Sony Xperia S: First impression

Sony unveiled its first smartphone without the brand name Ericsson at the CES 2012. The Xperia S, earlier known as Nozomi, will put Sony firmly in the smartphone game.

Looks: Sony’s much anticipated handset has a conventional rectangular shape that makes it easy to slide into pockets and to hold. It’s neither too bulky nor to thin with dimensions of 128x64x10.6mm, but it quite light at 144 grams. 

It has a slender transparent strip towards the bottom that houses three functional buttons and gives the phone a unique, stylish twist. When the buttons are pressed, the strip lights up. 

Display: The phone has a beautiful 4.3-inches Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine. The HD touchscreen offers a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. Images, videos and widgets appear crystal clear on the screen.

Processor: The Xperia S is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 8260 processor that ensures that the phone is quick to respond, whether its user is making calls or watching a video. 

Storage: The handset offers 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal flash storage. All its functions are powered by a powerful 1750 mAh battery.

Camera: The smartphone comes with a 12MP rear-facing camera that is equipped with Sony’s Exmor R sensor. Additional features on the camera include 3D sweep panorama, red eye reduction, 16x zoom, auto focus, face detection, LED flash and image stabiliser. 

According to Sony, the camera takes only 1.5 seconds to click a picture from the standby mode. Of course, it captures and plays HD video as well. The Xperia S is equipped with a front facing camera as well.

OS: Sony has released the Xperia S with Android’s Gingerbread OS, disappointing many smartphone enthusiasts. The company has, however, promised that the device will be upgraded to the ICS OS in the near future.

Connectivity: The handset offers support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, DLNA, HDMI and NFC connectivity, making it easy to share data, videos and pictures. 

The price of the Xperia S is yet unknown but it is likely to hit stores worldwide in the coming months.