Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc hands-on

Say what you will about Sony Ericsson -- and we've said plenty -- but damned if they don't know how to make phones. All problems aside with the previous Xperia phones running outdated versions of Android, the new Xperia Arc combines just the thinnest smartphone we've seen -- 8.7 millimeters -- with a 4.2-inch touchscreen and Android 2.3. Spec-wise, this is no slouch.

But this is SE we're talking about. And when we hear that it's running the Timescape user interface, we flinch. But we were very pleasantly surprised to find zero lag on the Arc, in stark contrast to the Xperia X10 we demoed here at CES a year ago.

We need to put this thing through its proper paces. But the camera is supposed to be great, and the hardware feels to be top-notch. We'll see, folks, we'll see.

For now, we've got more pictures and video after the break.

Phil Nickinson