Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray Sim Free Smartphone

only had this phone a couple of weeks, and very happy with it so far. Previous phone was a galaxy ace, changed to this phone because the battery is terrible on the ace and also the internal memory is rubbish so u cant run multiple background apps( the ace was a great phone until i put too many apps on it) But this phone is running allsorts inc security, news and weather updates, not to mention all the widgets on the screens so you can launch music, photos, videos immediately.its not frozen on me yet where as the ace started freezing and had to keep taking the battery out to restart it.The size of the phone is fantastic, hardly noticeable in your pocket. I tested the camera today in the park and have to say it is outstanding, very easy to use with all the features of a point and shoot camera, only downside is that it doesnt have a dedicated button to take photos, i personally dont like to touch the screen to take pics. the music player is good too but only has a mono speaker i dont know if this is standard on most phones today because the ace had stereo speakers but of course doesnt matter if you are using earphones.comparisonace had better speakers and phonecall quality and typing texting easier because qwerty is obviously bigger due to size of phone. so if you dont download apps or surf the web too much it is a good phone if you just talk and text a lot.however the ray is a much quicker phone when surfing the internet also can play flash video so can watch bbc iplayer, compact and lighter so more comfortable in pocket. can download more apps, outstanding camera and display,if you only talk and text on your phone then the ace is a good phone, with a good camera and music player. But if you like too download apps and surf the web and watch flash videos, have a more compact pocket friendly device with a better camera and display and a quicker phone then spend a bit more cash if you can you wont be diappointed.

I would have rated this 4 stars last year. I bought this two years ago from Amazon proper.Most mobile phone manufacturers don't put enough memory in the phone. They give the false excuse of the use of an external memory card, which is only good for storing pictures and videos. The SD card is not good for storing apps etc. Some apps can go on the sd card, but it is not a good idea and most key apps will just not go on an sd card.*This phone has very little internal memory and as such cannot be considered a proper smart phone. It is quite awkward to use as an android device and you can only run a few apps. A BB 9900 would have been much better.The wi-fi reception is poor too. I wouldn't say that the wifi is really poor tho.The good things about this phone is the size - small and slim. The camera is very good. I still use it now even tho I have a Galaxy S4 as of this year.There are some other good things about this phone, but don't expect much. It can be held and manipulated with one hand, unlike the bigger phones. I tried to use one hand with the S4, but it was hard. It is not so fast with its features. For example, making a call can be slow. Actually, my S4 (from Tesco Direct) is only a bit faster in this regard.It is worth buying as a phone to go out with if smallness is needed; but don't pay more than £150 SIM Free (new).

Bought to replace ageing HTC Wildfire and is a good upgrade at a reasonable price. This is a phone for people who don't need to constantly view and use their phone but want something slim / compact that works well when needed. Main points are;- Good interface with android 2.3.- Bright high quality screen that you can see in bright daylight (just)- Expandable memory for many photo's / songs but needs good quality micro-SD card - apparently not on latest new sony range. Great MP3 player capable of storing all but largest collections.- Works well as a phone!- Battery life OK for a smart phone but you can buy a spare battery and keep it charged in your pocket / bag. Probably keep you going for a couple of days. You can also buy a cheap stand alone battery charger on ebay for the spare battery.- standard USB charging.- Can speak to Mac's for data transfer. Get Sony Bridge for Mac.- Has the capability to be used as Wifi hotspot allowing a tablet / laptop to access the internet. --NB not all sim card providers will let you do this.- As others have noted has 3.5mm headphone socket that seems to only work with earphones with three black rings on the plug. Good quality headphones supplied but with strange inflexible cord that will not appeal to all. Cheap replacement available by searching sony in ear headphones on amazon. Look for those that are for Xperia range. Mine cost me £3.50 and work well and have conventional cord.- Good camera (for a phone) which works well in daylight.- get a free torch app and it works very well as a bright standby torch using the camera flash. Will get you home and light the dark cupboard.- It has an irritating division of memory which results in not being able to store too many apps on the phone itself. Some apps can be transferred to memory card but many can't . It's even more irritating because the pre-loaded apps that you may not use (facebook etc) themselves take up a lot of memory but can't be removed without rooting the phone which potentially voids the warranty. Sorry Sony it's a star deduction as you did not have to configure in this way.- GPS is not as good as stand alone Garmin etc but perfectly adequate for occasional use with free google Maps.- Decent FM radio.- For those with low text typing skills mine came with great predictive text app for sliding finger over keyboard. My typing is hopeless but I can now text a paragraph in seconds.- Cheap protective skins available on ebay which protect but don't add to bulk.- Have a look at Giffgaff as sim card provider --£10 p/m inc unlimited internet with plenty of minutes and texts- Unlocked so you can buy a local sim card when abroad- Good upgrade choice for some-one moving up from a trusted Nokia / Sony candybar.- My top tip ; Get free Gesture Search app and put on homescreen. Draw the first initial of your contact on the screen and up comes the contact and number.Press to connect.Many other good reviews here and on You- tube and the tech sites. Phone, MP3 player, video , FM radio, camera, photo and video player. torch, GPS, mini computer, voice recorder, and internet connection. Currently available much cheaper on Sony's own site. Buy now before is disappears.