Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo

Editor's Review of the Xperia Neo

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Neo was launched as an 'affordable alternative' to the Xperia Arc. It may fill the 'mid range' gap for Sony Ericsson, but can it manage to stand out a market crowded with Android offerings?

Design & Build

Design-wise, the Neo looks more like a streamlined version of the Xperia Play than the super-skinny Xperia Arc. Unlike its gaming-focussed brother however, the Neo is small enough to use comfortably with one hand, and its sleek rounded edges make it looks nice and stylish.

Also unlike the Play, the Xperia Neo rocks a two-tone plastic casing, available in Black and Silver (and Red if you're on Vodafone) flavours. The gradient may be extremely subtle, but it adds a touch of class to the otherwise plasticky casing.

Within its chassis, you'll find a 3.7-inch (480 ×854) capacitive touchscreen. This may not be on par with the Xperia Arc size-wise, but in terms of vibrancy and sharpness, it's just as great as its larger-screened sibling. This is thanks to Sony's Mobile BRAVIA Engine technology, which arguably makes for the most impressive displays on the mobile market. There's also a scratch resistant surface atop the eye-popping screen, which should protect the handset from any nasty tumbles.

With a single-core 1GHz processor under the hood, the Neo is by no means a 'hugely powerful' smartphone. However, we didn't notice any lag when switching between apps, and it seemed to work perfectly well for a phone of this size.

OS & Interface

The Xperia Neo runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, lining it up nicely with the likes of the Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation. This is skinned with Sony Ericsson's TimeScape UI, which although relatively obtrusive nowadays, makes it a bit too similar to its Xperia-themed siblings.

Still, you get the usual 'four corner' shortcuts, along with five customizable homescreens filled with widgets for you to rehouse. There's also now a dock across the bottom of the screen, which offers a handy list of all your most used application. That's not all that won us over, as Sony's excellent Social Aggregator widget is ideal for Tweeters and Facebook addicts, although at times, it took a while to update.

Multimedia & Storage

The Xperia Neo's camera is the handset's stand-out feature. It packs the same 8.1 megapixel snapper as the Xperia Arc, complete with the same Exmor R light sensor and LED flash. Just like its more expensive counterpart, the camera captures shots of an incredibly quality, complete with bright colours and excellent detail - even in low-light conditions.

Unlike the Xperia Play, videos can be recorded at 720p too, a impressive little touch for a so-called 'mid rage' smartphone. Just like its photo-taking skills, we were suitably impressed with the smooth, detailed footage.

The best way to appreciate your images in video is by viewing them back on your HD TV. The handset comes complete with a HDMI port, which lets you hook up the handset straight to your television. This can also be used for playing games, which means you play Angry Birds on your 32" television.

As with most of Sony Ericsson's Android line-up, there's a music player widget onboard which can be shuffled about your customizable homescreens. However, you'll only get

Everything Else

With HSDPA and WiFi connectivity onboard, using the browser of the Xperia Neo proved pretty fast without any hiccups. The handset support Adobe Flash 10.1 too, and videos can be watched from within the browser.

In terms of battery life, the Neo's fairly average. With heavy use you can expect to have to charge the handset every day, but by tweaking its settings and having Angry Birds-breaks, you should get it to last a couple of days.

Conclusion

There's no doubting, the Sony Ericsson is a decently, reliable smartphone, punching way above its weight in specs considering its price-tag. By no means did it blow is a way like the Xperia Arc or Galaxy S2, but its a stand-out contendoer within the crowded world of Android.