Camera and Software Improvements needed for XPERIA S

[#1]

Hi! I have been a Sony Ericsson user in the past, My first phone was a T300i, then I moved to k750i and my last  S.E. branded phone was a p990i. My sister still use the p990i till now, however recently it got problems due to old age lol. S.E. has been an innovator in the field of mobile photography. I remember them launching Cybershot phones with xenon flash and led flash for videos.However there came a time when I decided to try other brands because I lose hope with the brand. Now I am back with Sony and I was really excited when they released the Xperia S, I even sold my iphone 4s just to have an Xperia S.

I am satisfied with the performance however as a consumer I am also worrying since other manufacturers are already relaeasing quadcore phones with ICS. Most people who chose Xperia S over the HTC One X or the upcoming Galaxy S3 I believe are just loyalist to the Sony/ Sony Ericsson brand like me.

I would just like to provide some inputs in order for Xperia S to gain more customers and to stay competitive with the other manufacturers.

Camera: They should provide more options for the camera. Before on the cybershot branded phones they have the Best Pic Mode ( BurstMode) I think that can be a good addition since the Galaxy S3 and HTC one X is boasting that technology now. They should also add HDR capability, Picture Effects( Posterization (Color, B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow), Soft High-key, High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera (Normal, Cool, Warm, Green, Magenta), Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, and Miniature ). They should also improve the Focus of the images and lastly the File Compression, we should have a choice if we want to compress the picture file size to save space or if we want the full resolution capacity (eg. NORMAL, FINE, SUPERFINE), it has been noted and reviewed that the Xperia S compresses the Photos to minimize file size resulting on pictures that are grainy thus making the 12 MP useless. Sony should have the best camera in the market.

Software: Sony should release ICS update ASAP. If SAMSUNG and HTC can release a quadcore device with ICS now, why can't Sony release just a firmware update?

They also need to bring more in-house APPS exclusive for Sony. Like Sony Browser (internet), Sony HD gallery (for viewing HD photos and videos), Walkman Player (for MP3), SONY Share (NFC Media sharing), Sony Photo and Movie editor, Sony Voice (Siri Like Voice Command) and etc... I know that we might not use some of the Apps but atleast we know we have it. And lastly improved battery performance.

I hope they would surprise us with the upcoming ICS update and bring this features on Xperia S. With this update I know Xperia S can survive against the HTC One X and Galaxy S3 without the need of two more Cores.

Do you guys have any suggestions on what you want Sony to include to the upcoming XPERIA S ICS update? (software related of course)

[Zann_H]

More Apps?

The issue is, most of this apps are already in the market. Some even for free. Bundling more apps with the phone is one option, but could also introduce another issue, memory. As owner to previous Xperia android devices, a lot of users are not happy with the fact that some game/s and apps comes bundled with the phones. What's worse, you can't delete these apps and it's taking up internal memory. The only way to remove them is to root the device and remove them using apps like Titanium Backup. While this is all fine for techies, normal users are left with limited internal memory for their apps.

If they do decide to bundle more apps, they need to allow the users to be able to uninstall them at least.

Better Hardware

This is the situation right now. Phone buyers are getting more savvy. As en example, ehe first person my friend asked when choosing the phone, is "How much mega hertz and how many gigabyte"? Fyi, he barely uses a pc and has no idea what the mega hertz and mega byte refers to.

And sales are using these tech specs to sell them like hotcakes. Nevermind if the software interface sux or even if the design is the same for all prev models, the phone with better specs win.

I understand Sony's decision to not include Qud core because Android and apps cannot support them fully yet. And also because this will also increase battery consumption. As witnessed by some new decies, having the 5th core for low resource tasks does not seem to reduce battery consumtion much.

But I would love to see new handphones with higher capacity battery. Even if it add additional weight it's fine, as long as it won't be bulky.

Photo Compression Option

This, I totally agree. There should be an option to enable or disable compression. If that is not possible, at least allow users to vary the compression levels.

Firmware Update

They already plan for ICS update for XPS when they launch. However, they prioritse 2011 devices instead. And since they release ICSlater for XPS, I'm hpoing it will arrive witl bell and whistle =). ICS for XPS will come later this month or early next month as announced.

[Johan]

I thank you for your input. Constructive feedback is always good.

[#4]

Hi johan. Thank you for taking time to read my post. I am hoping that sony could bring more features on the Xperia S in the upcoming firmware updates specially the camera effects, compression settings and improved camera performance. Hope to hear from you soon once the Ice Cream Sandwich arrives.