The Xperia Pro (May 2012)

I know what I love in life and I love phones. Anyone who knows me sure knows that I love to express how I feel about something and have very strong opinions on nearly everything. However, I never claim to know it all, though I may come across that way at times. I am not very technical and would consider myself an average consumer, which is why I feel that my opinion is probably quite important. I do not get too technical and I call it like I see it. So if I get something wrong then you have to wonder if the average consumer see's it different too.

After using mobiles phones since I was 14 I have had good experience with them and know exactly what I want from a phone when I buy one...well, at least I thought I did, until I owned the Xperia Pro. 

Before using the Xperia Pro I was a hardcore camera phone junkie. It was pretty much the be all and end all. That hasn't changed really in a way because I still have my camera phone in peoples face constantly. Having a camera on a phone just works for me. Its constantly on you, its constantly turned on and that means you can catch any moment as it happens. It also means you can share what you've taken with the world instantly! Unlike a digital camera.

This love for camera phones usually means I wasn't able to venture out in to other parts of the mobile phone market because it would mean the camera quality in the phone would suffer for the sake of higher spec somewhere else. A QWERTY keyboard phone was one of those types. I was never able to try the QWERTY phones because if I ended up buying one I would have to suffer a 5 megapixel camera or have a QWERTY phone with the Blackberry style keyboard which means I had a 3" screen. Unacceptable!

When the good people at Sony offered me the Xperia Pro to try I looked at the spec and was delighted to see that it was not only QWERTY but had a healthy 8 megapixel camera attached with the new Exmor R sensor and all the other usual quality features you get from Sony cameras. I was always curious about professional phones and I have always struggled with touch screen keys thanks to my chubby fingers (Nic).  So I thought to myself "why the hell not?"

As far as I had seen on the market at the time, this was the first phone to have a full QWERTY keyboard without having to sacrifice anything else. This phone has the same quality camera as the other flagship Sony Ericsson phone at the time. Marvelous! 

Secondly I noticed that this phone was of the usual high quality that you would expect from any Sony Ericsson product. The phone is built so well. I have had this phone now for a long time (6-9 months?) and none of the keys have given me any trouble like you would expect. None of the graphics on the buttons have worn and the phone has taken some serious punishment from myself, my klutz of a girlfriend and "the phone devourer" aka my son. The keys are as responsive now as they were the day I got it. The buttons are also quite a sight when you see them in the dark, they light up so you are able to type when in bed or out in the street in the evening. I will also mention that this phone has had water contact on numerous occasions too. 

The phone is quality through and through. Even though it is made of plastic. Usually I would have a problem with this as I don't like buying something which is expensive then have it feel cheap. However I am happy to let it slide as for a QWERTY phone it now weights a fair 142g (Which I didnt think was too bad considering it has a huge keyboard attached yet has all the spec of a flagship phone).

Another beautiful thing about this phone is the screen. Yes its equipped with the Bravia engine like the Xperia Arc which makes viewing media smoother and more enjoyable. Yes it has a higher PPI pixel density than the Xperia Arc, Arc S and much more than the Samsung S2....but it also gives you the freedom to chose if you want to use the keyboard or not. The phone has tocuh screen as well as a keyboard so you are not bound to use the QWERTY keyboard all the time like some others in the models do. This gives you great freedom which other phones don't as the phone isnt huge, so if you are feeling lazy or want to send a quick text you can just do it one handed with the touch screen. You simply cannot do this with other smart phones as they are bent on having screens bigger and bigger now days so you cannot do anything without using both hands. 

This being said the 3.7" screen doesnt feel small. You have the keyboard seperate from the screen if you really need to concentrate on typing. With other non QWERTY phones you would often have to suffer the touch screen keyboard taking up half of the screen therefore giving you a smaller display than the Xperia Pro. 

A smaller phone with more display! 

The camera is good. I am not going to complain too much as the phone is good enough to have an 8 megapixel camera like I explained above. Though I still haven't forgiven Sony Ericsson for abandoning their camera phone quality during their pursuit to catch up with the other smart phone manufacturers. I do miss the Cybershot cameras. I miss the extra features like the blast shots which took several at once, I miss the good stabilizers which would make blurring a thing of the past aaaaand most of all I miss the Xenon flash. The camera does have HD 720 and it does have 3D panorama sweep which are worth noting. It also have a front facing camera which has been useful for Skype. 

