Gadget Tech Info

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc has been grabbing the attention of the public even before its official announcement was made, thanks to a set of cheeky posters placed at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show.

As far as new mobile phones go, the Xperia Arc is very clearly aimed at the more fashion conscious users out there; it is incredibly sleek and stylish, with a unorthodox concave rear and impossibly slim design (coming in a mere 8.7mm thin!). Despite the supermodel good looks of the Xperia Arc, it is by no means ‘all beauty and no brains’; it comes with an impressive horde of hardware, including a 1GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, 8GB of MicroSD storage capacity, an 8 megapixel Exmor R image sensor, an HDMI output and a 1500mAh batter – not to mention its Reality Display, housed a 4.2-inch screen, which is able to accommodate 854×480 pixels. All of these goodies are powered by the latest Android Gingerbread operating system, which (fashion conscious or not) makes for a very formidable smartphone indeed.

The Sony Xperia Arc tackles all of the demands that are thrown at a modern day smartphone with the greatest of ease; it is easy and intuitive to navigate through, and every action that is performed on it looks jaw-dropping (and easily as good as anything that has ever passed through the iPhone 4′s Retina display). The display is easily big enough to make watching films and browsing photos into an enjoyable task, however, if the screen is still too small for you, you are able to go larger with the HDMI output.

Overall, the Sony Xperia Arc is a superb offering; it has more than enough to help it compete with the iPhone 4, while the longevity of its battery life could even sway many people over to Sony’s way of thinking…

Just a few years ago HTC was an unknown brand but now it is the manufacturer of some of the most popular smartphones around.

The HTC sensation is the latest phone to be launched by the firm and sports high-tech features alongside and updated version of the companies Sense user interface.

At first look the Sensation looks a lot like the HTC Desire S thanks to its rounded aluminium casing. It is a little bit larger than its rivals and at 11.3 mm thick it is thicker than the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2. However, despite this it is still comfortable to hold.

The screen is a qHD (540×960) resolution so while it doesn’t quite have the sharpness of the iPhone 4′s 640×960 pixels it is much sharper than many of its rivals meaning that the display is bright and text clear even when you zoom in. However, it does share the problems of other HTC phones in that in bright sunlight screen visibility can be an issue.

The Sensation features the latest Google OS the Android 2.3.3 and also has an updated Sense interface as well as a 1.2GHz, dual-core processor.

One thing that is new for HTC fans is the new 3D scrolling – so if you scroll through the home screens you will see them rotating on a virtual cylinder rather than going from left to right in a linear fashion. Even the widgets expand inwards and outwards showing off just what the dual processor can do.

The touchscreen is also very responsive as it responds easily to the touch that makes it very easy to use.

The lock screen has also been overhauled instead of dragging a bar upwards to open the phone there is a ring instead. However, this system doesn’t always work so it can sometimes take several attempts to get into the phone.

It also pack an 8mp camera with dual-LED flash and autofocus which apart from a Xenon flash has everything you would want from a camera phone.

Overall, the Sensation is a good phone full of high specs however, there are lighter and thinner phones.

The Blackberry Torch 9800 is the latest offering from RIM and is its best attempt to tackle touchscreen technology.

It still keeps the keyboard that is so typical of Blackberry but the touchscreen isn’t quite as smooth as some of its rivals such as the HTC or iPhone and it can become a bit confused about whether you are tapping or strolling but it still works well and isn’t a huge deal breaker.

Its 3.2 inch display also lacks resolution and can look a little underwhelming when compared to an iPhone 4 or Samsung Galaxy. It takes a lot of zooming to make a web page really readable.

However, there is still the traditional Blackberry keyboard which slide out portrait wide and not the traditional landscape orientation. The keyboard is perfect fort those who use the phone for business as many find it easier to use for long text then onscreen keyboards.

The Torch’s operating system has also been updated – the new OS6 is much glossier than the OS4 which is found on phones like the Curve and has more colour and personality than the OS5 found on the Bold.

The Blackberry App store comes as standard with the phone and although not as extensive as the Apple or Android App store it is a growing market place.

The new OS also gives Blackberry users the best web experience of any of its phones. Like the Android and Nokia it used WebKit technology which means that pages load quickly and mostly without error while navigating pages is easy. There are two new icons for browsing – bookmarks and tabs and the tabbed browsing is especially useful as it makes checking sites easy.

What’s more the speed of the internet over 3G is just as fast as it would be with WiFi. However, unlike a lot of newer Android models there is no Flash which is a disappointment. While the browser is so much better than older RIM phones it is no better than other phones on the market the Torch has merely caught up with them.

The Torch is great for people who love the convenience of a QWERTY keyboard – business people mostly – but still want a touchscreen. However, it doesn’t have the fun factor of a lot of other smartphones.

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The Motorola droid X is one of the most recent additions to the Verizon line of products. This incredible smart phone boasts a stunning 4.3 inch touchscreen, and comes with some of the most notable multimedia features of any phone. The phone comes with an eight megapixel camera that is capable of capturing video in high definition, HDMI output, and support for DLNA. Another appealing aspect of the Motorola Droid X is the fact that it has 4G support will pricewise, the phone cost $200 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate. The Motorola droid X is relatively large in comparison to other smart phones, measuring at 5 inches tall by approximately 2 1/2 inches wide. Nonetheless, the phone is surprisingly light, yet somehow durable as well.

The large size of the phone makes it fits snugly into the pocket, and may even make it harder to lose or drop. The generous display is set in the 16:9 aspect ratio and is in full of showing 854×480 pixels with thousands dynamic and vibrant colors. The Droid X also includes a proximity sensor and integrated accelerometer that are both highly responsive and useful when adjusting screen orientation. The Motorola droid X comes to keyboards – a virtual keyboard and a physical keyboard. Although most people prefer the physical keyboard, it is worth noting that the virtual keyboard is just as easy to use, many of the problems associated with touchscreen keyboards have been eliminated.