Sony Ericsson Xperia Active deals & review

Rugged and durable phones have been available for a few years now but as they were typically cornering a niche market they often didn´t offer much besides their ruggedness and durability. The Motorola Defy was a notable exception, offering an Android smartphone experience at the same time, although perhaps at the expense of some ruggedness. The Xperia Active falls into the same category as the Defy, offering the best of durable ruggedness and smartphone performance.

Like other rugged handsets the Active can be dropped and bashed about with little concern for its safety and offers protection against things that would normally wreak havoc on a modern smartphone. For example, it is waterproof and is better protected for those times when you often drop your phone in a puddle. The Active´s screen can even be operated with wet hands or out in the heavy rain.

The Active is made out of materials that mean it is less fragile than other devices. It also includes a hook, arm strap and wrist strap so that you can attach it to things when you need both hands to do something else, and there are plenty of preloaded apps on offer to aid an active lifestyle. This includes the ANT+ app which, in conjunction with an ANT+ arm or waist band, can help you to monitor your heart beat.

The Xperia Active is an Android phone and features the same four cornered quick app access as smaller Xperia phones like the Xperia mini and mini Pro. One of these corners has been dedicated to fitness related apps and services, although you are perfectly welcome to change this to something else, such as YouTube or social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which are still excellently supported on this phone. Android Market is also supported so you can download plenty more health and fitness related apps.

The Active also includes a 5 megapixel camera with HD video recording (720p), GPS, DLNA Wi-Fi and 3G for excellent web access and even swappable battery covers to help you personalise the phone. The Active also includes improved video and photo support with Sony´s Mobile BRAVIA engine, and also comes with Sony music features like TrackID, Adobe Flash support and a handy flashlight for when you get lost in the dark.

All in all the Xperia Active is an excellent rugged phone. Perhaps it is not the most durable of the durable, but it offers a good compromise between ruggedness and feature filled fun, with plenty available on the Android OS to keep you occupied whether you were being active or not.