Sony Ericsson Xperia active Review

Introduction:

Smart and rugged, two words that don't tend to go together all that often, especially when it comes to phones. A light to moderate encounter with the floor would pretty much wipe out the majority of smartphones out there and as for the rugged-phone market, if you could save more than 1000 numbers on a rugged phone released in the past decade, you'd be in luck. So while rugged phones and smart phones have tended to keep their distance, after the game-changing Motorola DEFY paved the rugged-smart way, the market is now onto its next wave of rugged-smartphones with the DEFY's successor, the Samsung Galaxy Xcover and the Sony Ericsson Xperia active all vying for a place in your action-packed lifestyle. Today we'll be taking a look at the Sony Ericsson offering, with its rugged water resistance, dust proofing and pre-installed fitness apps coupled with its smart 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 and optimized user interface. Add to that the host of accessories the handset ships with and you're getting a pretty good deal out of the box. These include:
 
•    USB charging cable
•    Arm pouch for running
•    Stereo headphones (earbud variety) with attachable earhooks
•    2GB Memory card
•    Rubber Lanyard to secure phone to wrist
•    Additional back cover
 
Design:
 
Screen sizes above 3.7" were regarded a novelty little over a year ago, but with the rise of the Android has come an influx of 4-4.3 inchers, and with the Google Nexus Prime (4.6"), HTC Titan / Sensation XL (4.7") and Samsung Galaxy Note (5.3") just round the corner, there's little doubt that the trend for bigger screens is far from over. At a modest 3 inches however, the Sony Ericsson Xperia active firmly bucks the trend, demonstrating from the offset that it isn't trying to be a media monster, but instead a bulbous, nimble, weatherproofed action phone that can take a splash or dip (up to three feet / 1meter) while comfortably dangling from the supplied lanyard.
 


You can compare the Sony Ericsson Xperia active with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
 
The Xperia active's LCD display measures in at 3", has a resolution of 320x480 and is endowed with a couple of Sony Ericsson's own technologies, the first being their Mobile Bravia Engine boosting visual performance and the second a wet-finger tracking system enabling touch input even when the screen or your finger is wet. Viewing angles are surprisingly good, though at its brightest we would have liked the Sony Ericsson Xperia active to shine a little brighter. in turn, outdoor viewing isn't the greatest, so bear that in mind if you plan to take this active handset on a desert trek or a summertime hike.
 
Physically we've already alluded to the bulbous appearance of the Sony Ericsson Xperia active, so despite being small, at 16.5mm the device is bordering on chunky. Below the display are three capacitive buttons and the microphone while above is a LED notification, light sensor and in call speaker. Surrounding the display panel is a silver metal rim and neon orange detail (depends on color version). A volume rocker, power and camera button sit on the sides while the bottom of the phone houses two weather-sealed flaps, which reveal the 3.5mm headphone jack and micro USB port. Flip it over and the Sony Ericsson Xperia active's 5MP AF camera, LED flash and loudspeaker are all present. An added bonus for the customization fans out there comes in the form of the back covers, one black and one pearly white, both present in the box.
 
The handset feels plasticky which means you won't be too precious about it having the odd swing or knock. This makes sense given the dust and water-proofing. Water proof up to 1 meter is what you find in the rival models as well, allowing you to use it  in heavy rain and not worry if you spill water on it. However, you shouldn't swim with these phones.

Interface and Functionality:
 
With a smaller than most display, the Sony Ericsson Xperia active’s UI does the right thing and borrows directly from the working formula found on the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini / Pro. This endows the user with all the benefits of Android 2.3.4, plus Sony Ericsson specific UI modifications enabling comfortable use on a miniature display. Most notably these tweaks include: shortcut screen corners, each housing between 1 and 4 application shortcuts that expand upon selection, a T9 portrait keypad for text entry with QWERTY available in landscape and redesigned widgets.
 

Due to the small screen, typing on the portrait on-screen keyboard is not among the best of experiences, so we would recommend sticking to the landscape QWERTY, which isn't as great as what we have on bigger phones as well, but is tolerable.
 

Pre-loaded applications include a data monitor app, Connected Devices (DLNA) and other Sony Ericsson standards such as LiveWare and TimeScape, which now includes plug-ins from Android Market, adding additional services that you can follow through the program, like Gmail or Foursquare. Device specific apps include WalkMate, a pedometer app which tracks your steps and the rather long winded iMapMyFITNEESS, a holistic fitness application that tracks workouts and nutrition and even connects to a separate heart-rate monitor that can be bought separately for accurate calorie consumption.

