Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Review
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Review: March 2011 |
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Phone rating: 
In a nutshell: The Sony Ericsson
Arc is a contender for the best Sony Ericsson phone ever, and
best Android phone too. It's a stunningly beautiful device with
a gracefully curved back and is the slimmest smartphone on the
market. Its specs are a match for any other phone in existence
too - the latest version of Android (2.3), 4.2 inch screen with
Sony's BRAVIA TV technology for perfect video playback, 8.1
megapixel camera with Sony's brand new Exmor R™ CMOS sensor,
HD video recording, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, HDMI output.
It's an incredible phone that can't fail to impress. Available
in Midnight Blue (Black) or Misty Silver.
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We've been looking forward to reviewing the Arc ever since it was first
announced, so please excuse us for a moment as we shout "Wooooooooow!"
Thank you, that's better. The Arc is a stunner. It's a beaut. It's gorgeous.
It's like the Sony Ericsson X10
after Gok Wan has given it a makeover. It's easily Sony Ericsson's best
Android phone. Wait ... is it Sony Ericsson's best phone ever? It could
be.
OK, let's calm down, get some facts. The starting point for the Arc
is of course the X10 Android
phone from 2010. Sony Ericsson have taken what was a very powerful
phone, learnt some hard lessons and rebuilt the thing from scratch,
keeping what was good, throwing away what was bad, and giving their
design department free reign to go mad. So at first glance the Arc looks
quite like the X10, but it's been given a curved back and slimmed down
to an incredible 8.7mm at its thinnest point. That's slimmer than the
Google Nexus S. Slimmer than the Samsung
Galaxy S. Slimmer even than the iPhone
4. It's the slimmest smartphone on the market. And it's curvy too.
Hence its name. Arc.
Slim, curvy, sexy. It's a gorgeous phone to look at and to hold. But
maybe there's more. Let's turn it on now and see what happens. The screen
is incredible. At 4.2 inches, it's the second largest screen currently
available, just a whisker behind the 4.3 inch display of the HTC
Desire HD and with an even higher 480 x 854 pixel resolution. It's
been upgraded to 16 million colours too. Sony's BRAVIA TV technology
has been added too, but we won't see the difference that makes until
we watch some video.
The user interface is great. It's Android plus Sony Ericsson's Timescape
enhancement. Timescape has evolved since it first appeared on the Xperia
X10 and for the better, with more customisation available, and much
less intrusive behaviour. And unlike previous Android phones from Sony
Ericsson, the Arc is bang up to date with the latest Gingerbread 2.3
release of Android. We can't rave about this enough. Not only is it
a supremely responsive and intuitive user interface, but it's both simple
to use and incredibly powerful, with seamless integration of facebook,
twitter, email, calendars and contacts, plus over 100,000 apps available
to download from Android Market.
The camera has been upgraded and is now one of the very best cameras
available on a mobile phone, probably second only to the Nokia
N8. With a resolution of 8.1 megapixels, an enhanced CMOS sensor
with improved low-lighting sensitivity, touch-operated autofocus, LED
flash, plus a host of added extras such as face recognition, smile detection,
image stabiliser and red-eye reduction, it uses the best of Sony's digital
camera technology. We honestly don't know how they've fitted a camera
of this quality into such a slim device. The camera can also record
video at HD 720p resolution, with a video light and video stabilisation.
One of the highlights on any Android phone is GPS with Google Maps,
and it's here on the Arc with Google Latitude (share your location with
your friends) and Street View. And it works brilliantly.
The media player is fully featured and plays video very smoothly indeed,
thanks in part to the super-fast processor powering the device, but
also to Sony's BRAVIA television magic. There's also an FM radio with
RDS. Sound quality through the stereo speakers is good and a 3.5mm audio
jack lets you plug in your own choice of headphones.
When it comes to connectivity, the Arc has the lot. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,
USB and even HDMI for connecting to a HD-Ready TV. It also has a new
technology called ANT+ which lets you connect wirelessly to a variety
of health and fitness products. The phone has fast 3G data access too,
and you can easily sync it with your Google account, facebook, twitter
and your Microsoft Exchange email server.
The web browser is very ease to use. It's nice and responsive thanks
to the fast processor and the HSDPA / Wi-Fi data access, and you can
use pinch-and-zoom to view your web pages better. Flash video is supported
and you can watch youtube clips.
Battery life is often a challenge for smartphones, especially ones
with large TFT screens. The Arc is equipped with a monster 1500mAh battery
and seems to manage pretty well however. Heavy users will probably have
to charge every other day - lighter users should get quite a few days
between charges.
Another bonus feature for the Arc is the Noise Shield. This uses a
secondary microphone on the back of the phone to pick up and cancel
ambient noise, so the person you're talking to can hear you better.
So far the Arc has ticked every possible box, so it's irritating that
Sony Ericsson have only given the phone a paltry 320MB of onboard memory.
Sure, there's an 8GB card included and this can be expanded up to 32GB,
but that onboard memory is going to be an annoyance.
We think that this could prove to be a huge hit for Sony Ericsson.
