Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

Stunning, powerful, beautiful, excellent, solid, rich set of features #bingo. Just grabbed some words from the announcement for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. Announced June 22 during CommunicAsia and also available from the third quarter. That is now, so time for a review! Let’s see if the device is worth the praise …

As usual, you do not read a list of specs with me, they can be found on the Sony Ericsson website . I would like to give you my very first impression of this device. The device is thin, not very wide, feels very sturdy and solid, slightly angular and therefore looks like it has been completely restored from 1995. Not bad, actually quite surprising. Is comfortable in the hand and you can reach everything with one hand. Furthermore, the button in the middle below the screen stands out. Or actually, it is noticeable that the left and right buttons are soft touch keys and the middle one is a real push button. Under that button is also the indicator light, which I did not really notice at first.Finally, the covers are available in four colors: gold, black, pink and white. Pimp!

Software

In terms of software, the Xperia Ray is not very spectacular. It comes with Android 2.3.3 and although for example for the Xperia Arc and Mini Pro there were already updates to Android 2.3.4, that is not yet the case with the Ray. Why is that important? In Android 2.3.4 you get the option to take screenshots. That still has to be very difficult via the Android SDK (although, if you are tech-savvy then you will succeed). Apart from Android, here is the Sony Ericsson ‘touch’ again, which means as much as that the menu can be sorted according to your own taste and that Facebook is nicely integrated. If you want to know more about that you can also read my review of the Xperia Mini Pro at Marketingfacts read :).Other apps that are also installed include Burgeralarm (to see if anything nearby needs your attention) and the UEFA app (because Sony Ericsson sponsors that). The Xperia Ray also has a handy Power Save mode (app) to immediately start saving battery. You can decide how intense that will be.

Media and camera

Every Sony Ericsson phone nowadays contains the Mobile Bravia Engine. This ensures that images and videos are displayed even brighter than usual. In itself you hardly notice the difference, but if you are really seriously visually oriented and you quickly get bothered by a pale image, then you are fine with a phone call from Sony Ericsson. Apart from that engine, there is an Exmor R CMOS sensor in the camera, which should ensure that you can take nice sharp photos in the (semi) dark. I tried it out right away, but I found the difference to be minimal. The iPhone4, without any special sensors whatsoever ( left ), did not take as bright a picture as the Xperia Ray ( right ) with more light,so that sensor seems to make a difference.

Buttons and plugs

The Xperia Ray has less buttons and other bells and whistles than its predecessors. There is no separate camera button and no HDMI output and some things have been moved. For example, the audio 3.5mm jack is on the top instead of the side, which in itself is fine. The micro USB port is at the top left. Anyway, just like on all other devices, I would have liked to see it from the bottom to be able to dock it easily. You can add a micro SD card under the cover, there is no separate port for this. So the phone seems pretty basic in every way.

Conclusion

I found it a difficult device to review. What I found most special was the look of the Ray, stylish, fairly basic, and sort of retro because it is not that wide. But otherwise I did not think it was a very special device. Bit mediocre. That is difficult to explain, because everything works, it is fast and the Exmor R sensor is pleasant to use. Plus: it is not a super expensive device, it costs about 349 euros, so what do you want to get for that? You get a solid device for it, in a nice color, handy and with a screen of average and usable size. In short: I only give it an 8 , it is not perfect (at least for me, because I really miss some small things), but not bad at all.

Questions about this device that have something to do with the review and that you cannot find on the Sony Ericsson site? Ask! But for support and customer service issues, you shouldn’t be here. I’ll tell you in advance ;-).

The Xperia Ray can be bought at PDAshop.nl , Bol.com and many other shops.