Sony Ericsson Xperia active ST17i

I had this phone before it was released in India, and its totally water proof... yes i have tried dipping completely into water while recording video, works great. Sony Ericsson claims that the phone can handle 30 minutes under water (up to 1m) without any damage. So its great while you go for a swim or playing any sports in rain add to that its specs are GREAT its got 3D sweep panorama just like Sony's cybershot has,its got mobile BRAVIA Engine, Wet-finger tracking which Motorola's Defy does not have, active also has 'Facebook inside XPERIA', software that integrates Facebook into commonly used areas of the phone including the picture gallery, music player, phonebook and calendar and to top it all off its CPU is 1Ghz with 521 MB of RAM and its speaker is really loud because of xLOUD technology from Sony :)
what i didnt like was... it has a small touch screen but i guess thats alight, just a matter of getting used to...

I dont know about what they are supplying here in India but when i got this phone from UK it has a LiveView device which is basically a wearable phone remote with full color OLED screen, to show FB, twitter updates, messages... etc...

First of all, let me start by saying what a terribly incompetent handler i am of objects. Some one might think i might have neurodegenerative disorders looking at how i drop things :D

Having said that, the new xperia active is a godsend for butterfinger clumsy people like me. I have dropped the cell phone from my hand, from my bed while sleeping, and then, just to test it, atleast from a height of 3 ft. The only thing it got was a few scratches on the screen guard.

The waterproofing works like a charm, though i would advise against taking it along with you while swimming or on a undersea dive. I tried the waterproofing test by keeping the cell screen up under tap water, running strog, for abot 5 mins. Some water DOES seep into the secondary back cover. I did not test it enough, rather i did not have the guts to test it any further.

Having got the ipv6 specs out of the way, The phone as a whole, is kind of iffy.It has the usual android flavour to it, along with sony's timescape overlay. The sony layout is cool, and people who have used it might feel quite at home. New users will need some time to get aquainted with it, but once dey do, They will soon realise, this is the best overlay over any other existing android cell, better than Blur and Sense. What makes it a great winner is the facebook integration offered on it. If you are the type who has to share every fart and every laugh online instantly, this cell phone is made in heaven and shared on earth by him especially for you.

The hardware is quite nice, and responsive. The touchscreen lives upto its moniker of wet finger tracking. The sound quality is amazing. This sound quality is among the best sound qualities i have ever seen on a cell phone, even better than the benchmark setting sony walkman W500i cell phone. THe output in the earbuds is truly amazing.

Battery life is next to nill. Heavy usage of games for about 3 hours, along with music for 2 hours, and wi fi throughout the day will make it fizzle out within 7 hours. It is the most irritating thing about this cellphone. Android really needs to resolve the battery issues.I can say very well that the issue is with android and its memory allocation, because when you use the cell for the entire day only to listen to songs, the battery life lasts well over 24 hours. Only when the graphics processor is switched on, or the wi fi is switched on, does the battery start to drain.

The phone screen size is something else you might want to consider. Android and IOS are platforms which are tailor made for multimedia content. In this scenario, having a cellphone about the size of 3 inches is ridiculous. I used to think 3 inches is more than enough for me, never having used a 4 inch cell phone. But once i got this cell phone, having seen its amazing multimedia capabilities and the graphics rendering of various games, i have only one regret: if only my screen were 4 inches or more. 3 inches is too small a size. Having said this, the scorpion processor can handle anything thrown at it. It truly has mindblowing graphics. The screen has a very high resolution and can produce crisp realistic colours. It is truly a joy to watch videos or play games on this monster.

The camera on this cell phone is terrible to say the least. It is an understatement when i say that the cell phone takes terrible photos. At 5 MP, this is certainly not expected from a company which manufactured the cybershot line of cellphones.

If you are looking for a good camera phone, a good multimedia phone, and a phone with long lasting battery life, this phone is not for you. These criterias wont apply to you if you are not a heavy user and only use your cell to play the ocassional games or log on just to check your email.

Overall, i would recommend this phone to anyone who wants a rugged phone first and foremost, which can withstand all attrocities you can throw at it. It truly is legendary in this aspect, and one of the best ones i have seen. The touchscreen is very responsive, as is its colour reproduction with one of the best screens out on the market. My rating would be 4/5 were it not for the camera, battery life and the samller screen size.

The device by itself is a great package but the real deterring factor is the pricing which is more than Xperia Ray.

This brings the facility of Secondary Camera which the Xperia Mini lacked.

If price in the current market Between 12k - 13k, this will sell like hot cake.

Pros:
Good design
Good Display
Dragontrail scratch resistant glass
Gingerbread
Easy to hold
Adreno 205 (3D games and Adobe Flash 720p)
Fitness Apps and GPS
DLNA
Water proof
Xperia UI
Wet finger tracking

Cons:
Battery is only 1200 mAh - 5hrs
3 inch display (No wide screen videos)
No secondary camera
Live view the 1 inch wrist display, which is included, may not be useful to most users.
Overpriced at nearly 20k

I must say I have been waiting for this phone since I heard about it.

In fact - First I was following the Motorola Defy but Now this one Sounds much better.

Other then some cons It is really good.

And I agree with others - Price is too high - When it comes down I am going to grab it OR meanwhile if they launch improved version then Much better [Hopefully with a front camera]