Key to the Arc’s appeal is the big 4.2inch, 480 x 854 pixel display with an LED backlit TFT LCD screen. While not delivering the brightness of the Samsung-favoured AMOLED, the Arc uses Bravia technology to provide subdued, but highly accurate colours with optimal contrast levels and noise reduction for really sharp images.

Camera-wise, the Arc features an 8.1 megapixel camera with LED photo light. The addition of an Exmor R CMOS sensor means that photos are of higher quality than generally found in mobiles.

Under the hood is Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Sony Ericsson have tweaked the custom skin, separating the UI and OS in order to provide updates more quickly and slim down the UI for maximum user experience.

The only thing missing from the Sony Ericsson Arc is PlayStation compatibility, but, in all honesty, this omission does the phone little harm. We would be remiss not to mention battery life, which is unimpressive. Like most smartphones, the Arc needs daily or more frequent charging.

With this new offering, it is as if Sony Ericsson has finally decided to take the game seriously, providing a phone of physical beauty, with amazing wide screen display, serious media capabilities and the latest version of Android.

Sony Ericsson mobile phones include the prominent Xperia line.  The Xperia comes in many shapes and sizes, all the way down to the Xperia X10 Mini.  This smartphone model appeals to a specific niche of consumers with its compact design.  Easily able to fit completely in the palm of a hand, the X10 Mini can be stored just about anywhere.  Its small size improves on the bulky design of significantly larger smartphones.

Meanwhile, the Mini still offers the great features associated with other Android smartphones.  It can accommodate various social media and entertainment sources such as Facebook, YouTube, music, maps, movies, and mail.  Users can Tweet or play on the Mini just like they would on larger phones; though it may be a bit harder to watch movies on the small screen.

The Xperia X10 Mini Pro shifts the focus of its compact design toward the business user.  The Mini Pro has all the benefits of the Mini –small size, ability to store it in almost any location, high-tech hardware–but adds a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.  This additional feature makes messaging, either for business or just for fun, very easy and eliminates the potential trouble of trying to type on a very small device.

Users are able to customise the screen of the Xperia X8, including adding shortcuts to the home page, so that you can easily access the phone book, social networking sites, and camera.  You are able to have more than one application running at any one time.  Users will have access to Android Market and other apps stores, although the phone already has a number of apps pre-installed, such as the Creatouch art app, in which you can create your own backgrounds for your screen. 

There is a back-up system on the phone that allows users to save numbers to an SD card.  This is a useful feature if you are upgrading from another older mobile phone.  There is also a good media player.  The phone can be connected directly to a computer so that music can be downloaded directly on to it, or music can be put onto a micro SD card and then put onto the phone.  The handset comes with headphones that have a remote control on the wire that allows you to pause the music, if you want to. 

Similarities
The main similarity is that both of these phones run the same operating system: Proprietary.  This means that the overall experience of using the phone is likely to be very similar.  Both phones offer a camera, and neither offers a flash for the camera.  Therefore both camera qualities are quite poor.  Other usual suspects are present in both of these phones, for example Bluetooth, radio, web browsing and email.

Differences
Despite the many similarities, there are a number of important differences.  Firstly the dimensions and weight of the phones: the Sony Ericsson T707 is slightly smaller but weight over 10g more.  The Sony Ericsson Yendo is somewhat lighter, but is bigger in dimensions.  Battery life is another noticeable difference.  The T707 offers 400 hours standby time and 10 hours talk time. Whereas the Yendo offers just over 300 hours standby time, and just over 3 hours talk time.  All is not quite lost for the Yendo just yet.  It is in its high quality Walkman music player that reviews suggest it overtakes the T707.

Which one is for You?
If you’re after long battery life which will last when you’re on the go all day then go for the T707.  If it’s a great quality music experience you’re looking for, go for the Yendo.

What it looks Like
The Sony Ericsson Zylo is silver in colour, with attractive aqua blue trimmings around the buttons.  It is a pocket-sized device, with a handy slide out keyboard (not QWERTY).  One considerable draw-back is that is doesn’t have touch-screen facilities. 

What it can do
As previously mentioned the Sony Ericsson Zylo offers music and audio facilities like none of its predecessors.  Its technology also goes beyond that of many mp3 players on the market.  The playback of lossless FLAC files offers an experience like no other, giving sound quality which is sure to go above and beyond what you’re used to.  It comes with in-ear headphones, but also has speakers built in.

Other Features
Other features which are rated on this phone are such things as the threaded text messaging conversation, making communication between you and your friends a doddle.  Additionally this handset offers a 3 megapixel camera for if a Kodak moment occurs when you’re on the go.  You can also download apps such as the Facebook app.

Drawbacks
Unfortunately this phone doesn’t offer a 3.5mm headphone portal.  This means that you are forced to use the headphones that come with the phone, rather than your own.

Running on Android 1.6, even though you might think some prospective purchasers looking at new mobile phones could be put off by the small screen, it provides compensation in the form of easy to access lrage icons, along with shortcuts in each corner, which also help.  Another feature of the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro is called ‘Timescape’, which combines Twitter and Facebook updates, along with missed calls and texts.  A slide-out Qwerty keyboard makes typing messages and emails, on such a small screen, easier than you might think.

