Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Android smartphone

Ahead of the curve?

Sharp shooter

The camera starts up fairly quickly, in about three seconds, and processes pictures speedily too, ready to snap another about a second after you’ve taken the first. It includes an LED flash, smile detection and autofocus, but more interestingly, there’s an Exmor R CMOS sensor on board. This is the sort of thing more commonly found on SE’s mid to high end cameras and is intended to improve shooting in less than ideal light situations – let’s face it, these are the conditions where camphones are often expected to earn their keep.

Sample Shots

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Click for a full-resolution image

Click for a full-resolution image

Click for a full-resolution image

Picture quality is very good overall, with sharp edges and realistic colours. It will also record 720p HD video too, for which you can use the flash in photo light mode. Thoughtfully, SE includes an HDMI cable in the box, which allows you to stream your videos and pics direct to your TV. There’s DLNA wireless networking capability too, but you can only control the content from your TV, not the phone.