July 22, 2011 at 15:53Golden Ray: Sony Ericsson Xperia ray review
Just the other day, I finally managed to turn in my hands and even steal for quite some time a very recent new product - Sony Ericsson Xperia ray . There will be no thoughtful anboxing in this post - I got the device in my hands, as they say, prepared. Arriving at the new office of Sony Ericsson in the “skyscraper town” of Moscow city, I just got an as is phone, without packaging and accessories. From the ship to the ball. It was then that I was glad once again that the connectors for charging modern phones are unified. Well, since the format of acquaintance with the device did not imply long ceremonies, then I will not delay the introduction - to the point. In natural habitat
The impression of the device in the hands is like a jewelry item. This is facilitated, firstly, by thin, graceful forms with clearly defined edges, secondly, an excellent assembly - no backlash, a tightly knocked down brick, and thirdly, a screen. The screen parameters (like the entire “iron” part) are similar to the characteristics of the “elder brother” Sony Ericsson Xperia arc - the same 854x480 pixels that are located on the capacitive screen. But the diagonal of the screen is almost an inch smaller - 3.3 "for ray versus 4.2" for arc. That is, the same amount of information fits on both screens, so this is only a matter of dimensions. In addition, due to the higher pixel density per inch, the Xperia ray screen looks even a little brighter and more contrast than the arc. This is especially noticeable when two phones are next to each other, with the same color theme:
When these two devices are nearby, another thing is noticeable: outwardly, ray is in no way inferior to the flagship and looks even more elegant to my taste. Surprisingly, the chiseled ray figure makes one of the most beautiful phones of the year look like a clumsy giant in comparison with itself: The
phone is available in four body colors - black, white, gold and pink. However, pink (pink) I would not call that - it's not a nasty puppet color, but rather a rich shade of red rather. The choice of serious girls or guys without complexes.
However, I got a golden device for the test. It was also glamorous, but the reason for the choice was quite prosaic - out of all four test instances available at the Sony Ericsson Moscow office, only Gold had the final firmware.
In addition to its own cover, the phone is painted in the “title color” also according to the piping, so simply replacing the cover with a different color is not a hooligan. It is removed with one fingernail with a fingernail in a recess on the lower end. To take off and dress her is also a pleasure. Under the hood - nothing special, but the build quality in the process of picking in the inside of the device I rated at five.
There was a 2 gigabyte card on the test phone, but there will be a complete set with 4 GB of memory on sale.
The headphone jack and power button are located on the top, the MicroUSB connector is on the upper left side, and the “volume rocker” is on the right.
The front of the phone is almost completely covered by a piece of mineral glass, under which two of the three main buttons (“Back” and “Menu”) are hidden - they are now touch-sensitive. This solution was first applied most recently on the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini .
The thickness of the phone is 9.4 mm.
The only remaining “real” Home button also serves as a stylish decorative element - with its curved shape, it echoes the “emoticon” on the back panel, and when charging, the “arc” is highlighted with a red light at low charge, and green - at high.
Inside - Android 2.3 and a full gentlemanly set of applications familiar from other models of the company this year. But one useful program is only on Xperia ray - the WalkMate pedometer. It works well, regularly counting the number of steps taken. By the way, I never thought that 10,000 steps can be completed so quickly. It’s only a pity that this program will not appear on the Market - so far it is an exclusive privilege of Xperia ray; it can only appear on other smartphones of the company with updates.
Another interesting and useful feature is the energy saving mode. With one click, you can transfer the phone from the "eat" state to the "do not eat" state. Of course, the nuances - where not to eat at all, and where a little bit is possible - are customizable.
In general, the battery holds well. The capacity of 1500 mAh allowed us to survive the deadly number for most Androids from "morning to evening in active use".
The standard multimedia capabilities of the device (including support for 3D games, radio) are seriously reinforced by the front camera, which is suitable for practicing the self-portrait genre or, as we recently wrote, to use Skype video calls . And finally, the preinstalled Twitter client appeared.
The main camera is identical to the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc camera: the same 8.1 MP + Exmor R technology for improved shooting in low light conditions
An old-school-looking, albeit ultramodern, telephone, leads me to strange thoughts. Although formally, according to the filling and belonging to the Xperia clan, he is a smartphone, but for some reason he does not call me associations with hybrid descendants of ordinary phones and PDAs. As I already wrote, the Xperia ray looks and feels as if it had not been the last 3-4 years, and the good old classic Sony Ericsson at once, without experimenting, jumped into the era when the drawn buttons won over the real ones.
Strict, “timeless” design, the latest filling and low price in the recommended 16,490 rubles turn this phone into a potential bestseller - this device can be presented to a person who previously did not recognize anything but buttons, and he won’t even notice the substitution - unless it will become more convenient to use. It will be possible to test my theory very soon - sales will start in a month.
For this money, the buyer will also receive: a stereo headset, a 4GB memory card, charging and a cord.
The assortment of models in the first half of 2011 is as follows: the main branch is the top smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia arc, just a smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia neo , a compact smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia mini and just a very good Xperia ray phone; side branch - side slider with qwerty-keyboard Sony Ericsson Xperia pro (which is larger) and Xperia mini pro (which is smaller); and pioneers - Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY and Sony Ericsson Xperia active . Nice set for just 6 months, right? And everyone has their rightful place in this friendly family.
