iPhone 4 vs. Xperia Arc : A personal perspective

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first off, I'm a long-time X10 user for my personal needs. I've been saddled with an iPhone for work, and been looking forward to a gingerbread phone to switch over to (my company's internal apps only support Blackberry, iOS4 and gingerbread). I've been itching for the Arc since seeing it's droolicious lines, so how's it stack up?

First off, the mandatory p0rn shots:

Screen off:


Yes, Arc is sexier.


Screen on:





Again, the Arc leads the pack... by a mile...



In over 24 hours of full use (currently the iphone is my primary work phone again for data migration to the Arc), I've found the arc to be zippy, responsive, a joy for games, and great for video.

Battery life:
The battery life has been good! I only notice a drain when running Whatsapp, but that drains the battery on the iPhone like a $%&^$%# as well. But so far, it's lasting me a whole day easily.

Screen: gorgeous! Yes, it's not as fine on the pixel detail as the iPhone 4's screen, and the IPS technology of the iPhone 4 gives some slightly better viewing angles, but honestly I can't complain. It's bright, colorful, and a joy to just stare at.

Keypad: Very fast, responsive. No complaints, and i prefer the android spell checker 100000x over the iPhone version. I just wish I knew how to turn on my Smartkeyboard Pro on here - any clues?

Call quality: Generally the call quality on the iPhone 4 has made me want to vomit blood anyway compared to the x10. Now with the Arc, I get back the clear voice I used to hear, and the noise canceling seems to work really well!

Music quality: I use the same pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones on both to compare. Honestly, both are excellent, no complaints. i expected the iPhone to do well - after all it's an iPod with a phone attached. :P

General feel: Yes, it definitely feels plasticky compared to the glass-and-aluminum slab of the iPhone 4. But the iPhone 4 is exactly that - a slab. It has zero considerations for ergonomics or fitting a hand well. And it's heavy. The Arc feel comfy, the smooth finish feels good, and it's soooo light!


Overall, I'm really happy to finally be back on android. The iOS was just too limiting - even jailbroken! And the Arc ticks all the right boxes for me. I'm happy to send the iPhone back to my company's IT department.

Thanks for your review, i enjoy reading reviews by members for members cause i cant have this phone on my hands when its not in retail shops.
Hopefully mine will arive before the end of this week

Could you try using rockplayer in hardware mode to see if 720p h264 mkv file is playable? I know that the stock player can playback 720p h264 high profile at 5mbps, would love to be able to do the same with .mkv files

I'll give it a try in a bit.

any particular file you want to test?

I just wish I knew how to turn on my Smartkeyboard Pro on here - any clues?

Dear Rashkae:
Go to settings>language & keyboard>you should find, among others, Smart Keypad Pro,( assuming you installed). make sure to enable it with a checkmark. Now open any messaging application and long - press any field.. such as where you wold enter the body of text... one of the options should be input method... select Smart Keyboard Pro. Done.

Hope this helps.
Hisham

Originally Posted by hisham2k

I just wish I knew how to turn on my Smartkeyboard Pro on here - any clues?

Dear Rashkae:
Go to settings>language & keyboard>you should find, among others, Smart Keypad Pro,( assuming you installed). make sure to enable it with a checkmark. Now open any messaging application and long - press any field.. such as where you wold enter the body of text... one of the options should be input method... select Smart Keyboard Pro. Done.

Hope this helps.
Hisham

Yup, I forgot about that... On my X10 after using smart keyboard I would just long-press the 1 2 3 key instead of the input field. Thanks for the help.

Originally Posted by Rashkae

I'll give it a try in a bit.

any particular file you want to test?

hmm I'll upload short sample for you to try and send you link in PM
Thanks

Regarding "glass-and-aluminum slab": Like everyone else, I love good materials, but the iPhone4 construction is stupid beyond believe.

My sister's iPhone4 shattered the first time it slipped out of her hand from maybe 2 feet. And I've read reports on the net from aluminum shelled phones (Desire HD, for instance) that got dents when there wouldn't be a mark on simple plastic.

High quality plastic is much better for a mobile device. My old full-plastic Omnia HD (heavier than the Arc) survived a lot of drops and still looks like new.

As long as it doesn't feel as cheap as the Galaxy S...

Does the arc camera snap shots as fast as the iphone 4?

Sent from my MB525 using XDA Premium App

Originally Posted by Brumble

Does the arc camera snap shots as fast as the iphone 4?

Sent from my MB525 using XDA Premium App

For me even faster. it's helped by the fact there's an actual camera button. No need to dig through app menus and tap on an on-screen button. Shot to shot itself seems faster than the iPhone4 too.

and picture quality is good!!