Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro Android phone (preview)

Name: Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro Android phone (preview)
Item: Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro Android phone (preview)
Rating: None
Author: Ross Catanzariti

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro preview: The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro has a HDMI-out port and also features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard

Ross Catanzariti

PC World

15/02/11

Expert Rating

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Pros

Slide-out QWERTY keyboard, HDMI-out port, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Bravia graphics engine, 8-megapixel camera with Exmor R camera sensor

Cons

Paltry 320MB of internal memory, no announced release date for Australia

Bottom Line

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro Android phone is essentially the XPERIA Neo with the addition of a slide-out, physical keyboard. The XPERIA Neo Pro is heavily focussed on entertainment, with a built-in HDMI port, a Bravia graphics engine, and an 8-megapixel camera.

Would you buy this?

Yes 32
No 2

Price
TBA (AUD)

Android phones are all the rage at the moment, and most of the standout handsets have featured touchscreen keyboards. Sony Ericsson is attempting to change this with the launch of the XPERIA Neo Pro; an entertainment and multimedia focussed smartphone that has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

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The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro's slide-out keyboard has what the company calls "smart functions" that aim to speed up text input. These include "Type & Send" functionality that eliminates the need to open a dedicated app for each message, and "Smart Keyboard", which activates predictive messaging when the slider is opened.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro smartphone features a 3.7in display with a resolution of 854x480, an 8-megapixel rear camera that doubles as a 720p HD video recorder, and a 2-megapixel front camera for video calls. The XPERIA Neo Pro is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, has 512MB of RAM but strangely just 320MB of internal memory; though there is a microSD card slot for extra storage.

Featuring a similar design to Sony Ericsson's disappointing Vivaz smartphone, the XPERIA Neo Pro is claimed to deliver an "exceptional multimedia experience." The Android-powered smartphone uses Sony's Bravia graphics engine in order to produce smoother video playback, and has an Exmor R camera sensor that claims to take better photographs in dim light. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro has a built-in HDMI-out port, allowing the phone to connect to a high-definition television to view multimedia content.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Pro also targets business users with the pre-loaded Office Suite Pro application that enables viewing and editing office documents. The XPERIA Neo Android phone is constructed of glossy plastic, and features a curved body designed to make it comfortable to hold. It runs the 2.3 Gingerbread version of Google's Android platform.

Sony Ericsson has not confirmed whether the XPERIA Neo Pro Android phone will be released in Australia, and pricing has yet to be announced. Telstra has already revealed that the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo — essentially the XPERIA Neo Pro without a QWERTY keyboard — will launch in Australia sometime in the first half of 2011.