November 15, 2011 at 12:11Review Sony Ericsson Xperia active
Familiar to many readers of this blog and sites about mobile gadgets, Sony Ericsson Xperia active is already in full swing , but I got it in my hands for a full review recently. About the results of the weekly operation of this gadget, I will tell in this review. But first, two words about what it is.
Sony Ericsson Xperia active, one of the last representatives of the Xperia line presented this year, has opened for Sony Ericsson a niche of smartphones for an active lifestyle or just smartphones with increased durability. Compact, waterproof and dustproof, with a powerful processor and Android 2.3.4. Shockproof and unsinkable phones are a rarity, among Androids in our market it’s “he is so alone”. Xperia active is not the case when "gouging is not a pity," but rather, "gouging is not easy." Extreme in my daily life is not enough, and therefore, having received it for a test, I drove it to the cottage in the well to heat it and chop it with an ax. A brand new smartphone fit into the rural surroundings as a native.
Weight and dimensions: monoblock 55x92 mm and 17 mm thick, 110 g weight
Screen: 3 inches, 320x480 pixels, capacitive, multi-touch, with auto-rotation
Battery: lithium-ion, 1200 mAh capacity
Memory: 320 MB built-in, 2 GB MicroSD- included card, up to 32 GB supported
Camera: 5 megapixels, with autofocus, flash and 8x digital zoom, panorama and 3D panorama shooting function
Video: up to 720p (1280x800), 30 fps
It is easy to notice that according to the characteristics of the screen and in general, the phone looks like the popular Xperia mini and Xperia mini pro (the one with the keyboard). The same 3 "screen, the weight is exactly in the middle (a little heavier than a mini and a little lighter than a mini pro). The idea of the engineers is clear: the phone for jogging or out of town should be compact.
Active surprised: in the usual almost cubic-shaped box, the richest set of additional equipment from all Sony Ericsson that I visited over the past year was hidden.
The full list is as follows:
Sony Ericsson Xperia active - the phone is bright in every sense. Firstly, it is orange. Secondly, it has an original silhouette - due to the hypertrophied “ear” for attaching the strap. It’s hard not to notice, and hard to miss. At the same time, the image turned out to be whole and harmonious. With a removable white lid, it looks no less interesting:
But the most important thing in its design is functionality.
Xperia active IP67 protected(Ingress Protection Rating 67). The numbers indicate the degree of protection against penetration of foreign objects (dust protection) and water (moisture resistance). The first number 6, according to Wikipedia, indicates that “a certain amount of dust can penetrate inside, but this does not interfere with the operation of the device. Complete contact protection. ” The following 7 means that “during short-term immersion, water does not enter in quantities that interfere with the operation of the device. Permanent work in submerged mode is not expected. "
The protection of this level Xperia active provides the design of the case.
Firstly, all the connectors (both two - microUSB and a 3.5 mm headphone jack) are covered with thick plastic plugs. Rubber mounts look quite solid and reliable:
At the same time, the lid itself is not waterproof at all - drops of water flow under it. The real protection of the “internal organs" of the phone is the carapace, which is an internal cover, under which the usual filling is actually hidden - the battery, connectors for SIM and microSD-cards.
The tightness of the notch under the nail, which opens the lid, is ensured by an elegant solution - it is located on the protruding mount for the strap:
By the way, the phone's frame made of real aluminum ensures that, if something happens, it will not be easy to tear off the strap. Well, it simply symbolizes the strength of this device.
In the details, phone protection is provided by:
- the front surface of the phone is almost completely hidden under one piece of mineral glass that is protected from scratches, which, in addition to all other Sony Ericsson models of this year, is sealed with a protective film pre-installed at the factory.
- Search buttons, menus and Home - touch. The integrity of the coating is violated only by the auditory speaker and microphone, which, for obvious reasons, can not be put under the glass. But they, as well as the LED flash on the rear panel, are protected by special membranes.
- the power, camera, volume rocker buttons protrude quite a bit from the case and fit tightly. Sensations when pressed are “loose”, without pronounced mechanical feedback.
When it comes to niche products, one of the most important issues is usage scenarios. That is, situations in which, in fact, the usefulness of its features is manifested.
So, in what situations and due to what does Xperia active outperform conventional phones / smartphones?
Which of these is right for me? Jogging in the morning or going to the gym is almost fantastic for me. The bike has already been cleaned until next spring. I don’t lose weight, but gain more and more. It remains only to go for a walk. Our actions?