It's up there with the HTC Desire HD,
Google Nexus S and the Samsung
Galaxy S as top Android phone so far, and it ticks virtually every
box as well as looking absolutely stunning. It's priced the same as
those other phones too. It looks to us like Sony Ericsson have turned
a corner with the Arc. For the first time they've released an Android
phone with the current version of Android (Gingerbread) with a promise
to update to Honeycomb when that is released. They've put cutting edge
technology into a gorgeous wrapper and delivered it at a competitive
price. The Arc is one of the very best phones to be released so far
in 2011.
Update: the new Arc S
comes with a faster processor and costs about the same.
Features of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc include:
- 8.1 megapixel camera with digital zoom, touch autofocus, face recognition,
smile detection, red-eye reduction, image stabiliser and LED flash
- HD video camera with video stabilisation and video light
- Display: TFT touchscreen, 480 x 854 pixels (4.2 inches), 16 million
colours with auto-rotation
- Media player with album art, TrackID and PlayNow
- FM radio with RDS
- MP3/ AAC ringtones
- Speakerphone
- aGPS with Google Maps, geo-tagging and WisePilot Turn-by-Turn navigation
software (demo)
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, email, conversations
- 3D games with motion gaming
- Picture wallpaper
- Personal organiser functions
- Vibration alert
- Internet: WAP 2.0, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA, web browser, RSS feeds, YouTube,
Voice Search
- Memory: 320MB plus 8GB microSD memory card (up to 32GB supported)
- Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI, ANT+
- Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900) plus 3G UMTS/HSPA
- Size: 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm
- Weight: 117g
- Talktime: 7 hours
- Battery standby: 430 hours
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc User Reviews
Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this
phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so
please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive
language, and please, no advertising!
Average rating from 88 reviews: 
Reviewed by Gareth from uk on 28th Aug 2012
Had this phone now for a full year and I still love it. The battery
life is excellent and it is in my opinion still the best looking handset
around. You can customize almost anything and the music player is great,
I use the headset it came with almost everyday and it still sounds excellent,
so good I sold my beats earphone as the quality was the same, I have
another year on the contract and I'll be very impressed if my next handset
is better than this.
Rating:
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Reviewed by balth from UK on 21st Jul 2012
Lol @ mark. Never read such ridiculous, uninformed twaddle in all my
years.
The Arc is still a good phone, though the hardware is getting a little
overtaken now. I got one a few months after release and apart from the
battery life (needs charged every night - about 14 hours heavy use I
get) which almost every phone suffers from in my experience, I've had
no issues. The design is excellent, its easily the coolest looking phone
STILL! I don't know why Sony have gone for the box like design with
the new xperia line... call quality is excellent and my only real niggle
is the lack off a front facing cam. 4.star phone
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Reviewed by Ryan from England on 23rd May 2012
I love this phone I can't fault it. Had it about 5 months now and have
a 32gb SD card in it. Only downside is the poor battery life but thats
the case with all smartphones. Can't see myself upgrading from this
for a long time
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Reviewed by edd from england on 17th May 2012
This phone has the lot,stand back the iphone with there inflated prices,the
samsung galaxy 2 is on par but again to expensive. the arc even comes
with a free 8gb memory card, (beat that iphone) sorry i was forgetting
you cant change the memory card on an iphone or the battery without
taken it apart. joking apart this phone is a trailblazer and worth the
money.
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Reviewed by andrew from scotland on 12th Mar 2012
great computer sorry phone battery life aside cant complain oh wait
a minute the camera can only zoom on a small setting 2 mega pixels aside
from that and a wee bit of screen degridation can complain
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Reviewed by jp from scotland on 25th Feb 2012
i loved this phone in every way best phone on market cant be beeten
on anything its fast sexy and full fun
till you update
never update this phone unless you conected to a pc or the update may
fail and the phone is lost for good
i tryed every trick in the boock to fix it even took it to shop to be
fixed and thay couldnt do it eather finally phone was sent back to sony
to be fixed just to find out thay couldnt fix eather new phone was sent
out in its place witch after 3rd update same thing happened again
yes great phone i still say i love this phone but think sony should
be more carefull on sending dodgy updates that kill the phone dead so
all in all love the phone hate sony
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Reviewed by mark from uk on 20th Feb 2012
in a word DONT buy this phone its has nothing to do with sony the phone
is compltly run by google u can only back up you phone contacts pics
and calender only to google the phone runns out of memory7 and frezes
all the time due to the amonut of programs running you can turn them
off but they start back up ten mins later batery last about 8 hours
thats if you dont do anything on it if you use it you get 2 hours before
having to charge it google sends you mgs at stupid oclock in the morning
about updates and if you click syn god help your phone will go off every
hour telling you your pics have been stolen buy google and i mean stlone
as google policy is that it can share anything from your phone if they
choose to now you try optin out of that sony customer suport is a big
a joke as google support there isnt any its just to easy for companys
to fob you off nowaday i will never buy a sony/google phone again i
say again there are better phones on the market
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Reviewed by Choppy from NI on 25th Jan 2012
Awesome phone, love everything about it apart from when I'm outside
(in the cold) and I finish a call the screen goes black and won't turn
on again until I put the charger back in
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Reviewed by Ryan from Englans on 23rd Jan 2012
This phone is amazing. Upgraded to Android 2.3.4 and no problems. It's
so comfortable in the hand and the UI is very smooth. Camera is amazing
for such a thin phone and battery life is ok unless you're constantly
playing about with the phone. Love it. Also my phone doesn't suffer
scratches because I look after it and don't go dropping it everywhere.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Farbod from Iran on 20th Jan 2012
Except the sound quality both in ringer and earpiece, everything is
fine. Love it! for those complaining about the fingerprints and scratches
on the screen, I use my HTC nexus one case and it magically cleans everything
on the surface while it is inside.