We were able to get localized in about 3 minutes, by using GPS satellites alone. When using aGPS, we were found instantly.
 


Internet and Connectivity:
 
The Sony Ericsson Xperia active offers quad band GSM and dual band 3G as well as the usual, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, microUSB connectivity as well as DLNA.

The internet experience on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active is satisfying on the whole though as can be expected, is hampered by the small 3" screen. This means that if you just want to check a couple of websites, or make a quick search the experience should be fine, though for longer usage it might start to get cumbersome.
 
The Android browser runs very well on the Xperia mini, with no significant delays in scrolling, zooming, etc. In addition, due to its 1GHz processor and native Flash support, you won't miss a thing when browsing. The phone stays responsive even when viewing a Flash-intensive website.



Camera:
 
There's a 5-megapixel camera on the Sony Ericsson Xperia active which is also capable of recording 720p video. The interface is in tune with the rest of Sony Ericsson's new line, borrowing heavily from the Sony Cybershot camera UI. Most options are accessible within a single tap, and you can also customize their arrangement, so that what you need the most stays at your fingertips.
 
We managed to take some passable photos, though colors are somewhat dull and there is a lack of fine detail. The situation doesn't change much when you move indoors, with things just getting a little noisier. The LED flash is, unfortunately, pretty weak so won't help you improve the quality of your photos tоo much.
 

The same can be written about the 720p video. Again, we're witnessing a mostly blurry image that lacks fine detail and clarity, all the while having these accurate, yet somewhat dull colors.

Sony Ericsson Xperia active Sample Video:



It also features Sony Ericsson's new “3D camera” app, which is designed to take a 3D photo, although it is a single lens device.
 

Multimedia:

As we said in the beginning, the Sony Ericsson Xperia active features the Mobile Bravia Engine, which makes viewing pictures and video on the phone's screen a much bigger pleasure. Out of the box, the handset is capable of playing H.264 and MPEG-4 video at up to 720p resolution. For other codecs, you'll obviously have to install a 3rd-party player.
 
Sony Ericsson's music player is user-friendly, with big buttons for easy navigation. You have lots of different goodies to play with, like equalizer settings and the xLOUD option, which should enhance the loudness of the speaker. We actually found it to add some low frequencies to the mix, making for even easier listening. Finally, there's the handy infinity button that lets you perform quick searches for a song's lyrics, karaoke videos on YouTube, artist's bio, etc.
 
The earphones included with the phone, the MH650 perform above average, with well-balanced sound which you can manipulate using the various equalizer presets. There are also a range of earbuds included.

Performance:
 
Our verdict of how the Sony Ericsson Xperia active performs is distinctly split. On the one hand you've got a decent 1GHz processor delivering solid overall speeds, especially considering this is a rugged phone. It tends to fly through most applications and with the revised UI designed for the smaller display delivers decent usability. Add to that pretty good signal strength and you'd think the Sony Ericsson Xperia active was a winner. Unfortunately, that's far from true. Extremely poor call quality tarnishes the handsets performance immensely with muffled audio from the in-call speaker being the norm. Any medium to heavy wind also makes conversation inaudible, a pretty huge oversight for a phone targeting the outdoors / active type. The final nail in the coffin comes in the form of a painfully low max volume that means anything below a clear bellow is a challenge to make out in less than ideal conditions.
 
The battery powering the Sony Ericsson Xperia active has a capacity of 1200mAh, and is rated at 4.5 hours of talk-time, and 14 days of stand-by, which is below average. We guess the small body of the phone didn't allow for a more powerful unit to be installed. That said, it should comfortably last a full day.

Conclusion:

We can’t help but like the Sony Ericsson Xperia active, given the multitude of accessories you get out of the box, not to mention the weatherproofing and pre-installed fitness apps. We even grew to like the protruding bottom as it houses the lanyard which we found ourselves using all the time. Unfortunately however, nothing saves the Xperia active’s call in-call speaker. It really is a shame and weighs heavily on our rating. If you intend to use a Bluetooth headset or the bundled headphones when making calls, you can buy the handset with confidence, if not however, bear in mind this is a great phone with a big niggle. If you like the small screen but don’t really need the weatherproofing, the obvious alternative would be the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini, however if you need a waterproof bit of kit, consider the Motorola Defy+ or the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Xcover.