The Sony
Xperia
Xperia () is the brand name of smartphones and tablets from Sony. The name Xperia is derived from the word "experience", and was first used in the Xperia X1 tagline of "I Xperia the best".
Sony Mobile was previously known globally as Sony Er ...
S (also known as the Sony Ericsson Xperia NX in Japan) is an
Android smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...
from
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
launched at the 2012
Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event t ...
. It is the first
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
-only branded smartphone after Sony acquired
Ericsson
(lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in inform ...
's stake in Sony Ericsson in January 2012. The Xperia S has a touch-screen with the mobile
BRAVIA
Bravia (stylized as BRAVIA) is a brand of Sony Visual Products Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, and used for its television products. Its backronym is "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture". All Sony high-defi ...
engine which optimizes the picture, a 1.5 GHz dual core processor, a 12.0-megapixel rear camera,
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...
-out, 1 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of internal storage.
Availability
The handset has been available in Barcelona since the 29 February 2012 after the
Mobile World Congress
MWC Barcelona (formerly but still commonly referred to as Mobile World Congress) is an annual trade show organised by GSMA, dedicated primarily to the mobile communications industry.
The event is held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain at the ...
, and in United Kingdom since March 2012 at a
MSRP
The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...
of 399 GBP or 449 EUR in France, in Singapore at $700, and in Malaysia at RM1899.
Hardware
;Display
The Xperia S
capacitive touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...
display features a 720p zero-air-gap display on a 4.3-inch chassis and at 342 ppi which, at release, was tied with the
HTC Rezound
The HTC Rezound is a smartphone by HTC and sold through Verizon. Along with the Galaxy Nexus and Droid RAZR, it was expected to be a major competitor to the iPhone 4S. It was released on November 14, 2011. It is also the first phone to use Beats ...
for the highest pixel density in any mobile phone. It supports
multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CERN, MIT, University ...
and features High Definition Reality Display with mobile
BRAVIA
Bravia (stylized as BRAVIA) is a brand of Sony Visual Products Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, and used for its television products. Its backronym is "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture". All Sony high-defi ...
engine from
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
and is capable of displaying 16,777,216 colours.
;Cameras
The rear camera has 12
megapixels
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the s ...
with Exmor R for low light capturing and is capable of recording video at
1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...
(Full High Definition) with
stereo audio.,
both unveiled in 2012.
It also features a front-facing camera of 1.3
megapixels
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the s ...
and is capable of recording video at
720p
720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcas ...
. With its Fast Capture feature, it allows you to take a photo instantly from sleep mode in just 1.5 seconds.
The device is equipped with a dedicated physical shutter button for capturing photos and speedily launching the camera.
;Chipsets and connectivity
The device features a 1.5 GHz dual core processor, 1 GB
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
, 32 GB internal storage, a micro-USB connector that also supports
USB On-The-Go
USB On-The-Go (USB OTG or just OTG) is a specification first used in late 2001 that allows USB devices, such as tablets or smartphones, to act as a host, allowing other USB devices, such as USB flash drives, digital cameras, mouse or keyboa ...
and a micro HDMI port for viewing pictures and videos from the device on a TV screen. It is also equipped with NFC (
Near Field Communication
Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm (1 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be u ...
) enabled which can be used with Xperia SmartTags, or for low value financial transactions, as NFC becomes more widespread in use, with the appropriate applications from
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...
.
The Xperia S also come with a special nano coating that is not just dirt repellent but also UV Active. It is also report that the Xperia S come with a fast charging ability. Charge times will be reduced by half and a 10-minute charge is good enough to keep the phone going for an hour.
Software
The Xperia S was released with
Android 2.3 ("
Gingerbread
Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as cr ...
"), but received an update to Android 4.0.4 ("Ice Cream Sandwich") on 21 June in some countries or carriers. Sony has announced an update to Android Jelly Bean 4.1 for the Xperia S from the end of May 2013.
The update to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean began to roll out on 30 May 2013. The update brought new features, such as improved entertainment and camera apps, improved battery life, improved app organisation and new personalisation options.
The Xperia S is Facebook integrated and features the Timescape UI. It is also
PlayStation Certified
PlayStation Mobile (formerly PlayStation SuiteHinkle, David. (2012-06-04 HTC is first partner for 'PlayStation Mobile,' the new name for PlayStation Suite which allows users to play PlayStation Suite">pdate: Press release added Joystiq. Retrieved on 2013-08-23.) was a software framework us ...
which allows users to play PlayStation Suite games, and is connected to the Sony Entertainment Network, allowing users to access Music & Video Unlimited. The Xperia S is also DLNA certified.
You can make your device run on KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow, Nougat and Oreo by using
custom roms
The front of the Xperia S is almost 90% glass which appears all black when the screen is off and the back is curved slightly for comfort. The antenna is embedded in the transparent strip which cuts through the base of the device, the strip illuminates and indicates where the back, home, and menu buttons are placed.
Unlike the competing
, the Xperia S is equipped with a dedicated physical camera shutter button which can also be used to quick-launch the camera.
The buttons themselves are implemented as touch-sensitive regions between the transparent strip and the screen, like on the
. Under the transparent belt, there is an XPERIA inscribed on top.
This design approach is what Sony described as “Iconic Identity”, which is a simple and strong look that's easily recognizable as a Sony Xperia.
At launch, the Xperia S was praised for its hardware, its distinctive design, high-definition display, efficient camera and voice clarity but was criticized for its lack of removable storage and battery. Among Android smartphones, it competed with the
. The 2012 June update to the newest Android version, 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), was well received and added its own improvements.
Despite the Xperia S and the
camera for its colours, exposure, focus and noise reduction, (some comments on Natasha's article criticised that the test was biased and unfair whilst others felt that the conclusion was justified), but for Basil Kronfli of recombu, the Xperia S was nearly tied with the HTC One X for the best camera, for its physical button and detailed picture quality, ahead of the
, itself above the iPhone 4S.