Sony Xperia S review

There’s a host of other software installed by default, and you can uninstall most of it if it doesn’t suit your needs. The Astro file manager is a good addition, and the OfficeSuite viewer lets you view office documents. Sony’s also added a feature from Android 4.0 – the ability to drag app icons onto one another to create folders, which saves precious screen space.

A Tags app lets you manage your NFC smart tags – depending on where you buy the Xperia S, you’ll receive some free tags, or you can buy them online for as little as 11p each. You can associate a number of actions with a tag, such as turning on Bluetooth, and then place the tag where you most often need Bluetooth, such as in your car. This makes it easier to associate actions with events in your daily life

The speedy 1.5GHz processor ensure everything runs smoothly; with the scratch-resistant, shatter-proof glass panel providing a smooth and reactive interface. We’re less impressed with the touch-sensitive buttons under the screen, which weren’t particularly responsive. The icons for these appear in the translucent block near the bottom; though unlike on the Sony Xperia P this doesn’t reflect colour changes onscreen, or provide colour-coded notifications.

We couldn’t fault the Xperia S’s 12.1-megapixel camera, however. It takes crisp, colourful shots in all lighting conditions, and can shoot 1080p video too – video clips were slightly jerky when panning, though. The camera prefers well-lit conditions, as we noticed more noise creeping in as the scenes got darker, but the LED flash helped in the gloom. The handset may not have Android 4.0, which comes with a lock screen camera shortcut as standard, but Sony has implemented a similar idea here, and the Xperia S can go from standby to taking a shot in 1.5 seconds.

Despite the Xperia S’s impressive specification, we can’t help but feel disappointed; the screen’s huge resolution is impressive, but it lacks the vibrancy of other phone displays we’ve seen recently. Performance, storage and battery life are all acceptable, but you’ll have to wait a while for Android 4.0. The HTC Sensation XE has just received the Android 4.0 update and has a better overall screen despite its lower resolution, so is a better option.