We push the phone into the case and fasten it on the hand with the strap.
The case has a very thick, almost centimeter, foam lining - probably to prevent rubbing the hand and to prevent the phone from drowning if it suddenly falls into the water in the case. Because of her, pushing the phone inside is not very convenient, but he sits but then tightly. A thing when running is absolutely necessary - fixed on the hand, it is guaranteed not to fall out and will not interfere.
The strap is wide, but a little short - it sits well on the arm, but you can’t put it on your hip. The cover can be attached to the shoulder or forearm - to whom it is more convenient.
You need to put the phone in with an eye on the lock icon printed on the case - then on the go it will be easy to press a button and see, for example, time and missed calls / SMS.
We put on headphones.
Headphones with a case get along well - but a conventional headset without a remote control does not allow more than starting / stopping playback or accepting / dropping a call on the go. You can rewind tracks by quick double tap - forward track, and triple - backward.
Earhooks included - a thing completely awesome. Firstly, they fit any headphone. Secondly, they sit perfectly on the ears - no worse than a different bluetooth headset. And thirdly, they can and should be worn in any situation - I was always annoyed by the habit of fly-outs, for example, in a flea market in public transport or just on the go.
You can also insert the strap. The
thing is simple and elegant, made soundly - dresses tightly, does not fly off. The size of the node is adjusted by the slider. It’s convenient to quickly pull the phone out of the pocket by the cord, or simply fasten it on the hand if there are no pockets during the workout.
So we outfitted. You can run, you can train on simulators, you can just walk around the city or through the forest. In addition to accessories, special software is also responsible for the “active” orientation of the smartphone.
On the go
, a pedometer will come in handy - it considers how many steps you have taken in total, the average for the week and looms before you the goal to go through 10,000 steps.
In the forest A
digital compass that can determine its relative position in the Earth’s magnetic field will help you navigate the terrain. You can also add marks, records, or select a direction to the previously marked object.
In the gym and on the street
Xperia active preinstalled the iMapMyFITNESS application for Android. With it, the smartphone owner can track the route, time, distance, speed, pace and calories in real time for their activities using their fitness GPS mobile devices. Your sync results with www.MapMyFitness.com! According to the website of the application developers, iMapMyFITNESS is perfect for fitness, cycling, jogging or to control weight loss.
And the built-in ANT + chip allows you to monitor your heart rate and count the pulse. He does this not literally - you can’t put it to your heart - just with his help, your smartphone can interact with sensors of various types, including heart rate meters.
In the dark
Also an extreme, in a sense, situation. For this case, Xperia active has a built-in flashlight (I immediately remember the classic quote from the bash ). More precisely, an LED that can fulfill its role and is controlled - and how - by a whole special application. With it, you can select the backlight mode or turn the screen into a light bulb:
In general, this phone is not for swimming. Its water resistance guarantees 100% protection in most domestic situations - splashes, falling into water. Xperia active withstands immersion in water to a depth of 1 m (0.1 atmosphere, then) for a period of up to half an hour. Boil it, for example, is not recommended. Swimming with him with such performance characteristics is probably possible. True, you won’t be able to listen to music in ordinary headphones - to ensure water resistance, the headphone jacks and MicroUSB must be closed, which the phone warns from time to time:
I did not drown it in the well, although there was an idea in the bucket to dip it at the recommended meter depth. Only if, for example, a bucket turned upside down, would a smartphone float away to illuminate the depths of groundwater near Moscow from the last amperes. Therefore, I limited myself to slightly urinating it in the bath - in conditions for the Xperia active almost resort.
A phone under water accepts calls, rings itself, and can even take photos. Thanks to technology wet fingers ("wet fingers" - hussars, keep quiet!), The capacitive touch screen Xperia active normally perceives clicks, even being wet when it was just taken out of the water.
The back cover of black soft-touch plastic, by the way, not only feels “expensive”, but also does not allow the phone to slide in wet hands. And scratches are almost invisible on this coating. But if without fanaticism, it’s better not to chop it with an ax.
The filling of Xperia active is the same as that of other models of this year, including the top-end Xperia arc: Qualcomm MSM 8255 processor with 1 GHz frequency and Adreno 205 graphics accelerator, 512 MB RAM, 1 GB of internal memory, of which 320 MB is free to store information user and applications.