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Reviewed by John from England on 7th Jan 2012
To everyone complaining about the battery life, get the bloatware taken
off the phone. Things like tmobile sync etc will kill this phone and
are not needed. This is because they are constantly running! Also go
to market and download juice defender. My rooted arc lasts me 2 days
on moderate usage and I wouldn't swap it.
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Reviewed by Lisa from England on 4th Jan 2012
Upgrade phone and renewed contract for another 24 months...big mistake.
Battery life is very disappointing, on average I am only getting 12-13hours
and no I am not gaming. Has frozen a couple of times as others have
said and have to take battery out. Right side edge of touch screen failing.
Constant wifi dropping and I have to go back into settings to reconnect
(no other phone in the householf does this so fault with phone not wifi).
Hugely disappointed and have returned to my iPhone 3. However stuck
with my 24month contract. Never again!!
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Reviewed by Hoshiar Singh from India on 27th Dec
2011
very gooooooooooooooooooood
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Reviewed by James from Ssotland on 26th Dec 2011
This is a quality phone i got at christmaa n wot a present it's been,so
many people complain about wot u dont get in a phone and battery life.U'LL
never get everything u really want into a phon n battery life well its
like a laptop u always have to gharge it.The camera is ace esp HD.It's
really fast browsing is a breeze,battery qual is awesome.I really love
this phone and would give it 10 stars if poss
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Reviewed by Mask from Italy on 21st Dec 2011
Despite the beautiful design, which by the way get missy due to finger
print and dirt, nothing special about the phone Good sound Good camera
not as what I expected from a Sony flagship. Good display which easily
get scratches. Low built quality for the price. Need more ram, it get
lagy some times. Average battery. Not recommended, my last Sony phone.
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Reviewed by Iqbal from England on 9th Dec 2011
This is an excellent phone packed with so many features, the hdmi connection
is useful to connect to a large hd tv, battery life is good and if you
find it draining too much you only need to tweak the settings, look
at what is using alot of battery and wdjust accordingly.
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Reviewed by Yadan from Israel on 7th Dec 2011
The Xperia Arc is a great device for anyone who doesn't need to manage
a schedule. This is because there is no option for altering the content,
date or time of a single entry in a repeating series. Sony Ericsson
has confirmed that none of their updates corrects this serious shortcoming,
and they can't say that they will ever create one that does. I've owned
far less expensive and sophisticated devices that provide this option;
one of my sons has a Sony Ericsson cellphone (non-Android)that also
does. Apple and Samsung claim their Androids do provide this option,
so if you are searching for an Android smartphone with decent scheduling
options, DO NOT CONSIDER THE XPERIA ARCS.
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Reviewed by Kkk from UK on 6th Dec 2011
Absolutely mind blowing phone. Used to have an iPhone 3G and as the
new iPhone is so expensive I decided to switch to this. Am so glad I
did! And with the gingerbread update it's exactly the same as the arc
s just without the 1.4 GHz processor. I highly recommend!
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Reviewed by korede olatigbe from Nigeria on 4th
Dec 2011
this phone is soo cool super slim and has the best camera ever i so
much love the picture quality its a very nice phone the battery is just
the problem but its stil cool
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Reviewed by Stuart from Canada on 4th Dec 2011
Don't buy an Xperia Arc. I have had 3 of them and they are nothing but
problems. System freezes continuously and I have to take the battery
out once a day to reboot. Not user friendly either. Opt for a Samsung
Galaxy smartphone instead. They are outstanding. Sony recently has a
software update but it is impossible for many to download and you get
error messages.
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Reviewed by king from india on 3rd Dec 2011
best mobile
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Reviewed by Singh from UK on 17th Nov 2011
Brilliant phone ! Excellent camera and looks sexyy. Only problem is
that it scratches easily so a screen protector is a must!
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Reviewed by mel from england on 16th Nov 2011
Had this phone for six months now, and have upgraded the software via
S.E. PC Companion, and it now has the features of the Arc S. A much
improved camera, and music player.An already good phone has become much
better.
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Reviewed by Caroline from UK on 10th Nov 2011
Had this phone a month now and LOVE it. Does everything it promises
and does well!!! Battery lasts 3 days with moderate use (after the inital
few full charges and empties), camera is outstanding, calls clear, userface
fabulous, messaging simple, wi-fi and bluetooth no problems. Still being
blown away by all the things it can do as its my first android phone.
An amazing fantabulous phone!!!
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Reviewed by frank from uk on 9th Nov 2011
Im a little disappointed with this phone , it looks and feels great
but is let down by the poor battery life and picture quality . I compared
this phone with my wife's iPhone 4 . Arc will run out of charge in about
12 hours the iPhone lasts for a day and a half , im more let down with
the picture quality even with the exmoor censor picture quality is poor
compared to the iPhone which I was impressed with . I bought this phone
primarily for the camera and belived the hype what a let down.
