen area of course which is 'scratch proof' (no specific mention of Gorilla Glass or similar however). Gone is the Sony Ericsson branding, now replaced with a Sony logo. The back of the device is home to the camera, flash and secondary microphone (for noise cancellation), the little green Sony Ericsson 'blob' logo of old remains. The back panel can be removed for access to the microSIM slot although as previously mentioned, the battery is non removable. The right of the device is home to the HDMI port (a HDMI cable is included in box), the volume keys and the dedicated camera button. YES, there's still a dedicated camera button! Hurrah! The left of the device has the microUSB port.

The device weights 144g and feels good in the hand. It feels like it is constructed of quality materials, as you'd expect from a high end device, even if it is primarily plastic in feel unlike it's Xperia P sibling.

The software on the device will feel instantly familiar to previous Xperia users. That said, Sony seem to have followed the trend of toning down their skin slightly and it feels less intrusive than it did on the previous generation.

The camera software is a vast improvement over stock Android, and Sony are keen to point out the work they have carried out on taking a snap quickly. If a user picks up the phone and wants to take a picture, they can press-hold the dedicated camera button and go straight into the camera interface (but no further), taking a picture in under 1.5 seconds. It works well in practice. I've only taken a few test images (i'll upload them here and add more in due course), but it looks like once again Sony have a cracking cameraphone on their hands.

I touched earlier on NFC support for the device and this is being pushed by Sony with the release of their 'Smart Tags'. These are in effect small, multi coloured Sony branded NFC tags that are available both bundled with the device in varying quantities (depending on your retailer) or separately. They look a bit like cat or dog collar tags and connect to Sony's software on the Xperia S to perform predefined actions. Other accessories being offered alongside the S include a new and updated LiveView (now called the SmartWatch).

One last feature i'd like to talk about is the HDMI output. This was demo'd to me today and worked much as you'd expect - exceptionally clear output (1080P i'm told!) with a custom UI controllable via the device's screen. A feature I hadn't seen before however is that when connected to the TV, provided your TV supports the appropriate standard (and most TVs since 2009 should), you can actually use your TV remote to control phone. Very cool and apparently it should work on all TV brands not just Sony's own.

All in all i'd say the Xperia S is a pretty worthy flagship (at least until the Ion surfaces, or for those who don't want the larger screen), although I hope Ice Cream Sandwich arrives in a timely fashion. I expect pricing to be very competitive (as is Sony's stated aim and history has shown this as the case) so I see no reason why the phone won't do well.

Next is the Xperia P.

The Xperia P is the middle of the range device and loses some of the high end specs of the S along with some of it's size. It has a few tricks of it's own too though!

The Xperia P uses a 1 GHz U8500 Dual Core processor from ST-Ericsson with a Mali 400 GPU, 1GB RAM and 16GB of storage this time. Again no microSD slot and the SIM slot is microSIM. The screen shrinks to 4" and is qHD rather than 720P. The screen's neat trick though is a technology that Sony are calling 'WhiteMagic'. The RGB pixels in the LCD display are joined with a white pixel, which means clearer images (particularly in sunlight) and reduced power consumption. I used the device briefly and the screen did seem exceptionally bright and clear, i'll reserve judgement on outdoor use until I can properly put a unit through it's paces!

The Xperia P again has an Exmoor R sensor, in 8 MP flavour and the front camera is a VGA item. 1080P video can be recorded with the rear camera.

The design bears a significant family resemblance to the Xperia S - with the same 'squared' design and the same transparent panel. Unlike the Xperia S however, the Xperia P has a unibody construction, machined from a single piece of aluminium. This means that the back panel is not removable at all, but the device feels great in the hand for it! Tipping the scales at 120g the phone is suitably lightweight, and comes in black, silver or red. I think the silver looked particularly great given it's metal construction. Power, microSIM and HDMI ports are on the left hand side of the device, with the power button, volume buttons, camera button and noise cancelling microphone on the right. The back of the device is home to the camera and LED flash.

