The Xperia active is Sony Ericsson first attempt at a robust Android device that’s catered for users with active lifestyles. The dust and water resistant Xperia active is IP67-rated and can withstand being submerged in fresh water up to a depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes. The 3-inch screen is strengthened with Dragontrail for good measure as well.

But how tough is the Xperia active? Can that 3-inch screen take a direct hit with a hammer? Can it holdup to being driven over by a Jeep Wrangler? Just take a look at the videos and see for yourself. Warning: The footage will make you cringe.

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Sony Ericsson Malaysia has announced the official pricing for two of its latest devices the Xperia arc S and the Xperia active.

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S
The Xperia arc S brings all the goodness of the Xperia arc but with the addition of a faster 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 processor as opposed to the 1GHz unit in the Xperia arc.

According to Sony Ericsson, the extra 400MHz offers 25% faster camera start-up and 20% faster web page rendering over its original arc model. Also new to the arc S is a 3D Sweep Panorama feature that converts 2D images to 3D that you can view on a 3D TV.

The Xperia arc S runs on the latest Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread OS and is available now for RM1,899 in three colours – Pure White, Gloss Black and Pink. The Xperia arc S comes bundled with the following accessories worth RM429:

• MW600 Hi-Fi Wireless Headset with FM radio
• IM820 HDMI Cable
• ET912 Screen Protector
• AN401 Car charger + EC 450 USB cable

Sony Ericsson Xperia active
The Xperia active is Sony Ericsson’s first robust Android smartphone. The IP67-rated Xperia Active is water and dust resistant (in fresh water up to a depth of 1 metre, immersed for 30minutes) and comes with a technology Sony Ericsson calls wet finger tracking, allowing the screen to recognise finger gestures even if your digits are wet.

The Xperia active also packs a barometer, pedometer and pulse meter. The 3-inch 320×480 Reality Display on the Xperia active is enhanced with Sony’s Bravia Mobile Engine and is strengthened with Dragontrail — a product similar Corning’s Gorilla Glass. You also get a 5MP camera that shoots 720p HD videos and a 1200mAh battery.

The Xperia active retails for RM1,159 which is not far off from our earlier estimate of RM1,216 based on the earlier Singapore launch. The device comes in two colour schemes – Orange band with black back cover and white band with black back cover. Both colour schemes come with an extra white cover. At the moment Sony Ericsson is bundling the Xperia active with the Sony Ericsson LiveView Bluetooth display worth RM288. That’s a pretty good deal

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Update: The Sony Ericsson Xperia active is now available in Malaysia for RM1,159. Details here

Sony Ericsson has launched its sporty Xperia active in Singapore today — one of the first markets to have the device.

The Xperia active is Sony Ericsson’s first robust Android smartphone designed for users with active lifestyles. The IP67-rated Xperia Active is water and dust resistant and comes with a technology Sony Ericsson calls wet finger tracking, allowing the screen to recognise finger taps even if your digits are wet.

The Xperia active also packs a barometer, pedometer and pulse meter. The 3-inch 320×480 Reality Display also features is enhanced with Sony’s Bravia Mobile Engine and is strengthened with Dragontrail — a product similar Corning’s Gorilla Glass. You also get a 5MP camera that shoots 720p HD videos and a 1200mAh battery.

As mentioned earlier the Xepria active meets the IP67 exposure rating standard which means that the device is dust and water resistant and can stand being submerged in fresh water up to a depth of one metre for a duration of maximum 30 minutes.

Colours include white accent option or an orange accented one. The active ships with both black and white interchangeable covers. The Xperia active retails from SG$498 outright which is about RM1,216. Expect the Xperia active to be sold in Malaysia soon.

Head on after the jump for a couple of videos on the Xperia active.

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We’ve just gotten word that the two new additions to the Sony Ericsson family of devices — the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray and the Xperia active — will be making their way to Malaysian in Q3 of this year.

Just to refresh your memories, the Xperia ray is something like an Xperia arc mini with its 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8.1MP camera with Exmor R and 720p video recording capabilities. The only difference between the ray and the arc is that the ray runs a 3.3-inch while the arc has a 4.2-inch display. In any case, both displays utilises Sony’s proprietary Reality Display technology and is enhanced with Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine.

Also interesting to point out is that the 3.3-inch screen on the Xperia ray has the same 854×480 pixel resolution as the arc, but the screen on the Xperia ray is smaller, you get a higher pixel density which means crisper images.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia active is Sony Ericsson’s version of a rugged Android. The Xperia active is rated IP67 which means it is dust and water resistant in waters up to a metre deep and can stay submerged for up to 30 minutes. It also features wet finger tracking, barometer, pedometer, pulse meter, HD recording and runs on Android Gingerbread with a 1GHz processor.