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Reviewed by Pradeesh preman from India on 7th
Nov 2011
Superslim
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Reviewed by Paul C from Newcastle, England on
1st Nov 2011
Awesome phone.... Second only to the SE W810i "Candy Bar"
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Reviewed by Sinclair from Scotland on 31st Oct
2011
I've had my Arc for four months and can't really fault it. The build
quality isn't excellent(i.e. nowhere near an iPhone but better than
most samsung/htc phones) but it's stronger than it looks or feels. Very
fast, plus I tend to tweak my androids so faster still... Beautiful
looking, great display, great headset sound, average speaker. I used
a Galaxy SII for a week while I had a chance and it's a pig. Very fast,
obviously, but didn't really see the advantage. Ugly, awkward, poor
quality finish, poor reception on 3g/wifi(tho maybe carrier issues)
and the display colours are unnatural, tho I may be spoilt by the bravia
display. Definitely made the right choice.
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Reviewed by Amer from Pakistan on 18th Oct 2011
Outstanding machine - Satisfaction guaranteed
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Reviewed by chrome tewter from usa on 28th Sep
2011
This phone is unusable. It freezes all the time. User will surely regret
for buying this phone.
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Reviewed by Ahmad from England on 26th Sep 2011
Simply Love It....
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Reviewed by lauren from england on 12th Sep 2011
I am soo dissapointed with this phone,i waited for it to be realsed
and iv had nothing but problems :( iv had five of the phones sent out
to me by my network provider as it freezes all the time and doesn't
allow me to open up any menu icons which means its un un usuable! brilliant
phone when it works which is not very often so not reliable enough for
everyday use
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Reviewed by Phil from England on 24th Aug 2011
1st phone had a battery issue, but new phone is AMAZING! A superfast
internet, on WiFi at home I use it more than my Laptop! Stunning camera
and amazing photos in dark environments. Great HDMI connectivity, and
ease of use. Leightweight and slim, best phone I have had from Sony
Ericsson. Best feature is the screen itself. Large and bright. Looking
at the laptop after the phone, it seems dark. Compared this phone with
the play in the shop, and there was a very large, noticable difference.
Im glad I chose the arc over the play, as it is a far superior phone.
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Reviewed by Jordan from UK on 10th Aug 2011
I have to admit this is a lovely Andriod. The quality is amazing, however
since getting this phone in April i have come across several problems.
The phone switches its self off when its had the most slightest knock,
even when placing down on the table. And even some over heating of the
phone in general. However apart from that the phone is generally good
in its self.
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Reviewed by Bob from Scotland on 9th Aug 2011
A great Android phone with a truly wonderful screen and fine camera.
Once you get your head around Android and all that it allows you to
do you will realise that there is no other system to compare. Highly
recommended. To AJ66 below-check before you comment. NO Android phone
of any make allows the alarm to be used when the phone is switched off.
The same is true of the iPhone.It has to be turned on for the alarm
to work.
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Reviewed by Toxic Megacolon from UK on 3rd Aug
2011
I've waited to write a review until owning this for a month... and haven't
stopped loving it yet. It looks beautiful, android and apps all work
brilliantly, Wifi works loads better than my last phone. The battery
lasts 1-2 days with reasonably high usage. It also runs its programs
perfectly quickly, so I'm not missing dual core yet. It really is stunning,
I've owned a few phones and this one makes me happier than all the others
put together.
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Reviewed by Harry from India on 31st Jul 2011
1. If all the features are too good, then why its not the most Android
selling mobile?Reasons are as under: 1. The battery backup is pathetic,doesnt
even last for half a day if i am using WiFi/GPRS 2. Switches off on
its own without any reason. 3. Its not known asto the applications u
had opened are still open or closed if u open 2-3 or more applications
simultaneously. 4. It may be possible that I have in particular have
a defective mobile set .But then the support for repair is absolutely
bad.They are not willing to do anything about these peeoblems
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by AJ66 from UK on 29th Jul 2011
Not too shabby but..... and this little fact is a major force....the
alarm will not function when the phone is turned off.BASICS PEOPLE-
BASICS!!!!!Even my 10 year ols daughters cheap and simple phone of yester
year has this function and the people at SONY think it's nothing to
fret over. But an iphone instead just on principal.
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Reviewed by tvh from uk on 29th Jun 2011
Very impressed with this phone. I was very reluctant to jump onto the
dual-core bandwagon just yet and so this offering from sony ericsson
seemed perfect as a first android phone. Have no issues at all since
the gingerbread 2.3.3 update..the battery easily lasts a day with quite
heavy use and I can normally get through a couple of days of moderate
use before charging.
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Reviewed by NoDabble from UK on 28th Jun 2011
It comes with a very handy power-management widget that allows you to
disable any connections that you're not using. So I turn off my 3G,
Bluetooth etc until I actually need them. As a result the battery level
drops by less than 0.5% every hour on standby and I only need charge
the phone every 3 days. Internal memory was a concern initially for
me, but as most apps can be installed to the SD card it doesn't get
used up anywhere near as much as I thought. It's an excellent phone.
I just wish there was a setting to reduce the amount of compression
applied to camera's photos and videos.
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Reviewed by leon from syria on 27th Jun 2011
very sexy
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Reviewed by Guy from UK on 26th Jun 2011
Was torn between Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation. When I tried them
both in the shop, and then this phone, I chose this over both of them.
