Pre-orders are available in the UK for the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc; April release

UK consumers are in for a special treat since they'll be the first ones to take part in pre-orders for the upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia arc which impressed many people in attendance during CES 2011.

This highly anticipated Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone is already making waves, but even more when it's expected to come to market in the near future – as opposed to the lengthy wait times we've seen in the past for other Sony Ericsson Xperia models. You can pick up a pre-order for what appears to be the Midnight Blue Xperia arc model for the price of £459.99 ($728) – which is undoubtedly at the upper echelon of the price category for most people. However, it's actually for the SIM-free version of the handset which will enable you to use it on just about any mobile network around the world.

Additionally, we see that the pre-order post mentions that April 1st will be the day when the handset is released. With that date, it clearly places it within the time frame of early Q2 which is astonishing considering that the smartphone was just recently unveiled during CES 2011.

source: Play.com via XPERIA Blog