In addition to this, the Xperia active features a Bravia Mobile Engine enhanced 3-inch 320×480 Reality Display and a 5MP camera with 720p HD-video recording.

Details are still preliminary but it’s pretty much confirmed that the two devices will be coming to Malaysia.

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At the Sony Ericsson Global Conference yesterday we had some brief hands on time with the three newly devices from Sony Ericsson and here are the videos taken from the launch event.

Three more videos await your attention after the jump but before that, we must apologise for the video quality. Our regular shooter ran out of battery so we had to improvise and use a Sony Ericsson Xperia arc to shoot the videos instead. The video quality is not bad but not on par with videos that we usually churn out. Still, something is better than nothing.

Enjoy.

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Update: Uploaded more pictures and videos

Sony Ericsson today has revealed 3 new devices – a featurephone and 2 Android smart phones. The first phone shown above the Sony Ericsson txt which is a QWERTY candybar device which is targeted for the youth market.

The Sony Ericsson txt is a feature phone with features inspired by Xperia at an affordable price. As the name, its dedicated SMS shortcut key and the very tactile QWERTY keyboard suggest the txt is built for messaging junkies. In addition, the txt also features an embedded “friends” application that gives users quick access to Facebook and twitter updates from their five favourite friends.

Other notable features include a 2.6 inch screen, a 3.2 MP camera with video support (don’t expect HD recording though) and connectivity comes in the form of b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth but there’s no 3G. Also, the txt packs a 1000mAh battery and comes in four colours (white, black, pink and a really nice blue).

Price of the txt is said to be around the US$100 mark without contract. That’s about RM300 at today’s exchange rate.

Next is the Sony Ericsson Xperia active which is designed for users with active lifestyles. This is somewhat similar to the Motorola Defy with its water and dust resistant capabilities. It also features wet finger tracking, barometer, pedometer, pulse meter, HD recording and runs on Android Gingerbread with a 1GHz processor.

The Android Gingerbread Xperia active is essentially an Xperia mini that’s built for the outdoorsy user. The active features a Bravia Mobile Engine enhanced 3-inch 320×480 Reality Display and a 5MP camera with HD-video recording. The device also meets the IP67 exposure rating standard which means that the device is dust and water resistant and can stand being submerged in fresh water up to a depth of one metre for a duration of maximum 30 minutes. Battery capacity for the active is 1200mAh.

In line with its active inclination, the Xperia active features scratch resistant screen enhanced not by Corning’s Gorilla Glass but from a competitor called Dragontrail which, we were told, offers similar protection to Gorilla Glass. The reason for the change is simply a matter of supply. Sony Ericsson needed the supply, Corning couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Colours include white accent option or an orange accented one. The active ships with both black and white interchangeable covers.

The third device is the Xperia ray. The Xperia ray is very much like the Xperia arc but with a smaller screen and a different design language. It uses premium materials like aluminium.

In its purest sense the Xperia ray is an Xperia arc reincarnated in a smaller form factor as both devices share virtually identical feature sets. This includes a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an 8.1MP camera with Exmor R and 720p video recording capabilities. The ray’s 3.3-inch Reality Display is enhanced by Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA just like the Xperia arc.

The major differences between the arc and the ray is mainly in the size and thickness. While the arc is a svelte 8.7mm thin device, the ray is slightly thicker at 9.4mm but at 854 x 480 pixel it’s smaller 3.3-inch screen packs the same resolution as the arc but with a higher pixel density which means images a crisper. With what little hands on time we had with the device, the higher pixel density really shows on the Xperia ray’s display. Images are pin sharp!

The arc packs a 1500mAh so you can expect good battery life and there are four colours for you to choose from including black, gold, white and of course, everyone loves a pink phone.

Availability for all the devices is slated at Q3 this year, prices are yet to be announced. And also, both the Xperia ray and Xperia active feature active noise cancellation secondary mic, which is cool.

In addition to the phones Sony Ericsson also announced two new accessories. The LiveDock and the LiveSound. We’ll put up videos that explain what these two accessories are in a bit.

Official pics after the jump. More updates coming soon. Post updated with more details on the devices, official promo videos as well as some hands on pictures. All yours to view right after the jump.

Don’t forget to watch our hands-on video from the launch here.

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