Really nice feel in the hand, beautifully simple and intuitive user
interface (I was expecting this from the HTC, but this is better) and
a really excellent camera for a phone. A real pleasure to use, EXCEPT
for the battery life - a few hours of intermittent use and it's gone.
I have allowed it to fully discharge and then recharge every day for
the first week, but it does not seem to have made a difference. (Deano,
which 1800ma battery did you get and where from, and how much difference
does it make?). Also has started taking ages and ages to boot up after
a charge....
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Reviewed by jon from ireland on 25th Jun 2011
i have the wifi problem i need to be pretty close to my router to get
a good signal even then it can drop off. i bought the phone because
it looks better than most smart phones. i think if people where able
to try a phone for a week or so they may not want it. also mine has
become very lagging
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Reviewed by Deano from UK on 23rd Jun 2011
...I lost sleep trying to decide between Samsung Galaxy S2 and the SE
Arc. I compared them both and was luckily enough to use them both before
i decided on the Arc. It looks so much better, the screen is brighter
and is actually white, compared to the S2's blue-ish white. Yeah, it
doesnt have a duel core, but its a mobile phone, not a laptop and compared
to the S2 - its about 1 second slower....so what!! i find the battery
is no different from any other andriod touch screen. i got a 1800ma
battery and it lasts longer, compared to the 1500ma battery it comes
with. ive had many phones over the years and swapped and changed like
no one's business just because i get bored and like to change them,
but ill be sticking with the Arc until my contract runs out in a years
time. Andriod phones are very simliar anyway, you get one, you get them
all in my opinion.
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Reviewed by johnny from scotland on 22nd Jun 2011
my arc went well until i started to put programs on and now it takes
ages to boot up. also has become slow to open some programs. battery
is ok when in stand. start to use it and it runs down quickly. wifi
is also not great. internal memory is very low for a smart phone, yes
its a beauty and feels good in the hand,
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Reviewed by lizzy from uk on 19th Jun 2011
onced you have used this phone for a week or 2 you will find it has
flaws. wifi is poor you need to be close to the router to get a good
signal. for instance my router is in living room when i move to the
bedroom i only get 1 bar yet my laptop has 5. back cover creaks alot
and feels cheap. ear peace socket on the side not good when in the pocket.my
messages and contact can be slow to open very laggy at times. takes
ages to boot up about 1 minute or more. i done the recent firmware update
and it went not to bad for a day or 2 then went laggy again. its defo
not a 5 star phone. it does look good and isnt the worst out there but
its far from the best.
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Reviewed by dean from uk on 15th Jun 2011
due for upgrade wanted galaxy s2 but had to wait 2 weeks as it was my
current phone packed in same day so sould not wait so got this and i
am not disapointed its fantastic every thing is great only problem is
its only got a qwerty keypad so just slowing me down at mo but will
get hang of it great phone great apps v happy
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Reviewed by ali from uk on 13th Jun 2011
much better that the older x10 phone 5 stars for me
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Reviewed by julie from wales on 10th Jun 2011
just got one of these yesterday and its better than i expected
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Reviewed by diane from uk on 9th Jun 2011
brill phone one of the best out there just awsomeeeeeeee
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Reviewed by Jessica from India on 5th Jun 2011
Awesome Phone!! Only one issue.. thats the battery.. Need to charge
everyday!!
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Reviewed by derek from uk on 31st May 2011
seems to work better now with the latest update 2.3.3 that was just
released not as laggy as before very nice phone its the best sony ericsson
phone to date. se seems to be rolling out updates much quicker than
the ill faited x10 which only gets gingerbread because the peasents
revolted on sony ericsson. if you like a fashion phone then the arc
is the phone for you it also works very well
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Reviewed by Bluesnarch from UK on 31st May 2011
Had the phone since it's release and still very pleased. I charge the
phone overnight (every night) and that does me all next day on fairly
heavy use. Just been on holiday and the quality of the photos (and HD
video) taken with the phone is great. Still getting used to Android
but seems fine so far. All in all still pleased I left the I phone for
this phone.
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Reviewed by Kayliegh from UK on 30th May 2011
Maybe not as fast as some, maybe not the greatest camera ever, but it's
cimply the phone to be seen with if you value style and don't want to
be an iphone sheep.
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Reviewed by mel from england on 30th May 2011
My first smart phone,and i am really impressed with it. But the battery
life is worring, I need it to last all day, without charging. To improve
it's life i turn off GPS and WiFi when not need, but also on advice
from Orange I turn off 3G network if not in range of 3G transmitter,
as constantly searching for a signal will drain the battery. Battery
life much improved.
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Reviewed by john from uk on 28th May 2011
at first i thought this was a great phone which in many ways it is i
will start with the bad points i fully charged mine at about 11 last
night when i got up this morning about 8 it had run down to 69 percent.
every thing was off ie wifi bluetooth etc most nights i do the same
charge and when i check it in the morning it was either still at 100
or about 97 ish. one time it stayed at 100 percent for about 18 hours
then went flat at 14 percent. theres clearly issues with the firmware.
also mine has started to lag ie slow to open some programs ie messages
email etc it only has 320 ram available for programs you can ofcourse
put some programs on the sdcard long as the program supports sdcard
install. these are things that will hopefully be sorted out with future
updates. the socket for ear peace is on the side not handy when in the
pocket also the speaker is at the back bottom and you tend to cover
it with your hand. ok well the good points the screen is great big and
clear its fast when not lagging looks great camera is average hd recording
pretty good. overall i like the arc but it does have issue as does all
phones i will keep it for a few months then hopefully move to the htc
sensation which appears on writing to be the phone.
