Mobile

SE Xperia Active still toughest Android phone yet

Ronnie Bulaong April 8, 2012 · 2 min read

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Now here’s something that we donâ€™t see often. How much battering can a smartphone designed for outdoors-man really handle? Here’s a video that might give you a better idea — the Sony-Ericsson Xperia Active crash test.

The Sony Xperia Active is put to a stress test and survived scratch free and still functional. A smartphone enthusiast as I am, I had a hard time watching this video without squirming or looking away ever so often.

Whether youâ€™re convince or not that this device can really take on all that nature has to offer, it is clear that this phone really has armor that can rival an armadillo. Its hard shell also doubles as a resistance to water for up to a meter for 30 minutes.

Here are the other things this phone has to offer:

Body: 92 x 55 x 16.5mm
Weight: 110.8g
Display: 3â€ Bravia Mobile Engine powered capacitive screen
320 x 480 pixels (192 ppi) with Dragontrail scratch-resistant glass
Storage: 1GB expandable up to 32Gb through microSD.
Camera: 5MP with LED Flash, Autofocus, image stabilization, geo-tagging and face detection
OS: Android 2.3 (ICS Upgradeable)
Processor: 1.0GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon, Adreno 205 GPU
Battery: 1,200mAh Li-Ion

Dragontrail Glass is manufactured by Asahi Glass Corporation. It directly competes with the more popular Gorilla Glass by Corning.

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Ronnie Bulaong

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This article was written by Ronnie Bulaong, a special features contributor and correspondent for YugaTech. Follow him on Twitter @turonbulaong.

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48 Comments

world of warplanes · 12 years ago

Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the internet the easiest
thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries that they just do not know
about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal.
Will probably be back to get more. Thanks

Borgy Manotoy · 13 years ago

Just want to ask about its GPS performance… anyone using xperia active with endomondo or runtastic? How well did it perform with those apps? How long did it get GPS positions?

I am still looking for an IP67 phone that I can really use with endomondo or runtastic (running and biking) ^_^

Ramon · 14 years ago

Hmmm shockproof phones? Dropped my Xperia Actice on a couple of occasions without any known damages
But it did eventually leaked in one of my snorkling trips hahaha

Ang alam ko lng na shockproof phones ay mga naunang models ng nokia lol
Cherry mobile may nilabas ata na shockproof… Not sure though

Andee · 14 years ago

@Ramon:
I’m still seeing SE Active in some stores, though I haven’t really tested one na naka-on, they’re all dummies. Last one I’ve seen was a shop in MOA. It’s about P11k+. Main concern ko talaga is yung shockproof. I can live with the non-waterproof feature but it may come in handy in times of need like the recent flood. Kaso nga yung battery daw madali maubos. Well I guess mas maraming features e mas gamit sa battery.

Ramon · 14 years ago

@Andee
parang phased out na ang Xperia Active, I’d recommend the Xperia Go. I think I’ve seen somewhere that it’s only around 13k. If you need something faster, Xperia Acro S is also water resistant, not sure if it’ll be released here in the Philippines though.

As for battery, easiest way would be to tweek the settings and apps a bit to conserve battery, but it won’t be a big difference.
another option is to get an expanded battery, but that’ll cost more and most of the time, fattens up the phone =/
there’s also an option to buy a mobile charger, just bought a Perkso M5000 since I have a couple of phones that keeps dying on me :(

Andee · 14 years ago

P.S.
Also, hindi ba sya lugi for its price kasi Gingerbread na (daw accdg to GSMArena SE Active users) and yet walang front-facing camera. I would also be needing nga pala Viber kasi e. Pero I really wouldn’t mind SE Active not on ICS.

Andee · 14 years ago

Gusto ko rin sana itong phone na ito kasi I have clumsy hands, I’ve dropped my SE Naite more than a couple of times na since last year (but I bought it Oct ’10 pa) which caused some lag at ngayon bumagal na yung functions like opening/sending a text message (it’s taking 2-3min!). I would love a SE Ray or Pro but I’m concerned kapag naibagsak ko baka waley na, haha. Plus, I can take pictures while swimming since beach lover ako. :D

@Ramon:
I wouldn’t mind the 3 things you have pointed out. But another major concern is battery life. How do you extend its battery life? GSMArena comments says one would have to charge it everyday. Also, basic lang naman ang needs ko (text,call,music,camera,wi-fi kung merong wi-fi sa paligid). I may not actually need GPS and maps, hindi naman ako ganun ka-active/sporty talaga (lol). Habol ko lang na bagsak-proof sya.

Ramon · 14 years ago

I’m using an xperia active right now and it has been great :-D
Only 3 downside to this phone for me…
The specs are not that great, I don’t think it would be able to handle the ICS update :(
And the speakers tend to get wet :-o need to get rid of the water inside the speakers everytime I swim with the phone hhaaha
lastly, touchscreen doesn’t work if the phone is completely submerged :-/

Hope they improve those issues for the next gen xperia active :-D

itachi1 · 14 years ago

ang tigas naman nyan fafa… LOL

nit0 · 14 years ago

sa nag post, san store ng me dragontrail d2 satin?

Randy · 14 years ago

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut…. Will it blend? LOL!

nameless · 14 years ago

What about the battery life? For explorers and adventurers, toughness would be useless if it doesn’t have enough juice to power it on for days.

Louie · 14 years ago

Would’ve made an even stronger point if they decided to use this as a hammer to drive a nail into a piece of wood. :D

steelicon · 14 years ago

Good work, Ronnie! 1st time I saw the post I knew it had to be you. :-)

Da · 14 years ago

galing!

Sanctuarian06 · 14 years ago

Well hindi mo naman siguro bibilhin yung phone na yan para ganyanin, kaya overall matibay sya kapag sa normal use. And in that case, talagang hindi maiiwasan mahulog at mabasa ang phone and when it happens this phone can resist it.