The “four-corner interface” used is already familiar with the Xperia mini . In short, at the corners of the screen in the desktop display mode (or rather, there are only five tables), there are quick access buttons to applications. In each corner, you can group up to four buttons - total by arranging quick access to 16 applications. This interface is an original development of Sony Ericsson, which allows you to effectively manage the relatively small space of a 3-inch screen and is optimized for managing with just one thumb.
On an instance of Xperia active that I visited on the test, the latest Android 2.3.4 update was already installed , which contains a number of original Sony Ericsson solutions.
Of the interesting ones, I drew attention to the new type of folders on the desktop - now they contain a preview of the applications placed in them (up to 4 icons), which also simplifies phone navigation:
- and new camera features.
The main characteristics of the camera are 5 MP, flash, autofocus, recognition of smiles and faces, panoramic
shooting and 3D panorama:
- as well as shooting video in resolution up to 720p at a speed of 30 frames per second:
Photo examples : The panoramic shooting option appeared in the latest firmware. You need to choose the shooting direction (from left to right, from right to left, from top to bottom or from bottom to top), then follow the instructions on the screen. Panoramic photos are saved in the usual .JPG resolution, 3D panoramas also save the file with the .MPO resolution, which, presumably, is all 3D.
On the rating scale, I decided to note the features of Xperia active, lowering the characteristics inherent to other Xperia like a powerful processor, etc.). So:
Dimensions and weight
Rich equipment
Chip ANT +
Moisture and dust protection
Standard battery size
Extravagant appearance
The creators of Sony Ericsson Xperia active positions the device as a model for surfers, snowboarders, and other extreme comrades. Indeed, it is great for replying on water skiing in the summer or on a board in the winter, while keeping in touch and controlling your body - right up to the pulse and calories burned. This is a telephone that should not be left ashore.
PSTo read the news and reviews of Sony Ericsson in your habrant, just click the heart in our profile and mark our blog in the feed settings . UPD In 2012, the successor to Xperia active came out - the Sony Xperia go smartphone :
Sony Ericsson Xperia active, one of the last representatives of the Xperia line presented this year, has opened for Sony Ericsson a niche of smartphones for an active lifestyle or just smartphones with increased durability. Compact, waterproof and dustproof, with a powerful processor and Android 2.3.4. Shockproof and unsinkable phones are a rarity, among Androids in our market it’s “he is so alone”. Xperia active is not the case when "gouging is not a pity," but rather, "gouging is not easy." Extreme in my daily life is not enough, and therefore, having received it for a test, I drove it to the cottage in the well to heat it and chop it with an ax. A brand new smartphone fit into the rural surroundings as a native.
Main performance characteristics of the model:
Weight and dimensions: monoblock 55x92 mm and 17 mm thick, 110 g weight
Screen: 3 inches, 320x480 pixels, capacitive, multi-touch, with auto-rotation
Battery: lithium-ion, 1200 mAh capacity
Memory: 320 MB built-in, 2 GB MicroSD- included card, up to 32 GB supported
Camera: 5 megapixels, with autofocus, flash and 8x digital zoom, panorama and 3D panorama shooting function
Video: up to 720p (1280x800), 30 fps
It is easy to notice that according to the characteristics of the screen and in general, the phone looks like the popular Xperia mini and Xperia mini pro (the one with the keyboard). The same 3 "screen, the weight is exactly in the middle (a little heavier than a mini and a little lighter than a mini pro). The idea of the engineers is clear: the phone for jogging or out of town should be compact.
Equipment
Active surprised: in the usual almost cubic-shaped box, the richest set of additional equipment from all Sony Ericsson that I visited over the past year was hidden.
The full list is as follows:
- phone, battery and microSD card 2 GB
- headphones with the usual 3 mm plug, a clip for attaching the wire to clothes and earhooks (special rubber arms for attaching headphones - in them the usual earbuds sit firmly on your ear like a good headset)
- case for carrying on a shoulder or wrist
- strap with clip
- interchangeable white cap
Armor
Sony Ericsson Xperia active - the phone is bright in every sense. Firstly, it is orange. Secondly, it has an original silhouette - due to the hypertrophied “ear” for attaching the strap. It’s hard not to notice, and hard to miss. At the same time, the image turned out to be whole and harmonious. With a removable white lid, it looks no less interesting:
But the most important thing in its design is functionality.
Xperia active IP67 protected(Ingress Protection Rating 67). The numbers indicate the degree of protection against penetration of foreign objects (dust protection) and water (moisture resistance). The first number 6, according to Wikipedia, indicates that “a certain amount of dust can penetrate inside, but this does not interfere with the operation of the device. Complete contact protection. ” The following 7 means that “during short-term immersion, water does not enter in quantities that interfere with the operation of the device. Permanent work in submerged mode is not expected. "
The protection of this level Xperia active provides the design of the case.
Firstly, all the connectors (both two - microUSB and a 3.5 mm headphone jack) are covered with thick plastic plugs. Rubber mounts look quite solid and reliable:
At the same time, the lid itself is not waterproof at all - drops of water flow under it. The real protection of the “internal organs" of the phone is the carapace, which is an internal cover, under which the usual filling is actually hidden - the battery, connectors for SIM and microSD-cards.
The tightness of the notch under the nail, which opens the lid, is ensured by an elegant solution - it is located on the protruding mount for the strap:
By the way, the phone's frame made of real aluminum ensures that, if something happens, it will not be easy to tear off the strap. Well, it simply symbolizes the strength of this device.
In the details, phone protection is provided by:
- the front surface of the phone is almost completely hidden under one piece of mineral glass that is protected from scratches, which, in addition to all other Sony Ericsson models of this year, is sealed with a protective film pre-installed at the factory.
- Search buttons, menus and Home - touch. The integrity of the coating is violated only by the auditory speaker and microphone, which, for obvious reasons, can not be put under the glass. But they, as well as the LED flash on the rear panel, are protected by special membranes.
- the power, camera, volume rocker buttons protrude quite a bit from the case and fit tightly. Sensations when pressed are “loose”, without pronounced mechanical feedback.
Exploitation
When it comes to niche products, one of the most important issues is usage scenarios. That is, situations in which, in fact, the usefulness of its features is manifested.
So, in what situations and due to what does Xperia active outperform conventional phones / smartphones?
- Going to the gym, training on simulators - convenient mount on the arm
- Jogging / sports walking - pedometer, heart rate and heart rate control, there is also an imapmyfitness app to track your workout results.
- Weight Loss Control (Calorie Burn Control)
Which of these is right for me? Jogging in the morning or going to the gym is almost fantastic for me. The bike has already been cleaned until next spring. I don’t lose weight, but gain more and more. It remains only to go for a walk. Our actions?
We push the phone into the case and fasten it on the hand with the strap.
The case has a very thick, almost centimeter, foam lining - probably to prevent rubbing the hand and to prevent the phone from drowning if it suddenly falls into the water in the case. Because of her, pushing the phone inside is not very convenient, but he sits but then tightly. A thing when running is absolutely necessary - fixed on the hand, it is guaranteed not to fall out and will not interfere.
The strap is wide, but a little short - it sits well on the arm, but you can’t put it on your hip. The cover can be attached to the shoulder or forearm - to whom it is more convenient.
You need to put the phone in with an eye on the lock icon printed on the case - then on the go it will be easy to press a button and see, for example, time and missed calls / SMS.
We put on headphones.
Headphones with a case get along well - but a conventional headset without a remote control does not allow more than starting / stopping playback or accepting / dropping a call on the go. You can rewind tracks by quick double tap - forward track, and triple - backward.
Earhooks included - a thing completely awesome. Firstly, they fit any headphone. Secondly, they sit perfectly on the ears - no worse than a different bluetooth headset. And thirdly, they can and should be worn in any situation - I was always annoyed by the habit of fly-outs, for example, in a flea market in public transport or just on the go.
You can also insert the strap. The
thing is simple and elegant, made soundly - dresses tightly, does not fly off. The size of the node is adjusted by the slider. It’s convenient to quickly pull the phone out of the pocket by the cord, or simply fasten it on the hand if there are no pockets during the workout.
So we outfitted. You can run, you can train on simulators, you can just walk around the city or through the forest. In addition to accessories, special software is also responsible for the “active” orientation of the smartphone.
On the go
, a pedometer will come in handy - it considers how many steps you have taken in total, the average for the week and looms before you the goal to go through 10,000 steps.
In the forest A
digital compass that can determine its relative position in the Earth’s magnetic field will help you navigate the terrain. You can also add marks, records, or select a direction to the previously marked object.
In the gym and on the street
Xperia active preinstalled the iMapMyFITNESS application for Android. With it, the smartphone owner can track the route, time, distance, speed, pace and calories in real time for their activities using their fitness GPS mobile devices. Your sync results with www.MapMyFitness.com! According to the website of the application developers, iMapMyFITNESS is perfect for fitness, cycling, jogging or to control weight loss.
And the built-in ANT + chip allows you to monitor your heart rate and count the pulse. He does this not literally - you can’t put it to your heart - just with his help, your smartphone can interact with sensors of various types, including heart rate meters.
In the dark
Also an extreme, in a sense, situation. For this case, Xperia active has a built-in flashlight (I immediately remember the classic quote from the bash ). More precisely, an LED that can fulfill its role and is controlled - and how - by a whole special application. With it, you can select the backlight mode or turn the screen into a light bulb:
Unsinkable
In general, this phone is not for swimming. Its water resistance guarantees 100% protection in most domestic situations - splashes, falling into water. Xperia active withstands immersion in water to a depth of 1 m (0.1 atmosphere, then) for a period of up to half an hour. Boil it, for example, is not recommended. Swimming with him with such performance characteristics is probably possible. True, you won’t be able to listen to music in ordinary headphones - to ensure water resistance, the headphone jacks and MicroUSB must be closed, which the phone warns from time to time:
I did not drown it in the well, although there was an idea in the bucket to dip it at the recommended meter depth. Only if, for example, a bucket turned upside down, would a smartphone float away to illuminate the depths of groundwater near Moscow from the last amperes. Therefore, I limited myself to slightly urinating it in the bath - in conditions for the Xperia active almost resort.
A phone under water accepts calls, rings itself, and can even take photos. Thanks to technology wet fingers ("wet fingers" - hussars, keep quiet!), The capacitive touch screen Xperia active normally perceives clicks, even being wet when it was just taken out of the water.
The back cover of black soft-touch plastic, by the way, not only feels “expensive”, but also does not allow the phone to slide in wet hands. And scratches are almost invisible on this coating. But if without fanaticism, it’s better not to chop it with an ax.
Platform
The filling of Xperia active is the same as that of other models of this year, including the top-end Xperia arc: Qualcomm MSM 8255 processor with 1 GHz frequency and Adreno 205 graphics accelerator, 512 MB RAM, 1 GB of internal memory, of which 320 MB is free to store information user and applications.
Interface
The “four-corner interface” used is already familiar with the Xperia mini . In short, at the corners of the screen in the desktop display mode (or rather, there are only five tables), there are quick access buttons to applications. In each corner, you can group up to four buttons - total by arranging quick access to 16 applications. This interface is an original development of Sony Ericsson, which allows you to effectively manage the relatively small space of a 3-inch screen and is optimized for managing with just one thumb.
On an instance of Xperia active that I visited on the test, the latest Android 2.3.4 update was already installed , which contains a number of original Sony Ericsson solutions.
Of the interesting ones, I drew attention to the new type of folders on the desktop - now they contain a preview of the applications placed in them (up to 4 icons), which also simplifies phone navigation:
- and new camera features.
Camera
The main characteristics of the camera are 5 MP, flash, autofocus, recognition of smiles and faces, panoramic
shooting and 3D panorama:
- as well as shooting video in resolution up to 720p at a speed of 30 frames per second:
Photo examples : The panoramic shooting option appeared in the latest firmware. You need to choose the shooting direction (from left to right, from right to left, from top to bottom or from bottom to top), then follow the instructions on the screen. Panoramic photos are saved in the usual .JPG resolution, 3D panoramas also save the file with the .MPO resolution, which, presumably, is all 3D.
Summary
On the rating scale, I decided to note the features of Xperia active, lowering the characteristics inherent to other Xperia like a powerful processor, etc.). So:
Dimensions and weight Rich equipment Chip ANT + Moisture and dust protection Standard battery size Extravagant appearance The creators of Sony Ericsson Xperia active positions the device as a model for surfers, snowboarders, and other extreme comrades. Indeed, it is great for replying on water skiing in the summer or on a board in the winter, while keeping in touch and controlling your body - right up to the pulse and calories burned. This is a telephone that should not be left ashore.
PSTo read the news and reviews of Sony Ericsson in your habrant, just click the heart in our profile and mark our blog in the feed settings . UPD In 2012, the successor to Xperia active came out - the Sony Xperia go smartphone :