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Reviewed by darren from uk on 26th May 2011
looks great nice feel in your hands battery like all smart phones isnt
so hot but i get a good day little outdated now with the dualcore phones
still much better than the x10
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Reviewed by ant from scotland on 25th May 2011
got one of these experia arcs on contract for 30 per month great deal.
the phone is superb i cannot fault it runs sweet the screen is bright
and clear and looks awsome.
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Reviewed by wilma from uk on 23rd May 2011
what can i say? only that this is the best sony phone to date its a
flying machine just as good as any dualcore phone which is useless until
they start making software that runs on dualcore
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Reviewed by tom from uk on 20th May 2011
@ nick my arc screen is perfect sounds like you have a dodgy phone.
i find the arc to be a bit laggy when loading programs my battery level
stayed at 100 percent from 3 in the afternoon till 9 the next morning.
when i started to use it then it ran down. when it got to 15 percent
i got the low batt warning then it turned of at 14 percent it should
have gone to 1 percent i used the sony app and redone the firmware which
seems to have done the trick it now goes down to 1 percent. as for the
phone yes its really nice looking and seems to work ok but it does have
lag problems just like the samsung galaxy s. screen is nice lovely and
clear, camera takes ok pics nothing great just average in my opinion,
internal memory at 320 is abit low your ok long as the app you install
can be installed on the sd card, overall average phone looks good and
works ok nothing is perfect
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Reviewed by Nick from England on 20th May 2011
Finally got my Arc after a long wait, and its every bit as good as I
expected. Long been an SE fan, but bought an Orange San Francisco on
PAYG last year to give Android a try. Arc runs much faster and smoother
, which I would expect with a faster processor. One complaint is the
screen, the colours seem rather washed out and the whites are very grey
compared alongside the San Fransisco, I have to say I'm dissapointed
with this. Has anyone else noticed this or have I got a duff screen?
Think a visit back to the shop is needed. Also the speaker is rather
"tinny" sounding. Only drops a star because of screen.
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Reviewed by rick from ireland on 16th May 2011
wow hot looking fone got it on contract 2 weeks ago and cant leave it
down its plain awsome
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Reviewed by edward from uk on 16th May 2011
bought mine of ebay as there in short supply at the minute due to the
earthquake problem in japan i was never a sony ericsson fan but thought
i would give the arc a go. its a wonderful smart phone i moved up from
the htc desire which is a bit out of date now and the arc is just as
good if not better the screen is incredibile very bright and clear i
cant fault it apart from the low internal ram but then you can put most
apps on the sd card
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Reviewed by donna from uk on 15th May 2011
i get around 3 days from the battery so thats not bad with moderate
use, there isnt much i can say about this phone cause its famtastic
and i love it
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Reviewed by gary from belfast on 13th May 2011
excellent phone am very impressed with it battery is just as you would
expect with such a big screen but in saying that i can get a good full
day from heavy use and much more with light use
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Reviewed by dj from ireland on 12th May 2011
lovely big phone looks really lovely nice finish the gingerbread firmware
runs much smoother than the 2.1 that was on the x10. i upgraded from
the x10 which i can honestly say i had no problems with the arc looks
better and runs smoother. its big but doesnt feel big my mate has the
htc hd and its a bulky heavy beast the arc is as good as the samsungs,
htc and even the iphone SE have put a lot of thought in to this phone
and it has payed off well done SE
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Reviewed by ann from uk on 12th May 2011
best phone ive ever had love the big screen. its a big phone that doesnt
feel big in the hand very fast and smooth se have done well with this
model
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Reviewed by ROB from uk on 10th May 2011
been useing my arc now for over a week and all i can say is its a top
phone big improvement on the x10 mostly down to the new andriod 2.3
gingerbread firmware. excellent clear screen very fast just as good
as any android on the market. batt isnt great but thats the same with
all smart phones.
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Reviewed by Simon from UK on 4th May 2011
ORANGE CUSTOMERS BEWARE !!!! Upgraded to Arc on strength of good reviews
online. Received phone today , will be returned tomorrow. Orange have
skinned this with appalling orange theme and a ton of bloatware / widgets
for Orange Services that can't be removed. Great phone but ruined by
provider branding. Best advert for buying sim free !! Gutted .. :-(
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Reviewed by Russell from UK on 4th May 2011
Spent a lot of time mulling over a new phone...Contenders were iphone
4, HTC HD7 but then I found this..... Absolutely amazing. After being
all locked up by apple its a refreshing change to get loose on the OS
with few restrictions on what i can put on MY phone (Yes apple we do
buy the device to own it not rent it). The Arc does this with style.
Rarely hangs on apps. Camera is amazing. Really light and feels just
right in your hand. I could go on all day but I just have to say well
done to Sony for this one.. Except! the battery.. Yes its a disappointment.