Also, an attentive reader could notice that I turned in my hands (and even drowned once) the new Xperia active. But more about that in the next post.
PS Subscribe to our blog , and you will not miss a single review!
The impression of the device in the hands is like a jewelry item. This is facilitated, firstly, by thin, graceful forms with clearly defined edges, secondly, an excellent assembly - no backlash, a tightly knocked down brick, and thirdly, a screen. The screen parameters (like the entire “iron” part) are similar to the characteristics of the “elder brother” Sony Ericsson Xperia arc - the same 854x480 pixels that are located on the capacitive screen. But the diagonal of the screen is almost an inch smaller - 3.3 "for ray versus 4.2" for arc. That is, the same amount of information fits on both screens, so this is only a matter of dimensions. In addition, due to the higher pixel density per inch, the Xperia ray screen looks even a little brighter and more contrast than the arc. This is especially noticeable when two phones are next to each other, with the same color theme:
When these two devices are nearby, another thing is noticeable: outwardly, ray is in no way inferior to the flagship and looks even more elegant to my taste. Surprisingly, the chiseled ray figure makes one of the most beautiful phones of the year look like a clumsy giant in comparison with itself: The
phone is available in four body colors - black, white, gold and pink. However, pink (pink) I would not call that - it's not a nasty puppet color, but rather a rich shade of red rather. The choice of serious girls or guys without complexes.
However, I got a golden device for the test. It was also glamorous, but the reason for the choice was quite prosaic - out of all four test instances available at the Sony Ericsson Moscow office, only Gold had the final firmware.
In addition to its own cover, the phone is painted in the “title color” also according to the piping, so simply replacing the cover with a different color is not a hooligan. It is removed with one fingernail with a fingernail in a recess on the lower end. To take off and dress her is also a pleasure. Under the hood - nothing special, but the build quality in the process of picking in the inside of the device I rated at five.
There was a 2 gigabyte card on the test phone, but there will be a complete set with 4 GB of memory on sale.
The headphone jack and power button are located on the top, the MicroUSB connector is on the upper left side, and the “volume rocker” is on the right.
The front of the phone is almost completely covered by a piece of mineral glass, under which two of the three main buttons (“Back” and “Menu”) are hidden - they are now touch-sensitive. This solution was first applied most recently on the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini .
The thickness of the phone is 9.4 mm.
The only remaining “real” Home button also serves as a stylish decorative element - with its curved shape, it echoes the “emoticon” on the back panel, and when charging, the “arc” is highlighted with a red light at low charge, and green - at high.
Small spool but precious
Inside - Android 2.3 and a full gentlemanly set of applications familiar from other models of the company this year. But one useful program is only on Xperia ray - the WalkMate pedometer. It works well, regularly counting the number of steps taken. By the way, I never thought that 10,000 steps can be completed so quickly. It’s only a pity that this program will not appear on the Market - so far it is an exclusive privilege of Xperia ray; it can only appear on other smartphones of the company with updates.
Another interesting and useful feature is the energy saving mode. With one click, you can transfer the phone from the "eat" state to the "do not eat" state. Of course, the nuances - where not to eat at all, and where a little bit is possible - are customizable.
In general, the battery holds well. The capacity of 1500 mAh allowed us to survive the deadly number for most Androids from "morning to evening in active use".
The standard multimedia capabilities of the device (including support for 3D games, radio) are seriously reinforced by the front camera, which is suitable for practicing the self-portrait genre or, as we recently wrote, to use Skype video calls . And finally, the preinstalled Twitter client appeared.
The main camera is identical to the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc camera: the same 8.1 MP + Exmor R technology for improved shooting in low light conditions
Summary
An old-school-looking, albeit ultramodern, telephone, leads me to strange thoughts. Although formally, according to the filling and belonging to the Xperia clan, he is a smartphone, but for some reason he does not call me associations with hybrid descendants of ordinary phones and PDAs. As I already wrote, the Xperia ray looks and feels as if it had not been the last 3-4 years, and the good old classic Sony Ericsson at once, without experimenting, jumped into the era when the drawn buttons won over the real ones.
Strict, “timeless” design, the latest filling and low price in the recommended 16,490 rubles turn this phone into a potential bestseller - this device can be presented to a person who previously did not recognize anything but buttons, and he won’t even notice the substitution - unless it will become more convenient to use. It will be possible to test my theory very soon - sales will start in a month.
For this money, the buyer will also receive: a stereo headset, a 4GB memory card, charging and a cord.
Half year results
The assortment of models in the first half of 2011 is as follows: the main branch is the top smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia arc, just a smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia neo , a compact smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia mini and just a very good Xperia ray phone; side branch - side slider with qwerty-keyboard Sony Ericsson Xperia pro (which is larger) and Xperia mini pro (which is smaller); and pioneers - Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY and Sony Ericsson Xperia active . Nice set for just 6 months, right? And everyone has their rightful place in this friendly family.
Also, an attentive reader could notice that I turned in my hands (and even drowned once) the new Xperia active. But more about that in the next post.
PS Subscribe to our blog , and you will not miss a single review!
