Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc vs Apple iPhone 4

Hi!I would like to show some comparison on Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Apple iphone 4..

The Arc is the most impressive Sony Ericsson device yet, but how does it fare against the current smartphone favourite, the Apple iPhone 4?
We take a look at the specs.
 

Look and feel

There's no doubt about it: the Apple iPhone is one of the best looking devices to date. It's simple, seamless and keeps buttons and obstructions to a minimum.
At 9.3mm thick, it was also one of the thinnest devices to launch in June last year.
The whole device is covered in an anti-scratch, anti grease coating (although this doesn't stop fingerprints showing up), and in either black or white it looks sleek.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is the thinnest smartphone to day, just about beating the LG Optimus Black at 8.7mm at its thinnest point.
The Xperia Arc is, as you'd expect from the name, curved on the backside. It curves in and as such, sits perfectly in the hand. The Xperia Arc features a scratch resistant surface too, but we don't like the design as much at the iPhone's.
Winner: Apple iPhone

Screen

The Sony Ericsson Arc and Apple iPhone both feature stunning, high resolution touchscreens. The iPhone features Apple's Retina display, with a resolution of 640x940 pixels.
It's pretty seamless, but falls short in size when compared to the 4.2-inch Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. The iPhone 4's screen isn't small at 3.5-inches, but it feels a lot smaller in comparison to Sony Ericsson's flagship model.
The Sony Ericsson also features Sony's Mobile Bravia technology that really does improve the colour, clarity and sharpness of movies and other content played on the screen. You can see a comparison in our hands on video.
Winner: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Processor

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Apple iPhone both feature a 1GHz processor. Sony Ericsson has opted for the same Qualcomm Snapdragon as seen in other high-end devices including the HTC Desire, while Apple has implanted its A4 processor, essentially the same as that in the Samsung Galaxy S.
Both devices have 512MB RAM and are pretty speedy in comparison to their predecessors.
However, it's hard to judge how well they both perform when multiple apps are open, because the iPhone 4 doesn't support full multitasking.
For day to day usage, both are zippy, so it's a draw here.
Winner: Draw

Camera

The iPhone 4 showed real progress in the camera department for Apple, with 5-megapixel resolution, a flash and touch to focus. Apple then introduced HDR and photos really did improve. A top effort.
However, Sony Ericsson has used another of Sony's technologies in the Xperia Arc's architecture. Exmor R dramatically improves photos taken in low-light conditions. We saw examples of the Sony Ericsson's results against another smartphone and were very impressed, as the camera seemed to make details appear as if from nowhere.
If we're talking numbers, the Xperia Arc wins there too sporting an 8-megapixel snapper.
Winner: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

OS

The Apple iPhone 4 runs on the latest version of Apple's iOS software and although it still lacks quite a lot in comparison to other smartphones such as full multitasking, live widgets and Flash support, it's still a very easy to use and pretty seamless interface, just maybe needs a little updating now to fit in with the other platforms.
The Sony Ericsson Arc runs on Android 2.3 from the box, although we've been assured it'll be updateable to future versions on Android, including, surprisingly, Android 3.0, AKA Honeycomb. The one bonus of Android updates is that they can happen over the air (OTA) unlike the iPhone that has to be plugged in for updating.
Android is a much more open, flexible operating system and although the iPhone offers a lot for anyone who wants something simple to use, Android offers that little bit more.
Winner: Sony Ericsson Arc

Applications

The iPhone's App Store is leaps in front of Android, although Android offers many more free apps.
Applications are shown just for your device too, so you can be sure they'll all be compatible for the device you're using. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case for the iPhone. Older apps won't work, so you may find you've downloaded an incompatible application only after paying for it.
The Sony Ericsson Arc also (as mentioned earlier) supports live apps on homescreens, whether that's a Twitter stream, FaceBook status updates or your favourite RSS stream. This is a massive advantage for Android and one of the reasons we're fans.
Winner: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Storage

When you're playing with storage, numbers are key, and the iPhone boasts an impressive number. It's available in either 16GB or 32GB versions, while the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is only available with minimal internal storage.
However, the Xperia Arc does feature a microSD card slot, allowing you to add up to 32GB storage. It ships with 8GB which isn't the end of the world, but the iPhone will still allow you to load on a massive music collection straight from the box.
Winner: iPhone 4

Verdict

Sony Ericsson has brought out the boxing gloves to try and defeat the mighty iPhone 4 and in our opinion, has won.
The Sony touches, including Mobile Bravia and Exmor R are certainly working to strengthen the Sony Ericsson brand and we like it a lot.
Winner: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc