Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro is clearly aimed at the business users and has been designed considering the ever growing breed of users preferring keys to the touch option. The Xperia Pro comes with a slide out QWERTY keypad which is the distinguishing feature of this model. The phone works on the single core Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon 1GHz processor and 1GB of internal memory. The touch option is provided by the 3.7-inch capacitive touch screen with a resolution of 480×854 pixel LED backlit LCD driven by the Sony mobile BRAVIA engine. The phone works on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and comes with a 512MB RAM, 8MP main camera, accelerometer, and a front-facing VGA camera for video calling. The ubiquitous Stereo FM, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, GPS with aGPS, and HSDPA 7.2 along with HSUPA 5.8 provide the frills.
Key Features:
The Xperia Pro comes with a glossy and smooth plastic exterior and is available in black, silver and red colours. The sliding mechanism for the keyboard is robust and has a distinctive click every time it is opened or shut. The LED-backlit LCD gets some help with the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine which helps to bump up the graphics a fair amount and is a definite step forward when it comes to gaming, videos, and so on. The QWERTY keyboard on the Xperia Pro is quite good and useful for e-mail messages, text messages, and even short blog posts. The keys are decently spaced offer a soft surface and they are really easy to type based on feel. The 8-megapixel camera includes the Exmor R sensor for improved low-light performance, helped by the bright f/2.4 lens. The Xperia Pro captures 720p HD video which can play back on a high definition television using the HDMI output. In addition to the 8 MP camera the secondary camera for video calling comes with a quality of two megapixels. The Xperia Pro has micro-USB and a 3.5mm headphone jack, which sits on the side of the handset. Some of the interesting music features include: TrackID, xLOUD technology to enhance speaker performance
Whats innovative?
The inclusion of the QWERTY keypad is absolutely brilliant, as there are very few models in the market in the smartphone genre that operate on keys. In addition the provision of the high end cameras for both HD recording at the rear and inclusion of 3G capability in the front. The app tray is arranged in pages rather than being an infinite scrolling list which gives it a much more organized and neat look. Another new feature of the phone is Type & Send. With this feature, instead of opening each messaging application individually, the user can use one single application to write a message and then choose to send it through multiple places including: Facebook, email and What’s App. The business theme continues with the introduction of OfficeSuite Pro and support for Microsoft Exchange synchronization.
Price and Availability
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro is available at all major Sony outlets and retails at a price of $350.
The Up Side
The Xperia Pro is definitely a coveted gadget with its sleek looks, stunning colors, light weight and hands on keyboard. The stunning picture quality on the phone’s camera separates it from the rest of the breed.
The Down Side:
The plastic body lends a cheap finish to the futuristic features. The positioning of the headjack would have been preferable at the top of the handset to avoid the risk of damaging the connectors.
The Bottom Line
Overall this gadget is a cool buy and a definite front runner from the Android platform to rival the other smartphones.
