Sony Ericsson Xperia ray hands-on [Video]

For Sony Ericsson fans or those with small fingers in the world, I have a phone for you. Just arriving at the Android Community labs today is the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray. This little smartphone may be tiny but it definitely packs a punch. Below we have some details and photos for you to check out. Plus, I’ve compared this small and sleek phone to something with a size more in line with most phones for a comparison and to show just how small it really is, so check out the video after the break.

Under the hood of the Xperia ray you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.0 Ghz single-core processor, 512MB of ram, and a 4GB micro-SD card. While that may not be a dual-core powerhouse listing we do have an amazingly awesome display and an equally stunning camera. The Xperia ray only has a 3.3″ LED display but we have a high 854 x 480 resolution instead of the lower res many phones have in the smaller display market. Add in the slightly higher 854 resolution and Sony’s Bravia screen technology the ray actually looks quite gorgeous. The small screen and higher resolution actually makes images and icons on-screen almost too small, but they are bright, crisp and look excellent.

One of the show stoppers here is that even though we have a slim 9.3mm chassis Sony has still added a large 8.1 megapixel camera as well as a 1.3 MP front for chatting. The camera around back should be of high quality like most things from Sony and is said to take some exceptional images. We’ll give the camera a good testing in our review so if that interests you be sure to check back soon.
Along with those impressive specs above all crammed into a small and thin frame we also have Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread and Sony’s Timescape UI improvements. With deep Facebook integration and the usual suite of Sony apps such as Video and Music Unlimited we actually have some good content out of the box without heading to the Android Market. Sony provided us with a gold colored device, almost like a fine white wine. They also are offering the Xperia ray in White, Gold, Red (pinkish) and Black but lets see that video shall we.
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray hands-on


For more details you can see the Sony announcement from late September stating the ray is unlocked and available now across the US. This device is fully unlocked and while we have an AT&T SIM on board, it will also work with other GSM carriers such as T-Mobile. Could this be a truly small smartphone for those that don’t like all the huge phones we are seeing now days, while still being powerful and up to date? Be sure to check back shortly for our full review. Below you’ll find a cool bonus video thanks to Sony Ericsson and then a few more photos in the gallery below.
Bonus video: Xperia ray

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Samsung Stratosphere hands on [Video]

The Samsung Stratosphere is the latest 4G phone from Verizon, and to the delight of certain parts of the Android world, it’s also a full QWERTY slider. The mid-range device is based on the last generation of Galaxy S phone, and as far as feel and dimensions go, it’s got a lot in common with its cousin the Epic 4G. It’s launching at a relatively cheap $149.99 – a song for an true LTE slider phone. Our initial impressions follow.

Like most sliders, the Stratosphere feels a little chunky in the hand. It’s not the thickest phone we’ve ever seen at 14mm, but it’s noticeably larger than the Motorola DROID 3 with the same screen size and form factor. It’s also lighter, which makes for a less cumbersome ride in your pocket. The textured plastic back sticks to your hand nicely, and the extra girth means that there’s no dramatic “Galaxy hump” on the back, making the phone lie flat on a table or dash.
The keyboard has its ups and downs. A full five rows means you don’t have to use modifier keys for number entry, which is convenient. But it means that the keys themselves are extremely narrow, and my (admittedly pudgy) fingers would easily strike the key above or below the one I wanted. After a few minutes I fount myself angling my fingernail uncomfortably for more precision.

If you’ve ever played with any of the original Galaxy S models, you know what to expect from the Stratosphere’s sliding AMOLED screen. It’s 800 x 480 screen isn’t the sharpest around now that 960 x 540 screens (and soon enough, full 720p screens as well) are out there, but it’s vivid and easy to read. The display will serve for all but the most demanding of phone users. And for this price, it’s hard to beat. a 5 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 front camera are standard, but 720p video recording is a nice addition.
TouchWiz has aged surprisingly well as it makes the shift to Gingerbread. Little touches like a power control bar integrated into the notification tray and a quick settings menu are nice enough to forget my preference for unhindered Android. The Gingerbread phone is responsive, thanks to a 1GHz single-processor. I only wish that fewer included apps came – if I wanted Blockbuster, NFL Mobile or Need For Speed, I’d download them from the Android Market.

The Stratosphere’s large 1800 mAh battery should help it power through a full workday, even if you spend some time on 4G. On that note, you can see that the Stratosphere is Verizon’s first LTE smartphone to use the new Micro-SIM standard. 4GB of internal storage isn’t great, but an included 4GB MicroSD card should fill it out, and you can easily find a cheap upgrade. We’ll have a full review of the Samsung Stratosphere in the next few days. Until then, check out our hands-on unboxing video below.

