Sony Ericsson XPERIA Active Review

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Active is ideal for athletes and other fitness buffs. It has been reported to be water-resistant, and is equipped with several fitness applications.

What We Like

The first thing to praise about this mobile phone is the build. It has dimensions of 92mm by 55m, relatively small compared to other phones. It is 16mm thick, however – but that’s because the rear portion is rubberized, perfectly suited to the active lifestyle of its users. The waterproof frame is something to root for, as manufacturers claim that it can withstand being submerged for half an hour. How does it achieve this without getting water into its ports? It’s simple: the USB port and the headphone socket are sealed with watertight flaps.

Another plus point is presence of a 1GHz processor, along with 512 megabytes of RAM. With specifications like these, it’s no wonder why this phone is able to switch from one app to the other with ease.

Software-wise, this phone is equipped with applications that will monitor your diet, the intensity and duration of your exercise, and can even connect to devices that will monitor your heart rate. It also has packaged earphones that have a button for taking and ending calls, as well as for sifting through audio tracks.

This phone can be bought for about two hundred dollars, which is a pretty good deal for a smartphone.

What We Don’t Like

Perhaps a great disadvantage of the Sony Ericsson EXPERIA Active is the size of the display – but this is made up for by the bright and vibrant colors, mainly due to its innovative screen technology.

A waterloo of this phone is that it’s only equipped with 300MB worth of internal memory. Fortunately, users have the option of installing a micro SD card that can support up to 32GB worth of memory.

Despite having a 5-megapixel camera, customer reviews say that the camera isn’t so special after all. The flash feature is barely decent, thus you can only expect good photos with decent lighting. However, this device can record high-definition videos, which make up for its shortcomings in this aspect.

Another flaw in this phone is the short battery life – it has been reported to have only four hours of talk time, and can only last 10-14 days on standby. Furthermore, call quality is below average – indeed, you’d require the person on the other side of the line to shout, if you’re in a loud environment. In fact, reviews say that you’ll have a hard time even in windy conditions.

Conclusion

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Active is a good buy. Sure, it has its downfalls – but it seems the manufacturers were already aware of this, and implemented measures to make up for its imperfections. It’s an ideal choice if you’re a fitness buff who’s looking for a smartphone that won’t cost you a lot of money. Perhaps the only deterrent is the battery life, but even that is bearable when you think of all its other advantages.