The Xperia Active has a relatively small three inch touchscreen display which is 1.2 inches more compact than that of the Xperia Arc. However, with a solid 480×320 resolution it does not feel hindered by its size and shares a similar interface to that found on the Xperia Mini and Mini Pro, which makes the most out of the available display area.
The Xperia Active is housed in a chunky chassis which is partially rubberised on the rear to make it easy to grip. A metallic ring surrounds the front edge of the phone while orange detailing gives it personality and helps pick out the volume rocker, power buttons and a dedicate camera shutter key, which is a nice touch. In all it avoids feeling overly cheap and the thick plastic elements help it keep out water and shrug off bumps and scrapes. There is even a little eyelet at the bottom which will help you keep it on a lanyard and gives it a quirky, asymmetrical look that some will love.
While the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active may be a mid range handset, its features show you just how much you can get for your money these days. A 1GHz processor enables Android 2.3 to run smoothly and also lets you record 720p HD video clips using the five megapixel rear facing camera. Sony Ericsson`s custom interface gives you access to plenty of widgets and brings social networking integration to the table, so you can tweet from the top of a mountain or update your Facebook status while spelunking, as long as there is signal.
Full access to the Android Market opens up a world of games and applications, while web browsing is slick and effortlessly achieved via Wi-Fi or 3G. Interestingly Sony Ericsson recently announced that all of its Xperia handsets launched in 2011 will eventually be getting updated to Android 4.0, which means the Xperia Active should be receiving this treatment in the coming months.
If you want an alternative to the mid range HTC mobile phones on the market then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active is a hardwearing option with plenty of forward thinking features and a future proof upgrade strategy ahead of it.
Source : Sony Ericsson Xperia Active
