Cell phones

There’s a secondary back cover inside the outer case, which sits snugly over the top of the internal bits and does indeed keep it watertight. The orange plastic gives it a bit of a toy town appearance, but the silvery button icons and curved, rubberised back just about bring it back into smart gadget territory As with Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc and the rest of its 2011 lineup, the screen also uses the company’s Bravia Engine and Reality Display technology… One-handed use is straightforward, with the touch buttons high up enough for easy access, and the phone feels nicely balanced. It’s not one you’ll worry about dropping. It does feature a two-stage press for focusing then pressing harder to shoot, but it’s rather tiny and plasticky, so it’s all a bit vague.

There are no physical buttons on the face of the Active, just three capacitive touch buttons along the bottom – for Back, Home and Menu – with the Active responding to touches of these pretend buttons perfectly and without lag. Prices for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active, at the time of reviewing, start at around £240 to buy an unlocked model, with monthly contracts available from around £20 depending on how many included minutes and texts you require. You get a 3-inch capacitive Bravia Engine touchscreen running at 320 x 480 resolution, along with a 5MP camera with LED flash and the ability to record video at 720p resolution. The phone’s certainly interesting to look at, with its lightweight brushed metallic surround and bright orange band making it look like an odd blend of mobile phone, kitchen utensil and emergency flotation device.

There is also a custom camera shutter button on the bottom-right edge, but it’s a pretty rubbish one. It’s an odd-looking little handset. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Active’s chunky body feels good in the hand, thanks to its curved, rubbery back. The Xperia Active sits somewhere at the lower end of that lot. Take the back off and you get more reassurance that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active can survive a few seconds in the toilet. The screen is a 3-inch capacitive model that’s very responsive and never misses a touch, plus Sony Ericsson claims it has “wet finger tracking” so you can use the thing while it and your hands are both soaking wet. This makes the Active a relatively modest cheaper option in this age of dual-core monster phones, plus you get water and dust resistance as a bonus. And yes, you can. It’s all stuffed in a dust and water-resistant case – plus a few health apps pre-loaded. At least there’s an LED flash around the back, plus the sensor is deeply recessed into the case, giving it a little protection against scratches and general grime. And there’s a stretchy armband in the box for wearing it at the gym, or just keeping it safe. although with a low-end resolution of only 320 x 480, it makes no difference, and it’s nothing like as sharp or vibrant as the superb displays found on the Xperia Arc S and Xperia Ray. The volume, camera and power buttons sit in the orange plastic bit, so are rather lightweight and flimsy – but that’s your trade-off for having water resistance.