this is quite interesting reading. You might thing that 1GHz processor is enough, but soon it won't specially since Sony is launching PlayStation for android on all androids 2.3 and above. 3 cameras might be interesting, but I'm ok with only 2 as long as one is as good as a regular cybershoot camera.
http://blogs.sonyericsson.com/products/2011/01/06/next-step-%e2%80%93-xperia%e2%84%a2-arc/comment-pa...
Hi, today I want to discuss about Sony Ericsson decision when selecting appropriate (a) camera module and (b) chipset for Xperia Arc…
Let’s get started with Sony Exmor R camera module…
Reference: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201010/10-137E/index.html
There are two choices of camera module. Xperia Arc are using choice number 2:
1. IMX081PQ+IU081F (16 Megapixels, 1.12μm pixel size, costs US$ 174.24)
2. IMX105PQ+IU105F2 (8 Megapixels, 1.4μm pixel size, costs US$ 114.16)
What will happen if Sony Ericsson decides to move from number 2 to number 1 choice for Xperia Arc?
Pro:
- We can get theoretically twice amount of details
- Sony Ericsson will create more hype, especially for average user, simply because the megapixel myth is not widely known yet
Con:
- Due to smaller pixel size, we can get noisier and darker image
- The thickness of Xperia Arc on the bulk side could be increased roughly 2.23mm (although it will be the same for the thinnest side), because of the thicker lens module
- The production costs of Xperia Arc will be raised roughly about US$ 60.08
- In overall daily usage, it’s overkill and doesn’t increase the user experience to wide margins.
Now let’s move on to chipset choice…
TI OMAP, Samsung, Tegra 2 or ST-Ericsson chips seems out of question because of different driver/kernel/bios/low-level commands and it would cost and timed more to develop new low-level boot loader software platform from the scratch… There are only two logical choices for Sony Ericsson at the moment. Keep in mind that Xperia Arc is using number two:
1. MSM8660 (Adreno 220 GPU, dual-core 1.2ghz)
2. MSM8655 (Adreno 205 GPU, single-core 1ghz)
3. MSM7230 (Adreno 205 GPU, single-core 800mhz)
Some insiders have thinking about MSM7230 chipset, but it doesn’t sound logical in marketing point of view, because although it’s still faster than QSD8250 due to GPU, average users would think it’s slower because of the cpu clock alone (1000mhz vs. 800mhz). So to keep the hype, Sony Ericsson needs to keep it at least 1 GHz.
What will happen if Sony Ericsson decides to move from number 2 to number 1 choice for Xperia Arc?
Pro:
- We can get theoretically twice amount of processing power with relatively same battery consumption, and it’s critically needed in some tasks or CPU-hogged emulator, such as PSXDroid (Playstation Emulator for Android).
- We can get theoretically twice amount of graphical performance (Adreno 220 vs Adreno 205) which is needed in some games and plays important role in UI transition smoothness (just look at iOS UI smoothness vs Android UI smoothness). For example (assuming it had exact same software configuration), you will get 50fps Neocore in Adreno 205 and 100fps Neocore in Adreno 220. Native hardware-accelerated OpenGL ES 2.0 is also a bonus.
- We can get 1080p Full HD native hardware-accelerated Video Playback and Recording, as opposed to 720p in current Xperia Arc.
- We can get 16 Megapixels camera in Xperia Arc. I know it sounds strange, but MSM8655 used in Xperia Arc only support up to 12 Megapixels camera due to I/O bandwidth limitation, while Sony Exmor R only have 8MP and 16MP as stated above… MSM8660 support up to 16 Megapixels camera… This is probably the main reason Xperia Arc used only 8 Megapixels…
- We can get 1280×720 screen resolution, as opposed to WVGA (854×480) in current Xperia Arc. Only MSM8660 support 1280×720 screen resolution…
- Sony Ericsson will create more hype, especially for average user, simply because dual-core 1.2 GHz sounds more powerful than single-core 1 GHz.
Con:
- The production costs of Xperia Arc will be raised roughly about (I dunno)
- In overall daily usage, it’s overkill and doesn’t increase the user experience to wide margins.
I know Sony Ericsson had thought about all Pro and Con stated above (even more, because they’re not stupid)… And I believe they even had two different prototypes with (1) dual-core MSM8660+16mp and (2) single-core MSM8655+8mp…
But after careful consideration and costs calculation, they decided to stick with number (2).
But really, if they change a plan to number (1) and adding front camera, it will shut off most of SE Troll’s mouth out there. They added another mistake by not providing latest chipset technology to date. They already providing latest chipset with X10 when it’s announced, so why not do the same with Xperia Arc, the supposed high-end X10 successor?
But anyway, despite of these shortcomings, Sony Ericsson still does a great job. They fix their past mistake with X10 by sticking to latest android version and hearing another SE troll’s feedback (such as multi-touch, mediocre call volume, so-so LCD screen and camera quality). Their phone design team is something that we must appreciate about, and they still consistent with Software UI user-experience plan that they started a long time ago.
My opinion? Kudos to Sony Ericsson!
Why?
Because Xperia Arc will be my next phone.
