Review of the Sony Ericsson Arc S

Having owned this phone for 3 days, I think I've been able to pen down some thoughts of my personal experience with it.

Weight and Handling

The first thing that came to mind was compared to my previous phone LG's Optimus 7, this phone feels light and almost like a toy.

It's a little slippery because of its glossy back and I have, on occasion feel it slipping out of my hands.

However (fortunately), it hasn't done any damage to the floor yet but it does give me an impression that it would from time to time.

The wider screen (4.2" vs 3.8") also makes it slightly more wieldy but IMO, the Galaxy Note's even more challenging in that aspect.

Screen and Viewing Quality

In the past, when I step out of the MRT station, the screen would be washed-out by the ambient glare.

But now even in the afternoon sun, I'm now able to watch my videos or check emails on the move.

Photos and videos also appear more vibrant on the Arc S' screen.
 
Media

With Android, I can just take out the micro-SD to transfer videos, pictures etc. directly from my network drive to the phone.

More conveniently, I did find an app, AndSMB which allows me to connect directly to my network drive to download the files.

This means I can download my media files without even taking out the card.

Apps
Android has most of the apps that I had been using, so I didn't encounter any problems here. The apps currently on my phone are:

• AndSMB
• Angry Birds
• Camera360
• Dolphin HD Browser
• Evernote
• Facebook
• Gmail
• GO Launcher
• Google Search
• Mindjet
• MX Video Play
• Pudding Camera
• QuickPic
• Show Nearby
• SG Buses
• Skitch
• Snapbucket
• SpeedTest
• Wifi Analyser
• YouTube

 Battery Life
The battery can support a day's worth of surfing, SMSing and watching videos, but it does come precariously close to being critically depleted when I return home.
 
Camera and Buttons
The 8mp EXMOR camera sensor was one of the main reasons why I had upgraded my phone. However, I haven't had the opportunity to review the imaging quality much so far. But initial impression is that shutter button is too small to be used properly. However, I have found some photos apps that are able to remap the volume buttons and will be testing the camera more comprehensively.

Cost
The phone is now priced at $168 with the M1 iPhone Value plan.

Coupled with a $100 trade-in value from my Optimus 7, I think it's a steal for $68.

Standing at the Crossroads

For those who'd been reading my FB posts, I've been pondering whether I should take up photography again. I used to love it during my younger days (circa 1990).

My dad bought a camera (manual focus, not sure what brand it was though - Panda?) and I feel in love with it quickly. I proceeded to get a Canon EOS 700 and a 630 subsequently during JC. Having spent most of my allowances on photo equipment and film processing during my JC days, I'm hesitant to go down this path again.

Photography was an expensive hobby then. A roll of 36s costs abt $5-7 with prints and processing fees costing abt $12-15 per roll. I think abt $100 went out each time I went out shooting. Assuming if I'd invested that money since 1990, I'd have a tidy sum now.

It's probably not as expensive as before (though I think digital ones have zero resale value compared to the film types - I remembered want to get a Nikon FM2 then), but digitals would require quite a fair amount of house-keeping (storage in a single drive folder? Not me) and filing.

For those who didn't know, I was a photographer during my NS days - following VIPs, taking photos, sending them for processing etc. took a lot of the passion away. Even using a Nikon F4s (the top of the line circa 1993 - probably costs around $4k+ then) didn't sustain that interest for long.

Maybe it was an overdose of taking too many pictures in too short a timespan. I swore off SLRs and "serious" photography since then. The only camera that I'd owned since was a Canon S40 that took decent pictures but it was misplaced (don't ask).

It was only after Caeden was born, we bought the Olympus mju as we thought having a waterproof camera would serve us well as our boy loved water. And it did.

Last Friday, Ivy and I had the opportunity to catch Caeden's Christmas concert at his school. We tried using the Olympus. With a 3x zoom and poor ISO sensitivity, the pics that came out were HORRIBLE.

With two kids (cute ones I might say), it would be a terrible shame not to capture precious moments that we spend together.

The Canon SX20 is calling out to me...