I am starting to feel lag when on the menu screen. I make sure to clean out my phones memory stick often and use cache cleaner but still it is not as fast as it once was. Accessing the camera is slower than it once was too. It once took about 6-8 seconds to get the camera up and ready to take a photo. Sometimes it does open this quickly, it has been known now to open at around...20 SECONDS! I kid you not. You may think this is trivial but if you are trying to catch a funny or precious moment then you could have easily missed it by then. I think this is down to the 512kb of RAM. It would have been nice to see 1GB but I can hardly complain. They have already fit so much in to it!

The phone comes with access to Music and Videos Unlimited which are Sonys answer to Itunes. It all seems to work fine though I haven't used it often. This could be something to keep your eye on in the future as Sony have huge access to films and music. This would be one of the main reasons why Sony phones will be one of the best in the future. The company has its fingers in nearly everything and have already done a fantastic job merging technologies together (such as the Bravia TV engine in the phone screen for example). Watch this space as Sony have an unlimited amount of possibilities and they are already working on using them!

I have many ROMS on my phone as I love gaming. I love my retro SNES games such as the classic RPG's, Street Fighter 2, Zombies Ate My Neighbours and the Marios. I'm just a big kid. I always struggled with the touch screen keys while gaming as you cannot feel the buttons your pressing which makes gaming incredibly hard. When I got the Xperia Pro I was hoping the QWERTY keyboard would make things a bit easier. Though I admit that the keyboard does help a little, it isn't good enough to be able to game seriously. Sadly I think this crown is going to have to belong to the Xperia Play still. The Xperia Pro does a lot for a phone, especially in its range but it can't do everything! The buttons just doesn't cut it for the fast pace response which gaming demands! 

The phone comes with FIX (Facebook inside Xperia). Now this is something special. Facebook lives in the phone. Once you log in to Facebook it syncs with the phone (optional btw). All the events I accept and birthdays are in my phones calendar which can be equipped with reminders. It also has your Facebook photo albums in your Gallery for faster access (though this can take a lot of bandwidth as it has to load it from Facebook) aaaand it also lets you know when you have a new notification on Facebook on the home screen of your phone. These features are fantastic and though I feel they can be developed on much more in the future this is a fantastic idea by Sony and has really helped integrate my life. This also explains why I am on Facebook nearly constantly...though not why I was before I got this phone! lol! 

The phone also has a 1500 battery which is the same as its big brother but doesn't have the disadvantage of needing a huge screen so its battery has lasted incredibly well. I only have to charge it when I go to bed and it is fine, even with excessive use. If i do simple things like turning the screen brightness down and turning volume and vibrate off then it can last much longer. Especially on standby. When I tested the Xperia Arc at a festival last year it didn't do so well. I was having to wait in line nearly every day at the charging station...if only I had this phone with me! I also feel its important to point out that the keyboard doesn't appear to use any more battery. On the battery doctor it never mentions it either!

The phone can connect to most modern TV's with a HDMI cable and uploads its screen. This is fantastic when you want to share videos or photos with people when they come over, or at parties. Otherwise I haven't used it much but certainly a good novelty. It has also proven good for showing people how to use phones. Its as simple as plug in and play. 

In all the phone is sensational. It isn't perfect and has a few issues but which phone doesn't? For its price this phone can do nearly everything. The phone is good for all occasions and has been proven useful in an uncountable amount of ways. It is quick to use when you need it and is also capable of being very detailed and intimate with its full QWERTY keyboard. It has a good quality front and back camera, a good screen and doesn't suffer from bad battery life.

I would say that this is one of Sony Ericssons hidden gems. It is often over looked by online reviewers and on articles like "top 5 QWERTY phones" it isn't even listed. This is insanity when you see the monsters they put on these lists above it. I would highly recommend this to anyone. 

I hope Sony keep up the good work and carry on this little gem in the future. My main concern is that they get lazy and keep the 8 megapixel camera in the next generation. If this is the case and I have the chance to go for the Xperia S with its 12 megapixel camera, I am really not sure which way I am going to go! The keyboard has proven to be a fantastic experience for me but my heart is still in the camera.