I can barley get a day when i use wifi. Just have to cross my fingers
someone comes out with a mega high capacity battery for the Arc.
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Reviewed by Paul C from Newcastle, England on
3rd May 2011
Brilliant phone. Camera awesome. The battery is a little annoying....must
be charged every night, but with such a big screen its maybe expected.
Battery turns a 5 star into a 4 star...
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Reviewed by manish from uk on 1st May 2011
well...lot of negative reviews here. but honestly, give this phone a
couple of weeks and you ll love it. i handed my faulty iphone 4 back
for this and havent regretted it. pros: good photo camera. Great video
camera. i have stopped using my hd camcorder. android is easy to use.
colours are very natural but impressive at the same time. it is like
having a full hd tv in your phone. photos can be seen in full screen
mode..just rotate the phone. internet is fast. pinch to zoom in my phone
at least works well. SAT NAV is wonderful. i went on a trip to west
wales and found even obscure farms faster than my cousin with his garmin.
there is a feature to load ur itunes music and thro ordinary headphones,
music is much better than iphone. cons: sat nav uses battery very quickly
so keep car charger handy. battery life is just about a day, but gets
better after a few weeks in general. messaging system is a bit cumbersome
when trying to find a new message. it might be several messages down
if your last conversation with that person was a while agao. overall:
versatile multi-media phone but needs gettin used to.
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Reviewed by thomas from uk on 1st May 2011
this phone is just the x10 you could say a sheep in wolves clothing.
it looks good thats for sure. internal memory is a joke 320 thats awful.
ive been useing mine for a week now and i can tell you its no better
than the x10. SE have a habit of makeing great looking fones that dont
work well. mine is laggy touch isnt overly responsive, i also had 2
crashes in the last week, well its within its 14 day return and its
going back, dont be fooled by this fones good looks its just your typical
sony dodgy phone, would be unfair to give it 1 start so am giving it
3. you will soon see the arc on ebay cheap just like the x10
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Reviewed by Matt from Uk on 25th Apr 2011
What can i say i was bowled over by this phone, then i started to delve
deeper. The phone creaks and moans like an eighty year old, the main
feature of hd video recording and hdmi out is a waste of time due to
incredibly bad audio sync issues and freezing of recordings. Battery
life was erratic to say the least one day it would last all day and
have 80% battery left then the next doing nothing different it would
drain really quickly. I used my right to exchange as goods clearly not
up to the task in hand and traded for a HTC Incredible S .... Best decision
i have ever made. To sum up don't be fooled by the good looks, they
say beauty is skin deep and when you start looking into this phone prepare
to be disappointed, a big thumbs down for SE again.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Joleen from United Kingdom on 22nd
Apr 2011
I had one of these on a 7-day appro. Its a sexy beast with a smashing
camera. When you delve further beyond the gloss its not actually a good
phone. The one I had flexed and it crashed at least twice whilst I had
it. The speakerphone sounded really tinny and the side entry 3.5mm socket
will not last. I also found the pinch to zoom feature very slow. Whilst
the camera was good there was a major problem with lip sync(delay) on
videos. I gave SE another chance! I've got my fingers burnt badly in
the past and these ominous signs were enogh for me to steer clear. Just
have a bad hunch that over 18 months they'll be a lot of down time with
the Arc. I've opted for a boring HTC instead.
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Reviewed by tim from uk on 22nd Apr 2011
why do people buy a big screened smart phone then moan about the battery?
what go you expect its a mini pc you bought. i love this phone mush
better than the x10. internal memory is a bit stupid very low for a
smart phone
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Reviewed by Eli from Scotland on 21st Apr 2011
Hello all. just got the phone yesterday, and although I am new to android
and touch screen I am really warming up to it. Three things that could
spoil it for me though: the phone froze on me after three hours of usage,
had to take the battery out and restart - any thoughts on that? Secondly
: the messaging system drives me nuts - is there any chance of downloading
the usual inbox/drafts/sent items folders to be able to separate the
messages rather than having them in one window as conversations? And
finally - any way of having the alarm go off even when the phone is
switched off? All my previous phones had that option and as I use my
phone as alarm clock I would find it a serious problem. Any ideas would
be much appreciated. Many thanks.
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Reviewed by Ray from UK on 20th Apr 2011
After putting up with the frankly disappointing SE Satio I was ready
to be done with Sony Ericsson, until I decided to give the Xperia Arc
a go. And to be honest I'm glad I did. The phone is very good, the camera
is great, (although when compared to the Satio's amazing camera it does
come an easy 2nd) the touch screen is very fluid, (not quite as good
as the iPhone but far superior to the Satio) and the internet is quick
and easy to use. The one draw back so far is the poor battery life but
I've been assured by a friend that you have to go through a few cycles
first. In all if you don't want to fall into the Blackberry or iPhone
crowd then the Xperia Arc is a choice you won't regret. The design is
beautiful although I would strongly suggest a gel case to give a little
grip and bulk when texting!
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Reviewed by ron from uk on 18th Apr 2011
great looking phone let down by a mare 320mb internal memory. why did
se do that? that will put a lot of people off this phone had a play
with one in the phone shop and yes its a great phone but decided not
to buy due to the internal memory. you wouldnt be long running out of
space and not all apps support installing onto external card.
