Sony Xperia S: Not your normal Android phone (photos)
The Sony Xperia S offers a minimalist, but daring design with a hefty load of multimedia features.
Kent German
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
The Xperia S continues some of the design tradition, but it pushes the envelope a bit with the lighted bar near the base that holds touch controls icons and the antenna components. The 4.3-inch "Reality" display has a vibrant HD (1,280x720-pixel) resolution.
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Sony says the Xperia S will have an "iconic identity" that will be reflected in the user interface such as the "flow" design on the home screen. Fortunately, though, Sony says the UI will not interfere with Android updates. The Xperia S runs Gingerbread now, but an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich is promised.
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The main menu arranges app icons in a grid design.
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On the top of the Xperia S is the 3.5mm headset jack.
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Besides black, the Xperia S also comes in white. The camera lens and flash sit on the phone's back side.
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The second camera is around front just above the display.
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Thanks to its flat bottom, the trim phone can stand up by itself.
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Media on the display looked pretty gorgeous.
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The Web browser works in both portrait and standby modes.
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The alphanumeric keypad has large buttons and shortcuts to your contacts list.
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The media player has an attractive design that surfaces a lot of controls up front.
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In a version of standby mode, you can see your various apps for contacts, weather, news, music, and search floating across the screen.
