Rarely do I get excited by products and even less often do I end up writing a review about them. However due to some work related circumstances I (testing VoIP and application virtualization), I decided to invest in a smartphone. My selection criteria was simple: generally available, reasonably priced, large screen and running latest Android. I shopped around a bit and due to my good experience with a Sony Ericsson a few good years back I ended up buying the Sony Ericsson XPERIA ARC. Could have not made a bigger mistake. This MUST be the WORST product I’ve come across in years.
Feel
The device is quite shiny and pleasing to the look and has an arched back which somehow suggests comfort. However when you hold it it’s shiny surfaces insure you can’t get a proper grip on it nu matter how you hold it. Automatically the reaction is to grip it tight which unfortunately means that the touch screen starts firing randomly, detecting touches that are not there. Applications at the edge of the screen get launched, emails in gmail get archived or deleted. Loosen the grip and the phone falls trough your fingers. After a few short minutes you just get tired of holding it. Even when in the holster you have to grip it tight otherwise it will just slide out.
Although shiny, the plastic feels quite cheap. Especially the buttons on the bottom are flimsy and not illuminated…how do I know what to press in the dark?!
Screen
The screen is large and bright and kills the battery. If you want to make it trough the day on one battery (so far I have not succeeded) you have to dim it at which point it becomes dull and dark. Touch wise it is oversensitive and as said, it misfires as you are holding the phone. Typing on it is close to impossible since you will either drop the phone or the keyboard will fire randomly. One other think I have noticed, when the phone is charging the screen misfires even worse. I’ve put the phone in a generic usb adapter and the screen started detecting touch action out of the blue, with the phone left on the desk. There must be some grounding issues or similar.
Wireless
The wireless chip must be ‘deaf’, bad signal everywhere and constantly disconnecting. If you are holding the phone in landscape mode forget about wireless, you are covering the antenna with your hand and loose all signal. In a non-scientific comparison with the Nexus S, the XPERIA couldn’t even detect half the networks. However the disconnect issue is most annoying and it happens (confirmed by other users also) even when the phone does have proper signal and the software is properly configured not to ‘sleep’ the connection.
GPS
The GPS seems to work and does not seem to be fast or slow in acquiring the position. What is annoying about the GPS is that it will absolutely kill the battery. You will be lucky to get 4 hours usage out of it. Very lucky.
Camera
The camera seems to be highly acclaimed and is indeed an impressive 8Mpx. The quality of the picture is a subjective matter so I will not comment on that. Unfortunately the software is buggy and a rapid series of shoot-review will crash the whole phone to the level where the battery needs to be pulled out. I’m sure it’s a software issue and it can be fixed however it is very annoying right now. Also, should you do the mistake of starting the light in video mode and then killing the process, the light will remain on with no way of turning off. The video application will refuse to start and you will need to reboot the phone. Oh, and there is the forward facing camera?!
Battery life
The battery life is a really bad joke. Sony Ericsson hints at the problem since they are putting both a wall charger and a car charger in the box. Getting a day of usage from the phone is a dream even with mild usage. The statistics are clear: around 67% of battery is wasted on the screen and another 10% on the bad wifi.Should you forget to plug in the phone at night you’ll have a bad day ahead of you trying to keep the damn thing plugged in.
Email application
This might be an Android issue but it seriously needs to be fixed: If you have a lot of folders in your Outlook email (and I have hundreds) there is no way to search trough them or jump to a specific one. You just have to scroll and scroll… This application was written by someone who does not get a lot of email.
Please do not buy this device. I really want my time and money back.
I wish I read this before buying my shitty arc. I agree the worse phone ever. I put mine in my pocket to open the caR door and the screen cracked inside. I guess you have to hold the phone on your head to keep it safe 500$ down the draIn.
I have one problem and one problem only with this phone: occasionally, it will randomly press the screen. But only when I am already interacting with it (i.e. it doesn’t spontaneously do it and it doesn’t do it when charging, I have to pick it up and start doing something).
However, your other points just don’t match my experience. Many of them are somewhat subjective, so it is difficult to comment definitively, but on a point of fact, the buttons at the bottom of the screen are illuminated, so perhaps your phone is just faulty.