As seems to be a strategy at Sony / Sony Ericsson of old, in operation the device feels exactly the same from a software perspective as it's higher end sibling. The same camera enhancements are included, the same HDMI experience is present and as this device too is equipped with NFC, the same advanced features are present. Again, Gingerbread 2.3.7 will be on the devices at launch with an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade due to follow soon after (these P and U devices will launcher later than the S).

Once again, it seems like Sony have produced a compelling mid tier device. The qHD screen, dual core processor, 8MP camera and particularly the metal construction put it squarely in 'HTC One S' territory so I predict an interesting battle there, particularly as I envisage the Xperia P will be significantly cheaper!

Again, you can download the full spec sheet from the Sony Mobile site.

And finally the Xperia U.

The baby of the line, the Xperia U takes the design cues from it's higher spec / larger siblings and applies them in a fun way to a device aimed at a more budget segment.

The Xperia U, like the Xperia P, features the same 1 GHz STE U8500 processor and Mali 400 graphics.. RAM this time is only 512MB with 4GB internal storage. Just like the HTC One V. The screen is 3.5” with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, again with the Mobile Bravia engine and a scratch resistant coating. This resolution at this size means a pretty decent PPI count, so it looks good in the flesh.

The camera is a 5 MP item with LED flash, but it's not an Exmoor R sensor. Sony assure me that it 'still takes good pictures' but i'll reserve judgement until i've tried it. I also hope that it has a custom camera UI unlike, say, the Xperia Play which had the stock Android app (which is nowhere near as nice)!

As you can see, the design once again is very similar to the other devices, although slightly thicker at 12mm (versus 10.6mm for the S, 10.5mm for the P) and tipping the scales at only 110g. There are differences though in both the construction and the device and the transparent bar. On the Xperia S and P, the bottom piece below the bar is fixed, but on the U it's removable. On the black model you can pop it off and replace it with a pink one included in box, on the white model you can pop it off and replace it with a yellow one included in box. Kinda neat and I imagine other official and third party colour options will become available. If this is neat, then the notification bar tweaks on the U are just brilliant! On the S and P, thebar illuminates in white (I'm not sure if there are other colours, I only saw white). On the U however there seems to be a full spectrum of colours and they are not just determined by the app, but the bar lights up in a colour relevant to your current content. So, if you're viewing your gallery and a picture of fields, it'll be green. A picture of the sky? Blue. Using the pink theme on your home screen? It'll probably light up pink. It's pretty neat (in the style of Philips' ambilight on their TVs) and works really well.

There is no NFC on the Xperia U, and no HDMI port.

The device feels like a decent competition for the low end - the dual core processor is great, even if the 512MB RAM and lack of microSD with only 4GB internal storage is disappointing. It's an appealing 'fashion phone' or phone-for-the-young, you could see it going down a storm on prepay.

The full spec sheet for the Xperia U can be found here.

In conclusion

While Sony's new devices don't pack the latest quad core processors, they are a fittingly modern lineup with some unique differentiation in the current market both around design and features. The lack of Ice Cream Sandwich at launch is probably my biggest concern and I hope this is rectified as soon as possible. Full reviews of all the devices will follow as they become available, watch this space! :)

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[Guest 3shirts]

Just pre-ordered my Xperia S today so pleased to see it gets a good writeup. I am also concerned about the lack of ICS but as a crackflasher anyway I know there are some very talented Xperia hackers over at XDA who will probably have an ICS rom available pretty quickly.

[Guest Tesseract]

Are any of these phones going to include the snazzy new RGBW Exmor sensor for the camera that's rumored to enable HDR Video recording?

The camera's the main sell for me on a new phone.

[Guest PaulOBrien]

Are any of these phones going to include the snazzy new RGBW Exmor sensor for the camera that's rumored to enable HDR Video recording?

The camera's the main sell for me on a new phone.

Hmmm, not familiar with that, do you have any more details?

P