Sony Xperia S

The release of the Sony Xperia S is not only one of the first of the new Sony “NXT” smartphone series, but is also notably the first Sony phone not to feature the “Ericsson” part of their title. The reason for this as many of you will already know is that in October of 2011, Sony parted with nearly $1.5billion in order to acquire the Ericsson share of the mobile phone business.

The Sony Xperia S is a particularly important release because the NXT (next generation) models are all likely to maintain a similar style and design and to a lesser extent, similar features. Sony have previously stated their desire to maintain a level of consistency in the way the phone looks as the new models are brought out – described as “iconic identity”, perhaps in an attempt to replicate the instantly recognisable design of the iPhone and to offer their phones with free gifts. With this in mind, it was imperative for them that the first design was as stylish as it needed to be to continue Sony’s attempts to establish themselves a foothold in the smartphone market – and they managed it.

With a 4.3inch screen but just 10.6mm thick, and a sleek look that is finished off with a clear band at the bottom of the screen which acts as a notification light, flashing with incoming calls or texts, the Sony Xperia S may well emerge as a genuine contender in the smartphone market. It has a 1280×720 HD screen with a 342 pixels per inch, in contrast to rivals Galaxy Nexus with just 316 ppi and the iPhone 4s with 326 ppi. Of course it’s never as much fun looking at a high quality screen if you don’t have something high quality to look at – cue the Sony Xperia S’s 12mp camera or, for those budding Spielbergs amongst you, the full HD 1080p video camera. Another somewhat unusual point of pride and marketing focus for Sony is the fact that this camera can be on and ready to take pictures in 1.5 seconds from standby.

Sony offers a choice of either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage but it doesn’t have the option to extend this memory by inserting an additional memory device, something worth considering when choosing which one is best for you. The android Sony Xperia S is run on a powerful 1.5GHz Qualcomm dual-core processor with 1GB RAM, so should be able to run plenty of programs at once without slowing down.

One of the biggest benefits of the Xperia S is the fact that it is made by Sony and because of this, benefits from being made by a company that also owns one of the largest music and entertainment companies in the world. The Sony Entertainment Network gives the Xperia S owners access to millions of song as well as all the latest films, TV shows and games ready for streaming straight through their phones.

The Sony Xperia S is expected for release in the first quarter of 2012 having been announced at the beginning of January. Eagerly awaited, the first of the NXT phones will have a point to prove as Sony’s first since it’s absorption of the Ericsson brand and whilst no prices have been announced to date, Sony will be hoping the Xperia S has enough to gain itself a larger share in the global smartphone market.