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Motorola MotoACTV hands-on [Video]

The new DROID RAZR wasn’t the only device Motorola had in store for us today, they also announced a new Android device called MOTOACTV. This is basically a smart watch powered by Android like we’ve seen in the past. Taking on Nike+ and even the iPod Nano will this be a success for Motorola? We don’t know yet but check out our hands on pictures and video after the break.

Running on Android with a 600 Mhz processor and weighing only 35 grams the ACTV sounds pretty impressive. Would you wear one? It may be lightweight, water and dust-proof but it’s a little bulky for a watch. I’d love to mount one to my Trek EX8 mountain bike just as they’ve done at the Motorola event. It pairs with your Motorola phone or RAZR and will send and receive alerts, notifications as well as function as a full out media player with wireless bluetooth headphones.

The MotoACTV features GPS for location tracking, and the Bluetooth headsets even can take your heart rate. Then calories and miles ran, walked, or cycled can all be uploaded wirelessly right to MOTOACTV.com for real time stats and tracking both during and after your workout. Pair all of this with 8 or 16GB versions that will be a fully functioning media player this might actually be the perfect solution for some.
From our hands-on video below you can see the screen is bright and responsive, the UI looks decent and runs well on the smaller display and is controlled obviously by touch. We’ll have to try it outside to see how the display handles sunlight — especially if mounted on a bike like we saw above. For now check out the video demo:
MotoACTV hands-on video demo


RAZR and MotoACTV demo by Sanjay Jha


The device will pair with your smartphone and stream music, or you can use the internal storage to upload as much as it’ll hold. We don’t know anything else extremely specific about internal specs other than the 600 Mhz processor. MotoACTV all around looks pretty great and I could see myself using one, but the price has me a bit worried. Coming in at $249 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB variant the pricing is too high and is quite a bit for a watch/remote although it does function as a decent 16GB media player. Until we get more hands-on time we’ll reserve our judgement. Feel free to look over all the photos in the gallery below.

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus official hands-on [Video]

Whew, the wait is over and the next superphone from Google is finally here and it indeed is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The event is finally starting to wrap up in Hong Kong but don’t worry, we have hands-on pictures and video with the new Galaxy Nexus so check it all out after the break.

Hopefully you all watched live as Google and Samsung unveiled the new device, and if you did you’re probably drooling from the mouth as am I. Now I’m sure a few will still want to see a list of specifications so just to be nice I have the full list for everyone to check out. This thing has an amazing 4.65″ Super AMOLED HD display with a 1280 x 720 resolution and will look incredible, then a blazing fast 1.2 GHz dual-core processor to speed things along. Check out the list:

-Android 4.0 Ice Cream
-4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED Screen with a 1280 x 720p resolution
-1.2GHz dual-core processor
-Redesigned UI in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
-Improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NF support, full web browsing
-Android 4.0 features Software Navigation buttons
-People App with Google+ and social network integration
-Redesigned camera with panorama mode, 1080p video, zero-shutter lag, new faces and background replacement features
-Face Unlock: Facial recognition to unlock your phone
-Android Beam uses NFC to easily share all content with other Android users by tapping the phones together
-Pure Google Experience Device
-8.94mm thick, 4.29mm bezel
-LTE and HSPA+ connectivity for a wide carrier launch
-Available in USA, Europe, and Asia beginning in November on multiple carriers

I’ll skip all those little things as we’ve known the specs and information for a while now, and instead get right into the good stuff — hands-on pictures and video.
[VIDEO PROCESSING]
Google really has reinvented the wheel here with Ice Cream Sandwich. Everything is extremely polished, simple, user friendly and just gorgeous. From the new application launcher tray, widget selector, People app with HD tiles of all the important people in your phone and more. They’ve really stepped it up a notch and iOS5 should be afraid, very afraid. As far as size is concerned, with no dedicated capacitive buttons the larger screen fills that space and doesn’t make the device actually larger. What we have is an average sized smartphone that will feel very similar in size and nothing out of the ordinary, yet have that brilliant 4.65″ display.


While this is still Android and something we completely understand. Everything is newer, prettier, re-sizable and HD. Everything is HD from pictures of friends and contacts, tiles and more, nothing looks average and the entire device is as crisp and clear as possible. Google is moving away from the long-press to do things on a touchscreen and will make as many things as possible be done via swipe gestures instead. While many things will remain the same, plenty has changed.
Galaxy Nexus hands-on:


We could go on for a long time regarding all the latest changes but instead we’ll just let you check out all the videos and photos and see for yourself.

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