Sony is going full-tilt today, dropping more toys than a drunken toddler covered in Crisco. They’re giving the Xperia Arc — their hallmark smartphone — an S as the end of its name, and beefing it up.
The biggest change is that the processor has been ramped up to 1.4GHz (single-core), which has gotta get pretty hot in your pants, I imagine. (Yeah, I imagine your pants. Get over it.) The 8.1 megapixel camera with its Exmor R chip was already the one of the best best on any smartphone we’ve seen; it’s back, but this time paired with some punched-up software. Even though the Arc S only has one lens/sensor you can kiiiind of still shoot 3D images if you want using Sony’s “3D sweep panorama” mode. Basically, you take two pictures while moving your hand sideways, and the software converts it a 3D image. Note that this will not work for moving images, and it won’t look as good as an image captured with two lenses simultaneously.
It’s very svelte at just 8.7mm thick, and it’s got a more angular, aerodynamic look than the original. It comes bundled with Sony’s music and movies services, just like every other Sony product these days. And when it lands globally in October, you’ll get Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) out of the box. So while it may not be a major update, it might just be enough to make you care abou the Arc again. [Engadget]