Sony Xperia S Reviews

Sony Xperia S Review at CNET

I have to say I had high hopes for the Sony Xperia S. Its aggressive futuristic style will certainly turn heads, something few smartphones are capable of. There are risks to pushing the design envelope, however, and the Xperia S stumbles in places. Its capacitive buttons are tricky to operate and the phone's illuminated band may be slickly distinctive but is more style than substance. At $559.99, the Xperia S is pricey, too, regardless of its unlocked and carrier-unsubsidized status. A better option for an unlocked Android device is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Not only does it offer a recent upgrade to Android 4.0 Jelly Bean, it has a better screen and smoother performance, and can be found for about $420. Still, the Xperia S isn't without its merits, particularly the phone's strong ties to Sony's music and video library. That said, unless there's a particular title you're dying to watch, the beauty of the Sony Xperia S is skin-deep. Read more...

Sony Xperia S Review at SlashGear

The Xperia S finds itself launching at a tricky time for Sony. The company is partway between developing its own phones, entirely separate from Sony Ericsson of old, and between the last gasps of the ill-fated partnership. That tumultuous cradle shows itself in the absence of Ice Cream Sandwich, increasingly an inexcusable omission from what’s billed as a flagship. Sony certainly isn’t the only culprit, but there’s no shortage of vitriol to go round. With Android 4.0, the Xperia S would’ve felt a far more rounded device. The hardware is distinctive and, for the most part, a success – the screen in particular is bright and pleasingly pixel-dense – and the Snapdragon processor, though short a few cores on other recent rivals, still keeps things churning at a satisfactory pace. It’s software that leaves the Sony feeling old beyond its time. Read more...

Sony Xperia S Review at Engadget

Could the Xperia S be your first Sony-branded phone? It you're all about media consumption, and if you're prepared to wait while Sony makes its cloud-based platforms more coherent, then the Xperia S is a great device. The display and the speaker are absorbing and addictive. The battery life is excellent, the processor is a good fit and the absence of expandable storage shouldn't weigh too heavily if you get the 32GB option. On the other hand, if you make more varied demands of your smartphone -- like excellent build quality, pocket-friendly slimness or photos you can enlarge -- then things get more complicated. US pricing has yet to be announced, but the 32GB version of the Xperia S is going for upwards of £430 ($680) SIM-free in the UK, or £370 pay-as-you-go on the Three network. Similar money could fetch you a legendary all-rounder like the Galaxy S II, or stretch to a 16GB Galaxy Nexus with an HD screen and better build quality, or -- very soon -- an HTC One S, which promises a cutting-edge Qualcomm S4 processor and a better camera. When sized up against a long rubric of criteria, rather than just its entertainment credentials, there's little to make the Xperia S a compelling purchase. Read more...

Sony Xperia S Review at Wired

The Sony Xperia S is a beautiful high-end smartphone at a mid-range price and offers a neat break with the Sony Ericsson brand. Integration with Sony's cloud infrastructure makes perfect sense and both screen and camera are exemplary. The Smart Tag trick is a nice touch too. It's a great Android alternative to the iPhone 4S. Read more...

Sony Xperia S Review at TechRadar

There are still some niggles but we think it says a lot that when writing the pros and cons above, we really struggled with the cons section. This handset may not be cheap – and it may feel like a Sony Ericsson without the Ericsson bit printed on the front – but we are really impressed with what Sony has done for its first solo foray. Is it worth buying? At £450 sim-free, it's not cheap but it is one of the better handsets out there and one that we found encouraged a few "What is that?" questions from iPhone owning friends. People who look at this will probably also be looking at the likes of the iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy S2 and we'd say it's pretty much on a par with both of them. Read more...