Sony Ericsson unveils Xperia Arc S

In addition to showing off an Android-based Walkman prototype, Sony Ericsson took the wraps off its latest Android smartphone at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin today.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is a follow-up to the Xperia Arc and brings a faster 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and more entertainment options. These include access to Sony Entertainment's Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services, with a catalog of 10 million songs, radio channels, and the latest movies and TV shows. As for performance improvements, Sony Ericsson says the Xperia Arc S delivers 25 percent faster camera startup and 20 percent faster Web page rendering than its predecessor.

The smartphone has an 8.1-megapixel camera with an Exmor R image sensor and 2D and 3D sweep panorama technology. Other notable features of the Xperia Arc S are a 4.2-inch, 854x480-pixel Reality Display, Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, HDMI out, and a preloaded 8GB microSD card.

The quad-band GSM handset is expected to ship to select markets worldwide in the fourth quarter, but pricing was not announced at this time.