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Reviewed by sam from england on 16th Apr 2011
I bought this phone on the day it was released in the UK and so far
I really like it. I am going to start off with the things I do not like
to get them out if the way. First off is the battery life, at the moment
I am at the stage where I am constantly playing with the features of
it, and I have to charge it about twice a day, however I am sure once
I use it as a normal phone and only play on the apps occasionally that
I will only have to charge it every day. Next is the scratch resistant
screen which I have already got a few tin scratches on, I have had an
ipod touch for two years and have never had a scratch on it. The final
thing that I dislike is the fact that they advertise the huge screen
and th 8mp camera, however you cannot view an image that you have taken
in 8mp in full screen. Despite these things I would still give this
phone a 5 star, the screen is beautiful, the phone is easy to use and
is just overall a pleasure to own. I have typed this on the phone, and
it took me a little over 5 minutes to do.
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Reviewed by Steve from England on 15th Apr 2011
Well................ How fabulous and yet so very dissapointing at the
same time.!!! Features are great and call quality is excellent. The
shape and style are second to none either. Video recording in HD is
excellent too but I found the camera to be no more than just "good".
Very smooth and easy to navigate and use and texting is as fast as any
normal alpha numeric keypad. For the cost of the phone I expected alot
more in the way of the finer thing you find on a phone. If it wasn't
for the lousy symbian apps i would have to say nothing comes close to
the nokia N8, for it's all round features and usability. The battery
life on this phone is really taking the "you know what". For a phone
with one of the biggest batteries about in a mobile phone, i cannot
get a full days use out of a full charge. And that is with everything
OFF and very little talk or play time. The apps have a mind of their
own and decide to run at will.....??? Regardless of how many times I
stop them. This wa s the most I had looked forward to a phone coming
out and I have been more dissappointed than any other phone I have had.
What a shame. So much to offer yet you cannot use the phone without
the worry of the battery draining. Very poor Sony Ericsson..!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by JustinL from UK on 15th Apr 2011
Ryan, don't worry according to people on the XDA forums takes about
a week for the battery to be conditioned, supposed to be much better
after that.
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Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
15th Apr 2011
Well, that's true. New batteries never perform at their full capacity.
It takes a few cycles of full charge / full discharge before they reach
their full potential.
Reviewed by Ryan from London on 14th Apr 2011
Great phone but awful battery life..... got mine brand new, charged
it as per instructions and it did not even last a day with average usage
and alot of apps switched off. Hate to think what it will be like in
18 months..... phone itself is great
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Reviewed by Ant from Scotland on 10th Apr 2011
Fantastic phone. Looks amazing, easy-to-use, does everything I need
it to. Very impressed.
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Reviewed by Bluesnarch from UK on 7th Apr 2011
I left Apple for this phone and so far I'm loving it. I love the style,
the big screen, screen quality, call quality, camera / HD video and
the HDMI capability. The front facing camera never has been an issue
for me. The hardest part for me is getting used to Android as opposed
to Apple. No regrets as yet.
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Reviewed by Clear Cut Chap from UK on 5th Apr
2011
The Arc may be one of the phones to resurrect Sony Ericsson-atlast it
comes with a current version 2.3 of Android on release. It is a really
attractive phone, despite its slightly lower-placed screen on the body.
However, when you dig a little deeper, it becomes apparent that SE still
have a bit more to go before they are at par with the current leaders
in multi-touch input (ie. Apple, Samsung and HTC). The biggest let-down
on the phone is the lack of a front-facing camera. Perhaps SE were not
able to fit it into the slim profile, but that is a significant sacrifice.
Besides what is the point of having something so thin-sure it looks
good- that it almost slips out of your hand everytime you try to grip
it. So when Skype eventually comes out with their video-enabled chat
service for their Android App, Arc owners would not be able to use that
feature! The multi-touch action is significantly slower-try pinch zooming
in and out and you will see a significant lag in it clarifying the image,
in comparison the Samsung Galaxy S retains the original clarity of the
image or webpage in real-time as you pinch and zoom. If SE deliberately
made it this way, it is a little annoying and if they havent yet optimized
it to the degree of Samsung, then they have to still catch up. While
the Screen-with its Bravia engine- has to be the best in terms of Colour/Saturation
maturity, SE have not managed to extract better battery life out of
the 1500 MAh battery compared to the Samsung Galaxy S. It is pretty
close though. The HDMI-out feature is convenient to view the images
on a bigger screen and the Noise-cancelling second microphone may be
helpful. However, it looks increasingly likely that the Xperia Neo will
outsell and cannibalize sales from the Arc because it is more compact
and yet easier to grip-13mm, but still has a 3.7 inch gorgeous Bravia
screen and HAS A FRONT-FACING CAMERA! All this with little else different
in terms of features from the Arc and yet cheaper still! I am returning
the Arc, and await the Neo's arrival shortly. I would definitely advice
that you compare the two before buying and I suspect the Neo will be
the popular choice by far! In conclusion, for the shortfalls of the
Arc mentioned above and the asking price (above £400 at the moment)
of the phone, it just fails to even gain 4 stars from me. SE will have
to now count on the Neo as their flagship!
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Reviewed by jack from uk on 24th Mar 2011
simply brilliant in all departments
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Reviewed by arclover from japan on 17th Mar 2011
i love it, the first person to have it!! beutiful
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