The 5-megapixel camera has LED photo light and video recorder, but no flash.  Music playback, FM radio, GPS, 3G, web browsing and email are all present.  The battery allows for 4-hours talk-time and internal memory can be expanded up to 16MB with a microSD card.

So what offers are there for prospective Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro users seeking mobile phone deals?  A 24-month contract with T-Mobile will get you a free handset for £15.00 per month; a similar length of contract with Vodafone also provides a free phone, but will cost £25.00 per month, as does the deal on offer from ‘3’.  O2 users also receive a free phone, but a 24-month contract with them will cost £30.00 per month.

This gem of a phone runs an Android 1.6 interface, and also comes with a decent media package.  It is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera and an LED photo light that provides additional light in low-light situations.  The installed drop and drag software makes the music system ready to use.  It is complete with a 3.5 mm headphone jack for those who wish to listen.

If you are not seeking an Android super-phone, the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro should be sufficient for the average user.  The small touch-screen, which is a mere 40 mm by 47 mm, works surprisingly well as the company has adapted the Android 1.6 interface to work better on such a tiny display.  However, due to the small screen, not all of the applications work as they should.  Most of them do work perfectly, but it is worth noting that not all applications will run perfectly on this tiny phone.

If you compare mobile phones, the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro is a really good, simple smartphone.  It is not a high-end Android phone, but it works well and does deliver a solid user experience.

Pros

Deceptively small, the W995 Pink is sturdy and solid with a well-spaced keyboard in a user friendly layout.

As a music player, the W995 is brilliant.  Thanks to the 3.5 mm headphone jack users can play audio through high-quality headphones instead of the low-end set that comes packaged with most Sony Ericsson mobile phones.  Sound quality is excellent, even through the speakers.

The GPS is a nice feature and works very well with Google Maps.  Internet connectivity is reliable due to the HSDPA and Wi-Fi capabilities.

Cons

Most Sony Ericsson mobile phones have great cameras, but the W995 Pink’s is somewhat lacking.  The 8.1 megapixel resolution is on the high end, but without a flash or image stabilisation system users will have trouble taking decent shots in anything but daylight standing completely still.  There’s also a considerable shutter lag, which makes action shots come out blurry.

Among the W995’s minor annoyances:  Streaming video from YouTube and iPlayer tends to run a bit ragged.

Conclusion

The W995 Pink is one of the best Walkman phones to be found in mobile phone reviews.  The downfalls of this device are so minor compared to its monster music playback capabilities that it ranks significantly higher than some of the latest mobile phones from competing brands.

Lurking in the middle of the battery cover, the camera shoots video at 720p with motion that remains smooth and clear (videos at this resolution are often distinctly jerky) and there are two dedicated buttons – one for stills, the other for videos, which makes operation a breeze. The still shots are crisp and detailed, although they’re just a little muted in the colour department. You’ll probably be aware that HD footage guzzles a lot of storage space, but the Sony Ericsson Vivaz comes with a capacious 8 GB micro-SD card as standard. There’s an irritating design glitch here, though: to get at the card, you have to remove the battery. Hurrumph to that.

At 3.2 inches, the display is generous without being massive (the Sony Ericsson X10’s screen is a stunning 4 inches). For the size of screen, the 640×320 pixel resolution is more than adequate, making browsing the web a delight – videos, graphics and even text look fabulous.

The main downsides lie in the use of the cumbersome and sluggish Symbian S60 OS and the choice of a resistive rather than a capacitative touch screen. But there are plenty of preloaded apps (including a YouTube player), the GPS is excellent, and the phone’s HSDPA and Wi-Fi will permit fast data downloads wherever you are. And you’ll get at least 2 days out of a single charge of the battery. If you like contract mobile phones, you can pick this one up for a not too unreasonable £25-a-month over two years. SIM-free, it’ll set you back about £350.

Pros

Much like the Wii gaming system, the Yari features gesture-controlled gaming.  This is a unique innovation uncommon to most new mobile phones.  Some games require the user to move the entire handset, while others let users prop the phone and use their hands to move the characters.  The gesture controls are not always practical – try using this mode in a crowded pub while waiting for a friend, for instance – but they’re definitely good fun.

There’s a built-in GPS, a 5 megapixel camera with good picture quality, simple photo sharing capabilities, and a chic, stylish outer casing.

Cons

The Yari has a lot of buttons.  It’s very easy to fumble with the keys or accidentally press the wrong button.  There is a learning curve, as with most new mobile phones, but initially it feels very user unfriendly.

Music playback is underwhelming, though the music player itself is quick and easy to launch.  As with many Sony Ericsson mobile phones, there isn’t a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Intensive apps like games load painfully slowly, and customisation is limited.  Web navigation is badly pixellated, making pages appear outdated despite the Yari’s 3G speed.  There is no Wi-Fi connectivity – a glaring omission.

Conclusion

The Yari is a pleasant mobile phone with great gaming capabilities.  The overly complex button layout and proprietary headphone jack do little to stand in the way of basic phone and messaging functions.