Sony Ericsson Xperia pro Specs

I bought this phone a little over a month ago. The moment I received it, I flashed the official Ice Cream Sandwich update from Sony, therefore I can't comment on how the performance was with the original Gingerbread firmware.

The first disappointment is with its size. With Sony selling a *mini* Pro model, you'd expect the non-mini Pro model to be a bit bigger. I wasn't expecting Galaxy Note big but yeah, this phone is way too fricking small! I don't want to know how mini the Mini Pro is, if this one is already too small!

Software performance is extremely sluggish! Even after a couple of factory resets, this thing really drag its feet. I've seen 800 MHz phones perform faster than the 1GHz Xperia Pro. Five seconds to bring up the phone dialer? Are they serious?!

The Xperia Pro frequently loses track of the SD card when it comes to ringtone assignments. If you like using your own ringtones for calls, contacts, notifications and alarm, STAY AWAY from the Xperia Pro! It frequently loses track of your ringtones and either assigns the wrong ones, assigns a factory-preloaded ringtone or worse of the worst: leave you with no ringtone at all.

The keyboard is comfortable for typing and has enough feel so you can type without looking at it. The keyboard would probably be the brightest point on this phone, if it weren't for the fact it forces you to be sloppy with your capitalization. If you are smart enough to use a SHIFT key and capitalize things on your own, you'll frequently end up typing as if you were in CAPS LOCK MODE, because the phone really wants you to not capitalize words and let it capitalize on its own. Even though there is a setting to disable auto-capitalization from the menu, it does not work!

Finally, Sony allows you to unlock the bootloader if you want to experiment with custom ROMs, but the penalize you for doing so. Even if you then decide to flash the stock firmware back, an unlocked bootloaded will cause you troubles with over-the-air software updates. Plus, DRM keys are removed and cannot be recovered even if you relock the bootloader: no Track ID and no protected music or video content because "if you unlock your bootloader, you are a pirate".

So there's that. Stay away from the Xperia Pro. It's not worth it.

I bought my Xperia pro October 2011, as soon as it came out. I'm more than happy with it. Since I have 2 SIM cards now, I use my other Samsung Galaxy S II more often, but still, this phone is awesome.

Got tired of waiting for someone to review this, so i took the plunge and bought it outright for HK$3298 ( US$420). The price is ok considering the alternatives: Nokia E7 ( i had this for about 3 months), Motorola Milestone 2 &3 (2 is old and 3 has really bad reviews), and the HTC Desire Z (quite old now).

I have used Android 2.2 for a year now, so coming to 2.3.4 was an easy step up. For new users coming to Android, there is a learning curve, but the more you learn, the more you will enjoy it. So far, I found that Gingerbread is much more stable than Froyo but there is not that much to differentiate the two.

I use this phone for work so the 2 most important things to me are calling and messaging. The call quality is excellent - really good. Reception is excellent too on both 2&3G. I also have a Nokia N8 which i often use as a benchmark for call quality, and the Xperia Pro is its equal for calling.

For messaging, the keyboard is the important factor here and i must say it takes time to get used to. The best keyboard experience i have had is with the Nokia E7, and the Xperia Pro doesn't have the same quality feel in the buttons. But, again, i'm sure after a while, you'll get used to its feel and layout. After a few days practice, I was able to get up to a decent speed. The onscreen keyboard is good too and has nice tactile feedback too.

I love the screen on this phone. For LCD, this has to be one of the best. Its not as bright or vibrant as AMOLED but the clarity and colors are excellent. Outdoor visibility is probably as good as you're gonna get for LCD. Again, not as good as AMOLED though but decent anyway.

The camera is very good for its price range. Compared to LG, Dell, HTC etc, i think it beats them all (in this price range). Its quick, colorful (not iphone oversaturation level) and low light performance is better than most. But not to Nokia N8 standards. The video camera too is good and you can connect via HDMI to view them and other content you may have.

So far so good.......and I don't have anything really bad to say about the Xperia Pro. The only cons i have are:
- the button for power off and lock screen is placed on the wrong side surely? Considering you should lock the phone everytime you are finished, having to reach up with your finger to the left side of the phone is fiddly.
- The Camera button is also fiddly to use as it is placed on the rear of the phone. So everytime you press it, the front half of the phone actually obscures it slightly.
- The battery life is on par with most android phones in this price range and that is you can expect a days use and that's it.
- The Xperia UI is not as fast as i had hoped and you may find it lags (very slightly) occasionally. But i replaced it with Go Launcher within 24hrs.
- The RAM seems a little low. With a task killer installed you'll have about 180mb used and 129mb free, depending on your apps. Without it, the RAM was getting very low.