Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo Preview

It’s taken a while to emerge, but the Sony Ericsson Neo is finally with us. Shipments of this Xperia-branded device were delayed by the recent natural disaster in Japan, but now that it’s here we’re pleased to report that it’s been worth the wait. We’re giving you a little taster of what this likable mid-range device is capable of, and we’ll be following it up with the usual exhaustive FoneArena review in the not-too-distant future.

Looking at the Xperia Neo for the first time calls to mind one of its recently-launched brothers, the PlayStation-certified . Front the front, the two phones look very much alike, with only the missing ‘search’ button and enlarged front-facing camera standing out as key differences. The Neo shares the Play’s metal-effect plastic sides, too – although around the back, it’s a different story.

The Neo boasts a cool gradient effect on its battery cover, and the unit we looked at featured a black and metallic blue combination. We wouldn’t begin to suggest that it will be to everyone’s tastes, but it certainly tickled our fancy.

The Neo’s 3.7-inch screen may not be as big as the ones seen on the Play and Arc, but the Bravia Mobile tech Sony Ericsson has used grants impressive image quality. When placed alongside its sibling the Xperia Play – which is saddled with quite a dull screen – the difference is striking.
Which is just as well, because the photos and video captured by the Neo’s 8-need a good display to do them justice. The Exmor-R CMOS back-lit sensor is nothing short of breathtaking, and snaps astonishingly detailed photos. Even at this preview stage, we’re quite happy to say that it’s one of the best mobile phone cameras we’ve ever witnessed. Here are three photo samples taken with the XPERIA Neo.