Sony Ericsson was showing off its latest flagship phone, the Xperia arc, today at a media event in Sydney, and from first impressions this will be a handset to look out for.
Coming to Vodafone and Optus in April, the striking Xperia arc stands out with a big 4.2in display, an 8.1MP camera, and Bravia Engine 3 for better video playback.
The mere mention of Bravia in the context of a phone shows just how seriously manufacturers are pushing to make handsets defacto video players. At today's demo we saw the phone playing HD video via an HDMI cable to a Bravia TV set, without hardly a jitter or judder to be seen.
Other features include an Exmor R sensor, the same technology used in Sony compact cameras and which allows for better photos in low light conditions.
The Xperia arc connected to a Bravia TV. A good way to impress the neighbours?
Video recording is 720p, which puts it on par with the recently annoucned HTC Desire Z and iPhone 4. The other big news is that the Arc is confirmed to come with Android 2.3, which we're also expecting to see on the Google Nexus S.
The Xperia range has an elaborate Timescape interface which includes a universal inbox and the "Infinite" button, which when selected, which searches the web for videos and music related to artists on your phone.
On a side note, a quick informal straw poll we conducted found few people who have actually ever used the HDMI cable to connect their phone to a TV for watching video. Is it still early days, or are manufacturers barking up the wrong tree here?
