Sony Ericsson Xperia ray Pro Reviews

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray isn't suited to media rich activities, and the keyboard is cramped. But it is ideal for small fingered, small pocketed types with less media heavy requirements.

The small screen won’t appeal to everyone, but if you can get used to it, there’s a massive amount of features built into the Ray for a comfortable midrange price.

Sony Ericsson is exploring a niche that other makers have mostly neglected, which gives the Xperia ray a lot of opportunity to widen their user base. And success will be well deserved - the ray does most of what it sets out to do just right. And it's too hot to pass by.

From the get-go, the Ray is clearly catered to those looking for a powerful phone like the Arc or Arc S but dislike their bulk. However, by keeping it small, compact and accessible to a niche crowd has compromised certain additions to the phone that we might like to see - such as a camera shortcut button or an HDMI port. Nonetheless, our experience on the phone had largely been a positive one - speedy browsing, receptive touchscreen, bright display and good imaging quality with fast auto-focus capabilities. The only disappointment we had with the phone was its average battery performance. Considering the fact that it uses a 1500mAh with a smaller 3.3-inch display, we expected a longer mileage out of it, compared to its larger cousin, the Xperia Arc. All things considered, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray comes with a strong proposition, thanks to its decent suite of hardware components and the latest Google Android 2.3 OS with Sony Ericsson's take on its user interface. At S$598, the Xperia Ray is a value-for-money smartphone that smoothly balances form and function. If you like the Ray but prefer a bigger screen and don't mind the extra cost, the Sony Ericsson Arc or the Arc S will be the closest alternatives.

This device is a surprisingly enjoyable to use device for its size, but the cost might be prohibitive to most Americans used to getting their devices on-contract for the major discount available when a carrier gets ahold of a device. Today you can purchase the XPERIA ray for $359.99 off-contract from NewEgg. For the average consumer internationally, that might be the norm, but here in the USA, I have a funny feeling that not just a whole lot of these handsets will be selling off the shelves.

There is virtually nothing we don't love about the Ray. It's compact, light with a mammoth battery that will get you through a whole day on a single charge - as long as you're a little careful. What's more, the screen is gorgeous, with exquisite detail and brilliant colours.

There is no doubt about it – never mind a rabbit, Sony Ericsson has pulled a gem out of the hat here. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is a joy to use (for 99% of tasks) and we're seriously impressed with the form factor and how it's squeezed it all in. And there is no getting away from it – if you want something small that packs a punch and don't fancy Scrappy Doo in your pocket, then the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray is definitely a very worthy contender for consideration.

The Xperia ray has many plus points. It's very small and compact, produces great stills photos and a feels quick in use. The Sony Ericsson user interface tweaks to Android also look slick and work extremely well. However, the small screen makes it fiddly to use for web browsing, the battery life is poor, and the HD video recording mode is disappointing.

To summarize our impressions from the tiny phone – it is tempting to dismiss the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray as a less-capable version of the Xperia arc, but what you get is in fact a more compact variant, without sacrificing much but an HDMI port. Actually, the fact that the 8MP Exmor R camera didn't perform as well as we expected, and also that the LED on the back has to be used as a light instead of automatic camera flash, are the only letdowns we experienced with the Xperia ray.

A tiny handset with a powerful processor, good camera and excellent screen. Those with large thumbs might find typing difficult, though.